Steelers' Arthur Smith Desperately Needs To Break Free From His Tendencies For Offense To Thrive

The Pittsburgh Steelers have to rebound from their worst performance of the season, as they will be battling for the division crown in Week 16. While the defense did not do their job against the Philadelphia Eagles, the offense had issues, as they only had one quarter where they looked efficient. Losing George Pickens definitely hurts, but the whole unit has been inconsistent throughout the season, with or without him. The Steelers can't just use his injury as an excuse to change nothing and roll with a gameplan that sometimes works, but sometimes doesn't. 

During his weekly Q&A chat, insider Ray Fittipaldo was asked about Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith being too predictable. Fittipaldo agreed and brought up the one game where he tried a different approach.

"Smith did a good job of breaking his tendencies against the Bengals a few weeks back. He has to do more of that going forward. And it goes without saying, it's a lot easier to call plays when Pickens is on the field."

While the Steelers obviously want to establish the run, it is much harder to do so when opponents know it's coming. It becomes even more of a challenge to do so when Pickens is out, and the offense doesn't have a receiver that can step up while he sits on the bench. That means the Steelers need to get more creative. 

Fittipaldo mentions that Smith did break away from his usual gameplan in Week 13 against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, the Steelers had the best offensive output in multiple categories since the middle of 2018. They put up 37 offensive points and out-shot the hottest unit in the NFL, as  Ja'Marr Chase is on pace to win the Triple Crown as a receiver.

Russell Wilson had 412 passing yards, which is the second-most in his career. He had three touchdowns to go along with that as well. They still established a running game, as the team as a whole combined for 110 yards, 4.2 yards per carry, and a score. Everything was clicking for the offense that day.

As Fittipaldo mentions, the secret is that Smith broke away from his tendencies. Most of the drives were not run-run-pass. When they did pass, there were plenty of targets up the seams and in the middle of the field, as opposed to just staying outside the hash marks. 10 different receivers caught the ball, and the Bengals had no answers for it at all. 

Whether Pickens plays in Week 16 or not, Smith will need to come up with a way to break his tendencies like he did against the Bengals. The Baltimore Ravens have the best run defense in the NFL, and they will be expecting the Steelers to try and pound the rock throughout the game. 

How Can Steelers Offense Thrive Without Pickens?

Smith may be coming up with a couple of different gameplans for this contest: one that features his star wideout in case he is ready to play, and one that doesn't. Good coaches can find ways to exploit a defense's weakness no matter what, and the Ravens have a very weak pass defense. Even without a true WR2, there are ways to scheme guys open.

For starters, some crossing/rub routes are good for getting receivers in stride and causing confusion in the secondary. If they can use that and get guys like Calvin Austin III in the open field, the YAC (yards after catch) game can be strong. There's nothing wrong with using the middle of the field.

Since the Ravens are most likely anticipating first down runs, the Steelers could probably run effective play-action passes to start drives. That can even help open the run game up, as Baltimore's defense may adjust and try to defend the pass on first down, leaving a hole for the running backs to exploit.

What do you think about Smith potentially needing to change up his gameplan? Let us know in the comments below.

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