Steelers' James Daniels On Challenge Of Facing Aaron Donald; 'He Knows Our Plays'

The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming fresh off a bye in Week 6, and while the team did manage to get some players healthy during the week off, there still seems to be a lot of anxiety and borderline pessimism in the media involving the team. Specifically towards the offense, which still will rely on Matt Canada to be calling the plays in Week 7 despite a very rough start to the 2023 season. 

While the offense won't be going through a large overhaul in play-calling or scheme after the bye, the team is getting several key pieces back. That includes Diontae Johnson, Anthony McFarland and Dan Moore Jr. The team was expected to get Pat Freiermuth back as well after only missing one game with a hamstring injury, but he had a set back during this week of practice. While the team got healthier on offense, will that be enough to improve the offense and get out of the basement and at least to the middle of the pack?

The Steelers Getting Key Pieces Back Could Be Key To Offense Overcoming Predictable Play-Calling?

In Week 7 the Steelers will be facing an underrated Los Angeles Rams team that is quietly getting on the right track now that they have Cooper Kupp back from injury. While the defense is going to have their hands full with an offense that can air it out and won't turn the ball over often, the offense again is going to be where all of Steeler Nation focuses their attention. 

The Steelers have yet to put any consistency together on offense from drive to drive, let alone week to week, and don't really have any identity as their run game hasn't lived up to the expectations the coaches spoke about before the season. Going against the Rams should set the Steelers up in a position to get the run game on track however, as the Rams are in the bottom half of the league defending against the run.

However, will any of this matter if Canada continues to call a vanilla and obvious set of plays? In speaking with the media after the bye, James Daniels was discussing what it is like to going against one of the elite players in this league in Aaron Donald. What Daniels had to say could be a little concerning, as he mentioned that Donald seems to know what the group will plan to do on offense. 

"I feel like the biggest thing is he's super smart, I think he understands, he knows our run combos. He knows when we say things, he knows our plays if we're lined up in a certain formation. He knows that stuff and you can see it. He's super quick and all that stuff, but he's reacting sometimes before the ball's even snapped. He's always standing up, looking around, looking at splits and stuff. He does a really good job reading that stuff."

Donald surely watches his fair share of film, as do most NFL players, but the fact that Daniels is saying he can pick up on their plays and how they're going to try and block him should be concerning. Not just for Canada as a play-caller, because we all know he needs to be criticized, but also for the blocking scheme that has been put in place. 

There has been a lot of talk about the offensive line underperforming, but could it be the scheme just isn't that good, or isn't the right fit for some of its players? The Steelers let go of both Kendrick Green and Kevin Dotson in trades (getting minimal value in return), and while both moves were justified, it appears they are still experiencing similar issues up front even though Dotson and Green are out of the building.

Whether the blame should be placed on Canada for his play-calling being too obvious and too easy to recognize (he deserves this blame regardless), or Offensive Line Coach, Pat Meyer deserves the blame for his blocking scheme not being effective, it is never a good thing when opposing defensive linemen are able to point out what you're doing. Especially when it ends up being someone like Donald who doesn't need any more advantages to wreak havoc on an offense.