The Pittsburgh Steelers underwent a number of changes this season on the field, but off the field, the team hired Arthur Smith to take over as offensive coordinator and play-caller. After two-plus seasons of Matt Canada as the team’s offensive coordinator, Smith represents a welcome change for the Steelers, and Calvin Austin III talked about the changes Smith has implemented to the Steelers offense.
“I’d say more personnel groupings, more traditional, I would say. But definitely want to get in and out of different personnel, using all the weapons and everything, and I think it’s one that’ll continue to have the defense guessing,” Austin said via Steelers.com.
With a wide receiver who lost Diontae Johnson this offseason, Austin could play a bigger role for the Steelers. With Smith wanting to use “all the weapons” at his disposal, Austin’s speed could come into play, and he could be used to try to create explosive plays in the passing game.
The increase in personnel groupings doesn’t come as much of a surprise, as Smith ran a number of different ones during his time as the play-caller for the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons, which should serve to benefit the Steelers. Even without a clear-cut No. 2 wideout in the offense right now, the Steelers have depth, and the ability to mix and match at the receiver position, and using different groupings should allow them to do so. It’ll also allow for the usage of multiple tight ends, a position where the Steelers have plenty of depth, with Pat Freiermuth, Darnell Washington, Connor Heyward, and MyCole Pruitt expected to play a role this season.
It also makes the Steelers more difficult to gameplan against, something they weren’t with Canada calling the shots. Former NFL general manager Michael Lombardi praised Smith for his ability to gameplan against certain opponents. By using multiple different personnel, Smith can keep defenses on their toes. Not only will he throw different looks at them week-to-week to make things harder, but he can do so throughout the game, as well.
It’s going to be fun to see how the offense looks when the Steelers hit training camp and the preseason, and things get a little bit more serious. The early returns have been positive, and it sounds as if Smith is gelling with the guys on offense. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if the Steelers added another weapon to the wide receiver room to strengthen it, and that should only make things easier for Smith and the offense.
