So far, the pairing between Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers is off to a good start, as the two have spoken highly of each other and have mutual respect due to their experiences in the NFL.
On paper, the pairing makes some sense as both have plenty of familiarity in the Shanahan scheme, and have similar offensive philosophies. Yet The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue — during an appearance on “NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal” — stated that Smith is a loser this offseason since the longtime play caller will need to pull from a different set of knowledge and concepts to work with Rodgers.
“The way that this offense comes together is one of the stories of the offseason, in my opinion, because Arthur Smith is going to have to pull from a different set of knowledge, a different set of concepts than he previously has preferred that really run heavy, play-action, all of those types of things,” Rodrigue said, calling Smith a loser this offseason with the Rodgers addition, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “Whereas Aaron Rogers likes to change the play at the line of scrimmage. He likes to drop back, he likes to have the defense in front of him. He likes to understand and see where all of the little chess machinations are coming from.
“And I think both of those things are fine. It’s just melding them together is what’s going to be super interesting to me. And I am waiting with breath that is bated is to see what this version of the Steelers look[s] like.”
There’s been quite a bit of talk in the last week about how Smith and Rodgers will pair together, considering Smith likes to have his quarterback operate a lot under center, allowing the offense to utilize play-action passing, rollouts, bootlegs and more. With Rodgers at this point in his career though, he prefers the shotgun.
There’s a way to find a balance. Smith has shown the flexibility in the past to change some things and find common ground with quarterbacks, putting them in positions to succeed while still staying true to his concepts and preferred style of play.
Rodgers has done a nice job in the past, too, of adjusting and working with his coordinators as well. He has his input on the offense like any Hall of Fame quarterback does — and should. He’s been willing to adjust to concepts, too, doing so in Green Bay once current head coach Matt LaFleur took over, leading to back-to-back NFL MVPs in 2020 and 2021, too.
Questions about the fit and the style are fair, though. Rodgers is 41 years old and isn’t too far removed from a torn Achilles. He doesn’t move like he once did, and does like to play a certain way, which doesn’t involve having his back turned to the defense on play-action, whereas Smith builds his offense around that concept.
There’s a way to meld things together, like Rodrigue indicated, but it will be a challenging coaching task for Smith to do so, finding that balance with Rodgers’ preferences while staying true to the style of offense the Steelers want to play.
It’ll be fascinating to watch and see how it all looks, especially in training camp. The two are excited to work together and that mutual respect and admiration is real. Right now, they’re in the honeymoon phase. We’ll see what things look like when it gets real in July and August ahead of the season.
