‘Playing Patty Cake’: Merrill Hoge Blasts Steelers OL Play
The Steelers’ offensive line has fallen short of the line far too often for the group to ascend like they should have. So far, the team has little push up front in the run game, and Kenny Pickett is among the quarterbacks who are the most pressured in the NFL. It is not a pretty picture to paint, especially when the unit should have taken a step forward. Yet, the Steelers have to fix that before the offense gets moving.
Former Steelers running back and analyst Merrill Hoge broke down their play on the WDVE Morning Show, and he had some harsh criticism to lay upon that group. Hoge says that not only is Pickett not primarily to blame for the offense, but that the offensive line itself is the critical cause for why the offense is struggling so much.
“You’ve got people coming in there, they try and are playing patty cake, your wide receivers don’t block anybody, and your left guard, who was a beast in Philly, has just gotten destroyed,” Hoge said. “Your center’s destroyed, your tackles are getting destroyed, I mean across the board. This is as bad of a group as there is the National Football League right now. Unless they get better, you’ve got no shot at getting better. We can quit pointing fingers at Kenny Pickett because if that doesn’t get corrected, you’re not going to do anything offensively.”
That is a harsh but true reality that the Steelers face up front. Not one person is responsible; it is all the players, from the offensive line to the tight ends to the wide receivers. Maybe the Steelers are closer to getting the run game going and protecting Pickett; the team certainly thinks they are getting closer. But as of now, the team has shown no evidence of that.
According to EPA per play, the offensive line ranks the worst in the NFL after two weeks. They have to play better and get a run game to alleviate some of the pressure of a struggling young quarterback. But to this point, no sign will come true. As Hoge said, if it does not, the offense will likely keep struggling.
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