When the Pittsburgh Steelers kick off their season against the Atlanta Falcons a week from today, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith will be returning to the place that fired him just eight months ago. You can bet that Smith is putting a little extra thought into this matchup. He seems to enjoy his new home in Pittsburgh, but being fired has to give at least a little extra motivation.
I got this idea from a listener of our The Depot Dive podcast, Austin in Atlanta. Is there any advantage for the Steelers having Arthur Smith against his old team? The answer isn’t straightforward or completely measurable, but let’s discuss it.
When Raheem Morris was hired as the new head coach, he hired a new staff, including defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake. In 2023, Smith had Ryan Nielsen as his defensive coordinator with the Falcons. They both are on record saying they want to play fast and aggressive defense, but their schemes aren’t exactly the same.
Nielsen featured more of a base 4-3 defense, while Lake has more of a 3-4 base with the current team. Looking through the Falcons’ roster, the starting defense is largely the same. Calais Campbell and Jeff Okudah are no longer on the roster, and they recently brought in Matt Judon and Justin Simmons, but it is mostly the same otherwise.
Smith will have some edge given his familiarity with the personnel, but will that outweigh the defense being familiar with his style of offense?
When the Steelers started training camp in July, Alex Kozora wrote an article stating that Smith’s offense was on full display. Smith likes to run the ball and uses a lot of 12 and 13 personnel. He uses pistol alignment and also likes to use fullbacks. The run scheme features wide-zone concepts more than gap/power.
If his offense is largely the same, that should be an advantage for the Falcons. I would think that their knowledge of his scheme is a stronger edge than Smith’s familiarity with the personnel.
Obviously, Smith would know that and will be looking to add some wrinkles to his game. If he knows the opponent has a strong idea of what his offense is running, there are ways to use that to his advantage. They can run different plays out of familiar formations and look to disguise things a little better.
The offense won’t be completely the same. A good coordinator tailors the scheme around the personnel. One of the big reasons the Falcons weren’t successful during Smith’s three-year tenure was their lack of a quarterback. Simply having a quarterback like Russell Wilson and potentially a package of plays for Justin Fields should change the dynamic a bit.
But in the end, the defense practiced against his offense day in and day out for three years. Players who have been around that long should have a great understanding of what he is trying to accomplish. That doesn’t necessarily mean it is easy to stop, but I think the advantage is more towards the Falcons rather than the Steelers in this case.
