Steelers player rips former OC Matt Canada's offense

Former Steelers offensive coordinator Matt Canada was public enemy No. 1 among Pittsburgh fans the past two seasons, and it seems at least one player in the locker room shared their frustration. 

Defensive back Patrick Peterson ripped into Canada's offense on Thursday night during an appearance on his "All Things Covered" podcast with former Steeler Bryant McFadden, calling the offense "elementary" and "stagnant." 

“Not to point the finger at the playcaller, but I don’t know what type of plays we're running out there on offense when we had Matt Canada with us," said Peterson. "I just feel like we were super stagnant. We did nothing to exploit the defense. I just feel like we were very basic and elementary.”

That was one of the most common outside criticisms of the Steelers offense, that it lacked imagination and wasn't innovative in any way. 

It is easy for fans, and even the media, to say that sort of thing. But it carries significantly more weight when it not only comes from a player in the NFL but also from a player in that locker room. 

During Canada's two-and-a-half-year run as offensive coordinator, the Steelers never recorded more than 400 yards in a single game and topped the 30-point mark just two times.

He was fired following an ugly Week 11 loss to the Cleveland Browns, making him the first in-season coaching change by the Steelers since the 1930s. 

In their first game without Canada, they put up 400 yards in a win against the Cincinnati Bengals and scored 30 points in two of their final eight games.

Along with calling out Canada's offense, Peterson also threw his support behind Kenny Pickett to remain the team's starting quarterback.

Peterson is set to be an unrestricted free agent this spring and it is not known if he will be re-signed by the team. 

The Steelers completely overhauled their offensive coaching staff by bringing in former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith to be their new offensive coordinator. 

They are mentioned as potential landing spots for quarterbacks Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, but the Steelers have not yet shown much interest in bringing in a potential replacement for Pickett.