The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense hasn’t been at its best over the past few years. Gone are the days when Ben Roethlisberger had that unit looking like one of the league’s best. More recently, the Steelers’ offense has been one of the league’s ugliest. A large part of that is because they’ve been unable to find Roethlisberger’s successor. However, that group could be in for a better season this year. Analyst Conor Orr believes that the Steelers’ offense could put together a good showing against the New York Jets in Week 1.
“What they’re trying to do is do a Walmart version of what San Francisco has been able to do in the past,” Orr said recently on the Heed the Call podcast. “‘I want my X wide receiver to be able to play over here at Z. I want my tight ends to be able to line up out wide. I want my tight ends to play fullback.
“‘I want you to never be able to understand what we’re trying to do from the snap, and I want to move all these guys around.’ I want to see [Aaron Rodgers] conduct an orchestra in this manner because I think it’s interesting, and I think it’s gonna be secretly very sneaky hard for the Jets to shut down.”
It will be interesting to see how the Steelers deploy their offensive personnel. Arthur Smith isn’t the most progressive offensive coordinator in the league, but he’s coached some effective offenses in the past. He had a fine first season in Pittsburgh, and this year he’s got more pieces to better run his scheme.
Smith’s system revolves around the run game. He uses it to set up play-action passes. Last year, the Steelers weren’t great running the ball. Part of that was because of the injuries they suffered along their offensive line. That group still has a lot of question marks, but it has talent. If the linemen show growth that could open up Smith’s playbook.
Also, while wide receiver is a Steelers weakness, they’ve got a solid group of tight ends. That includes Jonnu Smith, who has a long history with Arthur Smith. That group might bring the most intrigue to the Steelers’ offense. Each tight end has a different skill set, and they could be deployed in a number of different ways.
Week 1 might not be the best showing for the Steelers’ offense, though. Some starters, like Rodgers and DK Metcalf, didn’t play in the preseason and might need to shake some rust off to start the season.
Additionally, the Jets’ defense has a lot of talent. They’ve got an intimidating defensive line, a steady duo at linebacker, and some playmakers in the secondary. The Steelers can try to keep them off balance, but that won’t be easy.
It would be great if Pittsburgh started this season with a bang on offense. That would help build confidence that this year will be different. The Steelers’ defense looks like it should be one of the NFL’s best. If they can finally get adequate support from their offense, then they should have a better chance at making some noise in the playoffs.
