The Pittsburgh Steelers’ special teams under Danny Smith are growing increasingly bold. While they managed to extend their streak of big plays to five games, they are getting greedy. The Washington Commanders gifted them with two muffed punts, one of which they recovered. And they very nearly pulled off a fake punt of their own.
The Steelers faced some criticism for the timing, early in the game, while deep in their own end. HC Mike Tomlin stands by the decision vociferously, however, defending the process and not the outcome. His former DL, Chris Hoke, agrees with his stance, explaining how it works.
“You’re saying, ‘If they line up in this look, we’re going to go for it’, so it doesn’t matter where you are on the field”, Hoke said of the Steelers’ decision to attempt a fake punt from their own 15-yard line. “They gave them that look. And it should have worked. The ball was right in [James] Pierre’s hands. He just dropped it”.
“I don’t think it was a bad call because it would have been absolutely brilliant, and Danny Smith would be all over TikTok if they would have made that catch”. Hoke added while commenting on the KDKA Steelers Extra Point postgame show.
Now, Danny Smith is 71 years old and has no time for social media. He said the only time he sees anything about himself is when his Steelers players show him. And they need to have it loaded and ready to go or he insists he doesn’t have time for it. And yes, he also said that he has turned down offers for chewing-gum sponsors.
Danny Smith’s special teams units have blocked a punt, two field goals, and an extra point that was incorrectly flagged for a penalty. The Steelers also have a punt-return touchdown under his watch this year. Aside from that, K Chris Boswell and P Corliss Waitman are also playing great. And they pulled Waitman in after they lost their punter in Week 1.
Steelers fans are only recently coming to embrace Danny Smith after calling for his firing for years. As it turns out, he only needed more investment and buy-in. Because now he has a unit that is capable of making a significant difference in any game the Steelers play.
I’m not exactly an expert on TikTok and how the NFL fan base intersects with it, but I suppose a ballsy fake punt has a chance of going viral. And Tomlin and Hoke are right about the Steelers making the right call. They got the look on a play they rehearsed, and the play was there. All the execution necessary except for the catch was there.
And if another team gives the Steelers the same look, they should let Miles Killebrew throw to James Pierre again.
