When it comes to praise for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett, fellow Pitt alum Dave Wannstedt isn’t holding back.
The former NFL and Pitt Panthers head coach is now a football analyst with the Fox family of networks. He joined FS1’s Colin Cowherd for a guest spot on Cowherd’s “Volume” podcast this week and didn’t hold back when it came to evaluating Pickett heading into his second NFL season.
Even in comparison to future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger.
“He’s just such a winner and such a competitor,” Wannstedt said. “Maybe his arm strength isn’t Ben Roethlisberger’s, but I think the guy is probably more athletic. He’s played in more big games at this point than Ben did coming out of college. Ben did not play at the level that Kenny Pickett did for four years against Division I schools and beat some really good opponents. So I think all that stuff was part of him, and he’s very confident.”
Well, I struggle to think of anyone who came out of college with more confidence than Roethlisberger, but yes, Pickett is certainly cool in the spotlight.
Let’s pause for a moment here and give major kudos to Wannstedt for going full-yinzer with his “Rossintberger” pronunciation of Big Ben’s last name. That takes me back to my Steelers postgame call-in show days with Charlie Batch on WDVE.
Caller: “Hey, Stan. Hey, Charlie.”
Me: “That’s Charlie. But I’m not Stan.”
Caller: “Oh, sorry. Hey, Guy. Anyways, first-time caller, here. So, what do yinz think abaht dat Rossintberger takin’ too many sacks!? I think they should keep it in on the grahnd and pahnd the defense with LayVeOn Bell more. Thanks. I’ll hang up and listen.”
Now, as far as Wannstedt’s comparisons between “Rossintberger” and Pickett, they sounded a little talk show-caller-esque as well.
The arm strength? Agreed there. Ben had a bigger arm, although according to many observers around Saint Vincent College, Pickett is throwing with a little more heat than he did his rookie year.
But let’s get to some of Wannstedt’s other comps.
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Sure, Pitt played a Power 5 schedule in the ACC. Roethlisberger didn’t (but it was D-1) at Miami (Ohio). Did it matter, though? Roethlisberger’s 14 straight NFL victories (one postseason) as a starter in his rookie season suggest that it did not.
And more athletic than Big Ben? Eh, I guess it’s a matter of how we define athleticism. Pickett may have more pure foot speed, and he may be able to pick up more yards than Roethlisberger did as a rookie when breaking the pocket — and certainly later in his career.
But Roethlisberger’s ability to move within the pocket, shed would-be tacklers, and throw on the move while staying behind the line of scrimmage will probably go down as his most identifiable attribute. Especially when he was in his early 20s.
Wannstedt wasn’t done there. Cowherd initially asked Wannstedt, “What do you think Mike Tomlin and that coaching staff think of Kenny Pickett heading into Year 2?”
Wannstedt replied that he “talked to a guy” that morning who was gushing about the 14,000 people who were at Latrobe Memorial Stadium for the team’s Friday night practice.
“There is an excitement for this team that they haven’t had in years, in my opinion. And I think it all starts with Kenny Pickett,” Wannstedt proclaimed.
“I talked to a guy this morning, and they’re expecting championships. This is not, ‘Pickett is good enough to get to the playoffs as long we play good defense and run the ball.’ No. They see Kenny Pickett as a Super Bowl-type quarterback for them.”
When Wannstedt said, “They see Kenny as a Super Bowl-type quarterback,” he didn’t clarify if this guy he was talking to is a member of the Steelers organization or just one of his buddies who moved to Westmoreland County. But Cowherd did ask what “Tomlin and that coaching staff” think of Pickett, not Wanny’s old pals from Baldwin.
So, I’m going to assume the source in question is at least loosely tied to the organization.
And either way, there shouldn’t be a difference, right? If the fans think that, great. But if the organization doesn’t think he was a Super Bowl-caliber guy, then they never should’ve taken him in the first round of the draft.
At this point, though, I’d settle for a playoff win for the first time since 2016, then start thinking about Super Bowl possibilities down the road.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
Categories: Pitt | Sports | Steelers/NFL | Breakfast With Benz | Tim Benz Columns
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August 10, 2023 at 01:11AM
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