PICKETT = TEBOW?

Here’s an excerpt from my TribLive.com column about Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett: 

Pickett is scared to throw to the middle of the field. The receivers are there. 

Pickett’s accuracy is haphazard at best. He misfires constantly. If he ever gets pulled over for suspicion of DUI, Pickett had better hope they don’t ask him to prove his sobriety by passing a football in a straight line. He’d have to Uber to practice. 

Pickett escapes into trouble. His pocket presence is horrific, his sense of being pressured misguided. He often looks scared (that word again). 

Pickett is going to lose the huddle and locker room. That seems to be happening. Running back Najee Harris was perturbed after Sunday’s loss, correctly concluding, “Winning how we did, it’s not going to get us nowhere.” Wide receiver Diontae Johnson was visibly agitated on the sideline. 

Pickett’s incompetence is ruining the receivers’ seasons. George Pickens should get over 100 yards receiving every game. He had four catches for 38 yards vs. the Browns. He’s had 114 yards total in the last four games. 

Pickett is going backward, not forward. He shows no signs of improving. 

To read the entire column, click HERE. 

Pickett’s tenure with Pittsburgh is reminiscent of when Tim Tebow started for Denver in 2011. 

Tebow went 7-4 in the regular season, 1-1 in the playoffs. He famously beat the Steelers in overtime, 29-23, in the wild-card round. 

Tebow had a winning record. But he wasn’t a good quarterback. The Broncos knew he would never win enough. 

So, Denver ditched Tebow, got Peyton Manning, made two Super Bowls in four years and won Super Bowl 50 in 2016. 

The Steelers aren’t close to winning a playoff game, let alone the Super Bowl. The comparison is hardly exact.

But Pickett will never win enough. His 13-9 career NFL record flatters to deceive.