The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense hasn’t been good enough over the past few years. Saying it’s been bad would be an understatement because there were times when it looked absolutely putrid. However, it seems the Steelers made strides this offseason toward rectifying that. The most impactful change may end up being Arthur Smith as the team’s new offensive coordinator. He’s had real success in that role in the past, even if he struggled as a head coach. It seems he’s intent on bettering the Steelers offense, with some recent comments from Justin Fields giving a glimpse into Smith’s coaching mindset.
In a video from the team’s YouTube channel, Fields was asked why some offensive players were seen running on the field after plays.
“We try to minimize those pre-snap penalties as much as possible, stuff that we can control,” Fields said. “When it comes to those things, pre-snap penalties like false starts, guys suffer things. For stuff like motions, we try to minimize that as much as possible. At the end of the day, it sounds old-fashioned, but if you jump offsides or you have a little hiccup before the play even starts, everyone has to run a lap, no matter who you are.”
That certainly adds a new wrinkle to practices and should be interesting to monitor going forward. There was an example today with Broderick Jones, who seemed to tweak his ankle but appeared fine when he ran a lap soon after. It is a little old-school, but if it helps the Steelers commit fewer penalties on offense this year, it’s worth it.
Smith’s system is new for these most of the players so making sure everyone is jelling correctly is important. Smith’s offense will likely include a lot of motion, and having the timing down on those plays will be crucial. If the players can’t get out of their own way, then the offense will be just as bad as it’s been in the past.
Either the Steelers will commit fewer pre-snap penalties this year or they’ll have the most conditioned team in the NFL. Both options should yield positive results. We’ll see over the coming days how players adjust to this Smith wrinkle, and whether it’s the younger or older players who struggle with it more. The Steelers’ offense is mostly younger talent, so instilling good habits in them now is important. Smith has received nothing but praise from players so far and should continue to help this offense grow.
