TIOPS NOTEBOOK BUZZ
Supporting Matt Canada is going to be a constant losing battle for head coach Mike Tomlin from a perception standpoint. Tomlin, though, surely isn’t losing sleep with Steelers fans erupting in a frenzy Monday night in the 4th quarter of the Pittsburgh Steelers 26-22 win over the Cleveland Browns with ‘Fire Canada’ chants. It won’t be the last ‘Fire Canada’ chants in a season that’s going to have a lot of downs on the offensive side. The tipping point Monday night was the 3rd and 1 call late in the 4th quarter that was so badly called and executed that the immediate reaction from analyst Troy Aikman was ‘that didn’t fool anyone’. The call is viewed as being so bad that some in the media like the Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittapaldo called it one of worst calls ‘ever’ in team history.
“Man I appreciate their passion, I share their passion,” Tomlin said Tuesday of Steelers fans. “We all do. We love our fans. They inspire us, they challenge us. It’s an awesome relationship. — That said at least Tomlin didn’t sugar coat the obvious struggles with the offense — “We have to get our mojo back,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got to get that mojo that we had in the preseason where we’re playing fast and fluid with confidence individually and collectively. We’ve lost that, to be blunt, in the last several weeks. We’re not getting the type of fluidity that we want in our starts.”
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Rumblings, Musings, Opinions: 
Count me among the small crowd that feels Kenny Pickett has been the bigger problem than the offensive coordinator through two games. Still, it doesn’t excuse the organization for all of the coaches in the world, this is the guy they handed the keys too, not only for Ben Roethlisberger’s final NFL season, but now in the hands of your first-round pick who’s clearly showing he might not be the first-round franchise level quarterback that former GM Kevin Colbert thought Pickett was…….
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Frustrating part is you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you truly wanted to find a great offensive mind as OC, you don’t need to hire a search firm to find one. The Rooney operation just constantly steps on their own feet that they think they’re smarter than others with their hiring process/beliefs…….Want to see more uproar from the fan base? Don’t be surprised to hear in the coming months that Art Rooney II quietly extended Canada’s contract through the To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
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The Steelers in the off-season of committing to at least another year of Matt Canada just always seemed to be a situation of delaying the inevitable. If Pickett never finds that next level by the end of this season, it’s a disastrous situation for the Steelers in that they’ll be entering year three of the Pickett era with doubts that he’s the guy long-term, but it would still be too early to move on. You’d have to try another OC. Matt Canada will eventually be the fall guy for Kenny Pickett and the Steelers will cross their fingers that a new OC can fix him. That’s where we’re probably eventually headed after this season. Problem is year two and year three of Kenny Pickett is not supposed to be experimental years. That was supposed to be year one……….
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Steelers (1-1) on the road have opened up as 1.5 point favorites vs the 
Raiders (1-1) for Sunday night Football. …………
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The Penguins today announced their official training camp roster of 58 players…………
Broadcasting changes for 2023-2024 include Josh Getzoff becoming official in taking over as play-by-play announcer for Sportsnet Pittsburgh, while Hailey Hunter who recently covered the PGA Tour will be the new rink side reporter as Dan Potash moves full-time into the lead-studio analyst role. What’s not expected is the hiring of a full-time color analyst to replace Bob Errey. There’s been a desire from those calling the shots to have a revolving door of color analysts’ next to Getzoff. One or two with connections to the Penguins, Colby Armstrong a strong candidate, while hiring an outsider for select games is also under consideration. There’s been a strong desire to improve the pre and post-game coverage of the team, sources say. To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
