by Aubrey Bruce, For New Pittsburgh Courier
These days, there is a sort of bipolar, schizophrenic vibe that seems to be prevalent among a certain segment of the black and gold population. Oftentimes they switch their allegiance at the drop of a hat, almost as if they are just changing shoes. According to many, the current frontrunner being elevated to deity status for the Steelers in the “bible” of black and gold is the Steelers’ rookie starting QB Kenny Pickett.
Pickett was chosen in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft to be groomed to become the alternate “savior” or “saver,” to be sacrificed on the cross of victory, allowing the recently acquired quarterback from the Chi-town Bears, Mitch Trubisky, to be removed from the sacrificial lamb position that he was placed in after winning the job of replacing the irreplaceable, retired Steelers almost shoo-in NFL Hall-of-Famer Ben Roethlisberger.
However, if you compare the performance of Trubisky to hygiene, he simply stunk the joint out. Enter Kenny Pickett.
Historically, there has been a learning curve that Pickett has been forced to overcome in order to achieve and sustain excellence. Pickett entered the Pitt football program in 2017 and exited as a five-year senior in 2021.
In 2018 during his sophomore season, he started for Pitt in the Sun Bowl against Stanford. Stanford prevailed by a score of 14-13. Pickett had a less-than-stellar performance, completing just 11 of 29 passes for 136 yards at a 4.3 yards-per-completion rate. His quarterback rating was also a minuscule 25.8. As far as bowl games are concerned, Pickett also had the opportunity to represent Pitt in the 2021 Peach Bowl.
However, he declined because the possibility of injury would lessen the value of his NFL “stock” even in light of the fact that one of the primary reasons he returned to Pitt as a fifth-year senior was based on the fact that he needed to sharpen his skills to become more NFL-ready.
Back to the present.
Currently, although the Steelers’ won-loss record remains below .500 at 5-7, the team has markedly improved during the previous four weeks, especially considering the fact that Pickett has committed zero turnovers. Also, considering that one of their victories was over the now-statuesque aging “pocket-back” Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Their other wins came at the expense of the New Orleans Saints, Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons; teams that aren’t exactly setting the NFL on fire.
The Steelers are building, not rebuilding because until the recent past there were very few leftovers in old mother Hubbard’s cupboard to rebuild with. The Steelers, as well as head coach Mike Tomlin, former GM Kevin Colbert and current GM Omar Khan, have done a masterful job at replacing key positions on offense and defense while simultaneously grooming players to provide quality depth at those positions.
However, while all this is transpiring, the pundits continually seem to be determined to transform Kenny Pickett into the imaginary knight in shining armor that will be the alchemist of time who possesses the formula to recreate the glory days of the storied and sacred past of the black and gold.
They make a concerted postgame effort to back Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin into a corner of idealistic and imaginary analysis regarding the evolution of his rookie quarterback.
During his postgame Steelers/Falcons press conference, when he was asked for the umpteenth time about the development of his quarterback, he seemed to respond as if he was slightly irritated.
“He’s growing and that’s a reasonable expectation,” Tomlin said. “He’s a smart guy. He’s got talent, he works at it. He’s gaining experience with each and every play and each and every day. And so I think it’s a reasonable discussion to acknowledge that he’s going to get better at fundamental things, taking care of the ball. He’s just growing in all areas. You know, you guys ask me that every week. You want me to come through it, (and explain) how he’s getting better. He’s getting better in all areas.”
Just because he is an adopted “Yinzer” as attending and playing at Pitt, his name is Kenny Pickett, he is not Harry Houdini or David Copperfield. He is also not a hero created by the late Stan Lee or Marvel comics. At present, Kenny Pickett is a vital part of the vehicle that is being designed to transport the Pittsburgh Steelers toward the destination of future greatness. However, make no mistake, he only represents one component of that machine.
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