PITTSBURGH — Kenny Pickett and George Pickens are the fruitful combination that the Steelers hope continues to show progress. Those two and the rest of the wide receivers got work in on rhythm and timing during practice on Friday. This is coming on the heels of Eddie Faulkner prioritizing details within the scheme after Matt Canada was fired.
“Just me in general, I’m a detailed guy,” Faulkner said. “That’s how I operate. That’s how I operated the running back room, so that’s how I’m operating anything that has to do with the offense or staff. To make sure we’re squeezing down, tightening up, closing all the space so when we go into a game the guys can execute and play fast. That’s the focus, and I feel like I can bring somebody to the table in that regard.”
So, that detail is a change, but implementing that approach is a little more complicated. Faulkner did two things to change that around, and players seem to love it, and they’re not wondering about things anymore. The ‘why’ of the offense does not have to be answered.
“The buy-in felt great,” Faulkner said. “I love the energy. I don’t think they can fake it that good, for it not to feel real, and it feels real. And so man, we just going to take that momentum and keep rolling with it.”
Faulker engineered a week where the meetings changed. The Steelers running backs and offensive linemen changed their meeting times on their own after the bye week. But Faulkner implemented something similar to the passing game with the quarterbacks and all of the eligibles in there. The receivers, Kenny Pickett, Faulkner, and Sullivan sat down, went through each area of the field an each potential situation, and picked out the plays they liked the most. Does it sound bare minimum? Yes, but when the communication was that off, guys were left wondering ‘why’ some things happened.
