The Steelers didn’t quite give Arthur Smith everything he needed last year to run his offense, but perhaps he has it now. Even his third-string unit looked pretty good in last night’s 31-25 victory, led by QB Skylar Thompson. Thompson was the longest-serving quarterback with Smith on the roster before they signed Logan Woodside. Following last night’s win, in which he threw three touchdowns, he credited his offensive coordinator above all else.
“It started with Arthur”, Thompson said of Smith, via the Steelers’ website. “Just getting the plays in efficiently and being able to operate. I thought we had a good rhythm and tempo in and out of the huddle all day. I think that starts everything off. It felt like we got into a good rhythm and guys were just clicking and were on the same page and guys were making plays”.
The Steelers hired Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator last year, thrusting Russell Wilson and Justin Fields upon him. While he reportedly butted heads a bit with Wilson, he evidently liked working with Fields. Pittsburgh opted to move on this season, signing Aaron Rodgers, of whom Smith is an even bigger fan.
Indeed, Smith called Rodgers “the perfect fit” for what he wants to do on offense, even while insisting that his offense is a collaborative process. And to that point, all of his players, including Rodgers and Thompson, have said that as well. He will make changes that the players suggest the next day, and lets receivers win their routes in manners that suit them.
But the preseason is the preseason for everybody, including the officials, as CeeDee Lamb found out. And it’s also the preseason for the coaches, for the stadium crew, and for everybody connected to conducting and broadcasting an NFL game. Arthur Smith had his offense running very smoothly, all things considered, and Thompson made a special note of that.
“Arthur did a great job of calling the game today. We had a lot of our base stuff in, stuff we’ve been running for a while, and got the guys to feel confident in and guys made plays”, he said of Smith.
What we didn’t see was Arthur Smith working with the first-team offense. Barring the offensive line and WR Roman Wilson, RB Kaleb Johnson. and TE Darnell Washington, we didn’t really see anybody that we’ll see much on Sundays. Rodgers wasn’t out there, nor were WRs DK Metcalf and Calvin Austin III, nor TEs Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith. At running back, Jaylen Warren didn’t play at all, and Kenneth Gainwell seemingly hardly played.
Prior to yesterday’s game, HC Mike Tomlin hinted that he might hold Rodgers out for the entire preseason. If that is the case, then we won’t see the full Arthur Smith offense until the regular season begins. Rodgers has publicly expressed a willingness to play if asked, but perhaps he would prefer not to. He did go through all of training camp with just one day off.
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