Aaron Rodgers and the amount of freedom he will have in the Steelers’ offense has been a mainstay topic recently. Especially in light of reports of last season’s relationship between OC Arthur Smith and QB Russell Wilson, the notion has attracted considerable attention. For most, though, it defies belief to sign Rodgers and prevent him from using his greatest weapon: his knowledge.
“I’m gonna come at you from experience as a player, and a coach, and a head coach, and a coordinator — at every level,” former Steelers RB Merril Hoge said on the DVE Morning Show recently. “When you have a guy like Aaron Rodgers, I personally believe it’s insanity not to give the reins and trust the guy who’s inside those white lines, who understands and feels the game, knows the game, and is gonna get us in the best possible position.”
This wouldn’t be such a story were it not for accounts of last season, which may be exaggerated. Mike DeFabo recently wrote, for example, “It’s not that Smith was completely opposed to Wilson making changes or told him he wasn’t allowed to do so, but there were times the OC wanted the QB to run the play as called.” He also emphasized that he anticipates Smith will have more respect for Rodgers in that regard.
In the meantime, Rodgers is just picking up Smith’s offense as we go. DeFabo also wrote that the two plan to meet to work through the offense over the break. I’m sure they have already discussed the topic of audibles, or will do so soon.
Aaron Rodgers is inarguably one of the great quarterbacks of his era, before and after the snap. While he has put up Hall of Fame numbers, many credit his knowledge of the game for much of his greatness. He and Steelers HC Mike Tomlin have had a battle of wits or two over the years. It just strains credulity to think the Steelers would sign him and not exploit his greatest asset.
“When I call a play as a coordinator, I’m giving you a play based on their tendencies, our tendencies, that I think is gonna be successful,” Hoge said.
And sometimes, you just know it’s not going to work once they get to the line. The willingness to trust a quarterback to fix that is partly about ego, he says. But he also doesn’t believe Arthur Smith is the type to allow ego to overrule an Aaron Rodgers.
“That’s a massive advantage for your team, that your quarterback knows, ‘Hey, this ain’t gonna work. We’ve got to get into this,’” he said.
It’s something that Rodgers has done a lot over the years, make no mistake. Just because Russell Wilson might have had one type of relationship doesn’t mean Rodgers’ will be similar.
Earlier this offseason, Smith addressed that backstory, calling it a “fantastical narrative.” He also acknowledged that he built this offense with Aaron Rodgers in mind. They didn’t know with absolute certainty that he would sign, but they respected him enough to plan for it, anyway.
Recommended for you