In Arthur Smith’s first six games, the Pittsburgh Steelers rank 20th in points per game and 26th in yards. For the passing game specifically, they rank 28th in the league. But they also have the fourth-fewest turnovers, the fifth-highest drive time, and rank 13th in scoring drives.
So what does that tell us about the style Smith is employing in his first go-around with the Steelers? Well, it’s hard to answer that for various reasons, not the least of which is the unsettled quarterback situation. However, it is notable that Smith volunteered the “C” word when speaking to reporters on Thursday.
“You have big-picture strategies. You’re going to sacrifice certain things”, Arthur Smith said via the Steelers’ media department. “You are playing a couple of situational games too, and some people call it too conservative, whatever, but it worked for us”.
Smith referred to examples like running down inside the five with a victory assured and not scoring. That’s a layup example, though, and anybody with basic math skills should figure that out. “We’re not going to put the defense out there. I don’t think that’s smart. Great if your points per game goes up, but that’s dumb football”, he said.
There are plenty of other instances in which the conservativism of Smith’s offense has shown up, though. The frequency with which they run the football on 3rd and long is one of them, which is not ideal. He talks about padding stats, but sometimes you have to make plays.
However, one has to wonder how conservative Arthur Smith is relative to the circumstances. While he clearly loves Justin Fields as a person and a player, is he limiting the passing game accordingly? I’m willing to bet we see fewer 3rd-and-long runs, particularly outside of field goal range, with Russell Wilson.
The Steelers have the second-highest run-pass ratio in the NFL behind only the Baltimore Ravens, not atypical for Arthur Smith. They are one of seven teams currently running more than they are throwing, without factoring in scrambles. In comparison, the Steelers threw the ball 53.3 percent of the time last season.
Some have argued that it is not Smith but rather Mike Tomlin who is keeping the Steelers’ offense conservative. The move from Justin Fields to Russell Wilson might lend credence to that theory if they start putting the ball in the air more.
Listening to Arthur Smith talk, it didn’t sound like he was in any kind of hurry to move on from Fields. But if the conservatism of the first six weeks came from Tomlin, does he want to be more aggressive? There is a reason the Steelers signed Russell Wilson. He has a championship resume and Hall of Fame passing numbers. Tomlin threw the ball all over the yard with Ben Roethlisberger; maybe he thinks they can manage more of that now.
