Through two preseason games, it seems like some people are already giving up on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense. Granted, the offense has looked terrible, but Kenny Pickett looked like Tom Brady in the preseason last year. How’d that translate to the regular season? It’s fair to be concerned, but to totally write the Steelers off seems a little rash. Former NFL offensive lineman Alex Boone doesn’t seem to believe that, though, as he recently tore Arthur Smith’s offense apart.
On a recent episode of his podcast, The O-Line Committee, Boone, who played in the NFL from 2009 to 202o, did not hold back when describing what he thinks of the Steelers’ offense.
“Offenses that just line up and go, ‘We’re gonna kick the shit out of you,’ that don’t work anymore,” Boone said. “These [defensive tackles] can rush the passer now, and they’re 400 pounds. You need a little bit of trickery. You need a little bit of, ‘Hey, this is who we are. We’re gonna explode to bunch right.’
“I don’t see anything. I see a little wide zone this way, a little wide zone that way, run a little bit of stick route. Arthur Smith, your dad owns FedEx, wake the fuck up and do something.”
Seems like Boone isn’t a fan of Smith’s offense. He’s got a point that the Steelers’ offense hasn’t been very creative so far, but Smith did they say that they weren’t using the full scheme yet with Russell Wilson due to the calf injury he suffered early in training camp. Maybe that’s why the offense looked boring and plain.
Saying that Smith’s style of offense won’t work in today’s NFL is a bold take, though. It wasn’t that long ago when Smith’s offense helped the Tennessee Titans reach the playoffs. You could argue that they had Derrick Henry, which made it easier to play that style, but the Steelers are better than that Titans team in some areas as well.
There are other examples of tough, physical offenses succeeding recently as well. The Buffalo Bills’ offense was at its best last year when they were running the football. Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, but the Bills only began to make their run to the playoffs when they started embracing an offense that ran the ball more.
It’s also hard to say that Smith’s offense doesn’t utilize trickery. If Justin Fields were the starter, it’s probably safe to say that the Steelers’ rushing attack would be tougher to predict. Maybe there will be more motion involved in the offense. Smith made it a point during training camp to make sure players were cutting back on pre-snap penalties because of all the motion he uses, so that makes it seem like it will be more common than it has been.
Boone’s scathing critique of Smith’s offense is fair to a point, but saying that he isn’t doing anything seems a little harsh. If the Steelers looked this bad through two regular season games, the criticism would probably be more warranted, but it’s the preseason. No one wants their offense to look terrible, but it also shouldn’t create panic. There’s still one game left, too, so maybe Smith and the starters will prove Boone wrong.
