What a difference a year makes. The Pittsburgh Steelers had a preseason record of 0-3 in 2024. This was the beginning of the post-Atlanta Falcons head coaching tenure of Arthur Smith and the beginning of his present Pittsburgh Steelers stint as the Offensive Coordinator of the Steelers.
There were many times during the 2024 season that Smith called running plays when the Steelers should have been lined up to pass, and there were times when he called running plays whether or not he was supposed to run. However, let’s allow the past to remain the past. But…sometimes dissension can be created by incompetence, deliberately or just by making horrible decisions….period.
Unlike the Steelers’ 2024 campaign, where the Steelers’ choir exited the tunnel singing the Roy Ayers R&B hit, “Running Away,” they entered the playing field in 2025, singing the “Air Smith”… oops, I meant to say the Aerosmth mega-hit, “Dream On.” The way that Air Smith (Arthur Smith) was slinging the pigskin around during the win over Jacksonville on Aug. 9 caused me to dream and visualize about what the Steelers offense could and should have been had the men of steel featured George Pickens on one side and DK Metcalf on the other side. The Steelers had entered the laboratory and discovered one half of a dynamic passing attack with George Pickens. All they needed to do was to add to what they already had and it would have been very, very bad news for the AFC North, the AFC and the NFC. Instead, the Steelers chose to send Pickens, who had become lonely, off to the Lone Star State for a few boxes of Cracker Jack and not much else.
That move was like saying, “Hey, fellow lab rats, we have cured ‘non-offense-itis’, but wait a darn minute, this is working too good. We have to tweak it so we can improve it. Let’s go back into the lab and get back to work.”
Now Arthur Smith has to get back into the lab and develop the next George Pickens, when they already had George Pickens. Is it just me asking this question: “Does that really make any sense at all? TribLive sports columnist Tim Benz talked with Steelers tight end Darnell Washington about the return to the Black and Gold.
Washington said: “He’s just improved in the details from play to play. His steps. His drops. Whatever his coaching points are, I feel like he cleaned up some of that stuff from when he was previously here,” Washington said about Mason Rudolph. “He for sure puts a little more zip on that ball. And the ball placement, I feel like he is improving in that aspect.”
It does not escape me, nor should it slide past the Steeler Nation, that the play-calling of Arthur Smith has improved significantly as well. It also appears that the concrete boots as well as the shackles have been removed from the offense, and the Steelers are entering a new era. Is it possible that the Steelers have adopted and may be on the road to finding a different identity? Why is it now that bargain basement QBs Russell Wilson and Justin Fields have been unceremoniously shipped off to Gotham City, that Arthur Smith may be implementing a diversified and more balanced approach to his offensive strategy?
I have been asked time after time about the chances of the Steelers succeeding in 2025. My answer remains the same: “Only the players have the answer to that question, once they take the field.”
Unless I have missed something along that way, “I have never” and I repeat, “I have never” witnessed a journalist seated in the press box throw a pass to score a touchdown, run for a TD, run back a punt or a kickoff, kick a field goal, extra point or run or pass for a two point conversion or perform any other act that is required by a professional football player. The Steelers’ dungeon-like offense of the past is now appearing to be more palatial. The evolution of the offense can either change by choice or by force. In 2024, the depth chart of the Steelers’ QB room that featured an injured Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and Skylar Thompson was evaluated as if the QB room had been converted to the embalming room of the local undertaker. However, the accolades of the 2025 QB room is evaluated far more positively. WPXI.com reposted an article originally posted on SteelersNOW.com. an excerpt from the article pointed out that: “The Steelers’ depth came through, with fourth-string quarterback Skylar Thompson throwing three touchdowns to lead the Steelers to a 31-25 victory. With Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin III, Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith and Jaylen Warren on the sideline, Mason Rudolph took a makeshift first-team offense right down the field for an opening-drive score.”
When wide receiver Roman Wilson was signed by the Steelers in 2024, Wilson was injured almost immediately and the blacksmiths began sharpening hatchets and guillotines, preparing for Wilson’s demise. Now suddenly, there are those from Knucklehead University that are crowing loudly while sitting idly on the fence screaming at the top of their lungs: “Hey, Roman Wilson may have been the answer all along.”
If I were their instructor, their grade would have been a “G.” That “G” stands for “you are the weakest link, goodbye.” Classes at Knucklehead University are about to begin. If I were you, I would withdraw and pay my tuition elsewhere.