1. Can Kenny Pickett infuse some life into the Steelers offense?
The offensive line and Matt Canada's play calling both have been serious problems for the Steelers this year and in the past. While there's no doubt the team needs these things to improve, they cannot be completely to blame for the Steelers' struggles on the offensive side of the ball. Kenny Pickett needs to play better, and there is no way to sugarcoat that.
Kenny Pickett was drafted to be the face of the franchise for the Steelers, and become their franchise quarterback. Everyone knew he wasn't going to step in right away and succeed, but he gradually got better as the year went along last year and showed some real promise. Fast forward to this preseason, and Pickett truly looked to be showing serious signs of development. However, he has not shown those same signs thus far this season.
While he has made some nice throws and shown some hints of the player the team hopes he can become, he has missed too many throws, made too many poor decisions, and locked onto receivers far too often. In a good matchup against the Raiders, Pickett needs to step up his play for Pittsburgh, cut down on the mistakes, and be much better than he has been. As someone who doesn't possess the most gifted raw tools, the mental side of his game must be better.
Despite saying all of this, this is not to say Pickett can't do this. I believe has the ability, poise, and mental makeup to be an NFL quarterback, but he hasn't shown that consistently, and has to go out and perform this week, in order to keep the Steelers in the thick of things in the AFC and to inspire confidence in the fans and his teammates.
It's not all his fault as losing Johnson to injury, poor offensive line play, and poor play-calling are all factors as well, but there is no doubt there is plenty of blame on his shoulders as well.
These questions are ones the Steelers must answer in Week 3, and in order to come away with a win, likely must answer at least 2 of these questions. The Raiders will be an interesting test for Pittsburgh, and a win could help this team click and gain some momentum. It remains to be seen how they will fare, and come Sunday night each of these things will be on full display.