Tall or Small: Matt Canada's Offense Not Putting Limits on Steelers Wide Receivers
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers offense looks different this year. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada is adding his personal touch to the playbook, and what he's building a gameplan for the players in his locker room.
When you look at the practice field watching the Steelers, you notice there's four taller wide receivers. Chase Claypool, George Pickens, Miles Boykin and Cody White standout compared to the looks of Calvin Austin, Gunner Olszewski and even Diontae Johnson.
Once the play is happening, though, you realize the gameplan isn't for the bigger guys to play different. It's no longer a "send Claypool down the sideline" playbook. It's built for the receiver style Pittsburgh has collected over the last four years.
"That's one of the main things I saw right off of it. The offense itself compliments us smaller guys, quicker guys, and also the bigger guys as well - coming across the middle, using the motions. The play off of it," rookie receiver Calvin Austin said. "I can tell from day one that this offense was going to be one that we can definitely thrive in."
That's because it doesn't limit anyone to any certain position. In years past, it was easy to know where Johnson and Claypool would be lined up, and when JuJu Smith-Schuster was healthy, he was in the slot. This season, everyone plays everywhere.
"It's to the point now where coaches send us in with certain people. We get to pick whatever position we're in, because we have to learn the whole offense, and because we do have a guy like Chase who can play outside but can also come inside. George is another guy that's big, can go outside but can come inside," Austin said. "Me and the other slot guys, or 'slot body types' but can play outside as well. It makes it that much easier and allows everybody to get different types of routes or concepts, and it makes it very difficult for a defense."
And guys are making plays. It seems players under six-foot are making big man catches, and Pickens and Claypool are making plays with the ball in their hands.
"You can tell with our group alone, we feed off each other. All the guys in the room are capable of, if we have a return route, getting in and out of the breaks, we all are capable of doing that efficiently," Austin said. "It makes it when you're watching someone else, 'Okay, I see what he's doing. Let me detail that more.' Having everyone having that same skill set allows us to grow more and more because we all know what we need to do and how it should look."
Austin highlighted a sideline catch he made over two defenders as an example of smaller guys playing big, followed by Olszewski making a play literally the following down.
"I've just seen everybody balling," Austin said.
Canada's offense is still in the works, but the Steelers receivers seem to fit the idea. Just what the second-year OC was looking for.
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