The Pittsburgh Steelers are nearly through Phase 3 of the offseason workout program with 10 sessions of voluntary OTA practices completed, and from the sound of things, the new-look offense is being carefully installed by new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. The vastly different group of personnel is one big thing to adjust to, but adding on top of it an entirely new playbook is enough to make even a veteran’s head spin a little. And the Steelers really don’t have that many veterans with them fielding one of the youngest offenses in the league.
Broderick Jones spoke to the media and talked about this while also predicting big things for the group once it all comes together.
“We really just been doing really basic stuff. Not nothing too complicated,” Jones said in a clip posted by 93.7 The Fan on X. “I feel like when we actually really open up the playbook and see what we can do as an offense, I feel like we’ll be a dangerous offense.”
#Steelers Broderick Jones feels like they’ll have a dangerous offense pic.twitter.com/b4epxj77z1
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) June 6, 2024
Expectations for the group will certainly be elevated, but a lot of change all at once can lead to growing pains. This is part of the reason why Smith would be drilling the fundamentals of his offense rather than jumping right into the 301, advanced-level course on his full playbook.
Justin Fields spoke about something similar after the first day of OTA practices a couple weeks ago.
“Arthur, I mean, he’s very meticulous in the way he explains the offense. Very detailed, and we’ve kind of been focusing on setting the foundation, not really getting too far ahead of ourselves,” Fields said in a video posted by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on YouTube. “Just setting that base and not working too far ahead, but also getting a good amount to where guys can learn their processes and know the why behind certain things.”
It is basic psychology. If the “why” is explained, people are way more likely to both understand and accept whatever change is presented to them. This was not Matt Canada’s forte, at least if you ask former Steelers TE Jace Sternberger.
So once they do get into the advanced concepts and start to open up the playbook, the hope is that it will be a much quicker process after drilling the fundamentals into every player’s head. And it helps to have several players who used to play for Smith, both in Tennessee and Atlanta, to coach up those around them. Slow and steady wins the race.
