WHAT WE LEARNED: NFL WEEK 11

BY ADAM GREENE

There was some big news to break Tuesday morning. Let’s talk about it.

OH, CANADA

Well, the unbelievable happened. Tuesday morning we all woke up and felt a great disturbance in the force, as if millions of Yinzers cried out in delight, never to be silenced again. Yes, Mike Tomlin did something I never believed he’d do for a second, caved to pressure and sent offensive coordinator Matt Canada, his handpicked guy, out the door with a boot print on his backside.

While no one, and I mean NO ONE, expected Tomlin to load Canada up into the nearest trebuchet and pull the lever, sending him arcing over the hills into an enemy encampment, it was much deserved. Canada is, without question, the worst offensive coordinator in NFL history. Pittsburgh’s offense has been historically bad in his three years at the helm and never once, in that span, amassed 400 yards. That is 58 NFL games, with multiple quarterbacks including one, Ben Roethlisberger, who will be a first ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer. Those 58 games without hitting 400 yards is the second longest streak like that in NFL history.

The Steelers, at 6-4, are the first team in NFL history to gain fewer yards than their opponent in every game and still have a winning record.

“I did not come to this decision lightly,” Tomlin said. “It’s my role to absorb and protect those that I work with. This doesn’t feel like that. I’m not assigning blame or deflecting in any way. … Just rest assured that this decision was not taken lightly. I’ve got a lot of respect for Matt personally and professionally.”

Now, one would argue, and I have, that Tomlin should have come to this decision last offseason when every single person rooting for the Steelers, or just likes to watch entertaining football, thought that Canada should have been sent packing. Instead, Tomlin gleefully announced that Canada would be returning and every single Steeler fan in my life (and there are many) rended their garments and gnashed their teeth.

This was a disaster, one that quite possibly has ruined Kenny Pickett’s NFL career. He’s certainly regressed and, unless he can turn it around with former quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan calling plays, he’ll be getting some real competition next season. Pickett has seven games to basically prove none of it was on him, that Canada was the problem, if he’s going to have any future in the Steel City.

The good news for Pittsburgh is, there’s a natural fit for a perfect offense and his name is Brian Griese, QB coach of the San Francisco 49ers. He’s the first call I’d make as soon as it’s legal to do so. The Kyle Shanahan/Mike McDaniel offense is quarterback friendly to say the least and the Steelers have the talent to run it.

If Pickett isn’t the guy, the better news is, there will be a ton of good quarterbacks available, either in the draft or in trades this offseason. There’s a real chance that the Chicago Bears, seeing as how they hold the Carolina Panthers’ top pick, and therefore should own the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, will look to reboot completely, firing Matt Eberflus (and that could happen any day) and trading away Justin Fields, who has proven he’s a quality starter in the NFL.

The Arizona Cardinals, who could be picking in the Top Five as well, might want to unload Kyler Murray. There’s been plenty of speculation, albeit completely fanciful, that Murray is on Pittsburgh’s radar.

There are, legitimately, seven quarterbacks that could go in the first two rounds of next April’s draft and one of those could easily fall to the Steelers where they will likely select in either round. And that’s not to cast Pickett into the trash. It’s just to maybe bring in some competition and maybe a replacement like a Spencer Rattler, Bo Nix or Michael Penix, Jr. in the second round.

Of course, there’s plenty of season left and the Steelers are in great shape to make the playoffs. If the playoffs started today (and we’ll get into that next), Pittsburgh would hold down the seventh seed and face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round.

Can they hold onto that spot?

They have a VERY friendly schedule with which to do it. They play the Cincinnati Bengals twice over the final seven weeks, both games without Joe Burrow, obviously, since he’s out for the season. They host the Arizona Cardinals, who are terrible and the New England Patriots, who are, at best, the second worst team in the league after that. Then, they play at the Indianapolis Colts, who are starting their own backup QB, before finishing up at the overrated Seattle Seahawks, then a road game at the Baltimore Ravens, who might be resting starters having already secured home field.

There are easily 10 wins there. Maybe even 11. And that probably would have happened even with Canada calling plays, so it’s good they shoved him out the airlock when they did.

As for success in the playoffs? I can’t see it happening. All four potential AFC division winners would crush the Steelers by 30, but, still, there’ll be hope for the future. Tomlin just can’t hire one of his cronies this time. He’s got to find the actual best guy for the job. And that’s Brian Griese.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY

Alright, here’s the fun part.

AFC

1. Baltimore Raves 8-3

2. Kansas City Chiefs 7-3

3. Jacksonville Jaguars 7-3

4. Miami Dolphins 7-3

5. Cleveland Browns 7-3

6. Houston Texas 6-4

7. Pittsburgh Steelers 6-4

In the hunt: Buffalo Bills (6-5), Indianapolis Colts (5-5), Denver Broncos (5-5), Cincinnati Bengals (5-5), Las Vegas Raiders (5-6), Los Angeles Chargers (4-6).

Now, realistically, there’s only so many teams “in the hunt” that have a legitimate shot here. I feel as if the Bills are going to bump someone out of the top seven in the next week or two. Denver too is not only on an upswing, they are downright hot at this point, so if you’re looking at those Wild Card spots, you have to be thinking about who Buffalo and the Broncos will be replacing.

NFC

1. Philadelphia Eagles 9-1

2. Detroit Lions 8-2

3. San Francisco 49ers 7-3

4. New Orleans Saints 5-5

5. Dallas Cowboys 7-3

6. Seattle Seahawks 6-4

7. Minnesota Vikings 6-5

In the hunt: Green Bay Packers (4-6), Los Angeles Rams (4-6), Atlanta Falcons (4-6), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6), Washington Commanders (4-7).

Again, being realistic here, the only NFC South team making the playoffs is the one winning the division. Dallas likely has the fifth seed nailed down, so it’s six and seven that are up for grabs with four teams vying for it. All have deficiencies, but if I was making a bet right now, I’d say the Rams end up at six and the Seahawks seven, but we’ve got two months to go before we find out for sure. The Packers do have a tiebreaker over Los Angeles as of right now, but LA swept the Seahawks. It’s going to all come down to the final weeks of the season.

MONTREAL ALOUETTES ARE YOUR GREY CUP CHAMPIONS

I know this isn’t the NFL, but here’s where I get to wrap up my minor league football coverage for the year. The Montreal Alouettes, in spite of being a seven-point underdog to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, triumphed in a 28-24 victory to claim their eighth Grey Cup in team history. Cody Fajardo, who appeared to be auditioning for the USFL (or NAFL now) all season had the game of his life, going 21 of 26 passing for 290 yards, three touchdowns and a pick in the win. Normally, he leads the team in rushing, but this time he just tossed dimes, scrambling only twice. He threw six completed passes to Austin Mack for 103 yards and a score. Tyson Philpot had six grabs as well for 63 yards and a TD. Cole Spieker caught three balls for 62 yards and a touchdown. William Stanback rushed nine times for 68 yards and a TD. The defense sacked Zach Collaros four times and picked him off once.

It was the second upset win in a row for Montreal, as they knocked off the heavily favored Toronto Argonauts, who had tied the 1989 Edmonton Elks for the best regular season record in CFL history, 38-17 the week before.

For me, it put my final tally at 61-24 straight up and 45-40 against the spread.

If you look at my final USFL marks (29-14 straight up, 26-17 against the spread) and the XFL (22-21 straight up, 18-25 against the spread), it was a spring/summer football season where I got better as the leagues and games improved. Though I did go 1-2 in the championship games. Luckily for me, the XFL and USFL have merged into the North American Football League, so it’ll be a little easier to manage next season.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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