PATROBE, PA — Arthur Smith’s five-year experience as a play caller—two seasons with the Tennessee Titans from 2019 to 2020 and three with the Atlanta Falcons from 2021 to 2023—offered some insight into the kind of system the Pittsburgh Steelers might implement when they recruited him to breathe new life into their stalled offense.
However, there were still some unanswered concerns regarding how the new offensive coordinator would apply his theory to the Steelers players in a new environment. Some of the components that Smith and the team have highlighted throughout the first six practices of Saint Vincent College’s training camp are going to be mainstays in his offense.
Let’s look at a few things we’ve learned.
Creative use of tight ends
Based on his past performance, Smith appears to be one of the league’s most offensive coordinators who is kind to tight ends.
According to TruMedia, the Falcons lead the league last season with 32.2 plays per game under Smith, using either 12 players (one rushing back, two tight ends) or 13 players (one back, three tight ends). The Steelers have frequently used three tight ends at once, so it has been evident in camp.
What is most intriguing is how frequently Smith employs a flexible position group. The Steelers may occasionally just go big and play bully ball. In other instances, they have benefited from pre-snap shifts and moves.
To create the illusion of an empty field, they may, for instance, break the huddle with the running back spread wide and the three tight ends apart from the line of scrimmage. From there, they have two options: run a play (according to TruMedia, Atlanta led the league with 91 plays from empty formations last season) or move into a more conventional three-tight formation.
Other times, as we have seen frequently close to the goal line, they can use the pre-snap motions as a coverage indicator to put receiver George Pickens in a one-on-one position.
“Some weeks, you may like a more heavy game plan depending on who’s up and what you think gives you the advantage, especially early downs,” Smith said. “Some weeks you may be more wide open. It just depends on the matchup. … But it certainly gives you an advantage when you’ve got (tight ends) who can play multiple spots to change formations week in and week out or series to series.”
Under Smith, the tight ends for the Falcons also finished first in receiving yards (1,380) and fifth in receptions (114) in 2023. Pat Freiermuth, the most versatile tight end on the Steelers, should be happy about it. However, all of the attention being paid to the position ought to provide Darnell Washington the opportunity to showcase his adaptable skill set and take a more active role in the passing game. Additionally, it ought to provide Connor Heyward with opportunities to play in the backfield as an H-back and as a conventional tight end, separated from the line of scrimmage.
“You just don’t want to become obvious, right?” Smith said. “(You don’t want it to be) every time this guy’s in on this formation, we’re only doing that. So we need everybody involved. It will be week to week in how we want to scheme it up.”
Return of the fullback?
Despite the fullback’s decline in popularity in the NFL, Smith might include it more frequently in his system this season.
Almost no other club adopted the position as fully as the Falcons did. According to TruMedia, the Atlanta Falcons used two-back formations on over thirty percent of their offensive snaps last season, second only to the San Francisco 49ers (47 percent) and Miami Dolphins (44 percent). Keith Smith, the fullback, has been a consistent contributor for the last three seasons in Atlanta, playing between twenty-one and twenty-five percent of the offensive snaps.
A 2023 undrafted free agent, Jack Colletto signed with the 49ers before joining the Steelers practice squad in October. During camp, he has played fullback in most circumstances. In other formations, Heyward and Washington have lined up in the backfield, hands in the dirt.
Because Keith Smith was a core special-team player and had the roster flexibility to be active every week, according to Arthur Smith, he was able to establish himself as a valuable member of the Falcons. According to what is being said behind closed doors, Colletto’s effectiveness on special teams may decide whether or not he makes the 53-man roster and how much the Steelers feature the position.
“There’s a big picture involved,” Smith said. “You don’t live in fullback, I-formation, offset. It’s an advantage if you have that guy up, but that guy has also got to help in other spots.”
Lots of motion
Fans occasionally get enraged with Matt Canada’s pre-snap gestures and offensive adjustments. Smith’s offense will still heavily rely on this, but it will be executed with far more precision. Last season, the Steelers frequently revealed their proclivities through their formation and pre-snap shifts. They appear to be employing it more this year to throw opponents off guard.
Plenty of pistol and read-option
In an effort to put the quarterback in scenarios reminiscent of his Heisman Trophy-winning season at Oregon, Smith started implementing more pistol formations when the Falcons acquired Marcus Mariota prior to the 2022 campaign. In these formations, the running back is positioned directly behind the quarterback in a short shotgun.
The Steelers’ roster features multiple mobile quarterbacks, so that tendency is probably here to stay. It keeps the defense from picking up on the running back’s alignment, according to Smith.
“It just keeps the defense honest,” Smith said. “You don’t have tendencies. Sometimes maybe on early downs, (if the back is) offset to the tight end or offset away, it’s giving up tendencies. It allows you to do your whole package. Then, if you’ve got quarterbacks that can run, then you add the zone-read element to it and you’re making people defend them more.”
Throughout their careers, zone-read plays have proved successful for both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. Whoever prevails in this alleged “competition,” there should be a heavy dose of this concept in the Steelers’ offense.
“(Fields) is a dangerous football player with the ball in his hands,” Smith said. “So it allows you to get creative.”
OL intensity and playing style
Since the Steelers signed Smith, it has been clear that they intend to be a physical club that relies heavily on the running game. When Smith gave a presentation to the players to introduce himself and explain his plans to have the most physical offensive in the league, he made that very clear.
The edge that comes with that toughness was demonstrated on Wednesday when rookie lineman Mason McCormick and Troy Fautanu started a brawl at the camp in an effort to defend Fields.
“There’s a fine line,” Smith said. “When you’re pushed to the edge, when it comes to the quarterback, those guys care. So nobody wants anything that hurts the team, but those guys stood up for the quarterbacks. It’s a fine line. There’s a lot going on there. I love the way the line competes and that mentality.”
The Steelers have been executing a lot of outside zone runs, which has been a mainstay of Smith’s system in the past, and this will help the line perform as intended. They have, however, also demonstrated some gap-scheme work in padded practices. Broderick Jones, an athletic tackle, was one of the factors that worked well for the offense last year, and it is likely that he will be used in the offense later.
Steelers OC Arthur Smith on rookie center Zach Frazier: “The good thing is you don’t even notice him because he’s operating so cleanly. We’ve seen that the last couple of days and that’s a positive. He’s been stout in the middle.”
— Mike DeFabo (@MikeDeFabo) August 1, 2024
Commitment to getting Pickens the ball
During his tenure in Atlanta, Smith was heavily criticized for not writing enough plays to showcase his strongest playmakers. In a one-on-one interview with the Steelers website, Smith appeared to make reference to this issue when questioned about his experiences as head coach in Atlanta.
“There were some good lessons learned and some tough lessons,” Smith said. “It will help me here, especially with some of the young players that we have and how you fit the offense and try to play to those young guys’ strengths.”
Making the most of Pickens’ special skill set ought to be high on the list of priorities. It is evident from the first six workouts how frequently the Steelers have targeted the third-year receiver, particularly in the vicinity of the red zone. It was expected that they would set up a play for Pickens, and on Thursday, they did, capping off the first-team offense’s two-minute drill with a score.
“I was fired up to see him make a play at the end of the two-minute drive,” Smith said. “His growth and development — George is a very instinctive football player. He sees the game well, and (there are) different ways to use George. I’ve really so far enjoyed working with George. And he’s producing. He’s a critical part of our offense.”
(Photo: Barry Reeger / USA Today)
