We all know what the Steelers' offense was under Matt Canada. That horse has been beaten to death over and over again, and there's no need to add more welts.
So I won't. But after seeing what these players have been limited to over the past few seasons, a good way to gauge just how different things are under Arthur Smith is to simply ask them. And now, we have our first peek inside the building of some of the tangible differences between how things were under Canada compared to how Smith coaches his players.
As one player told me, "It's night and day."
When Smith was hired, the expectations for the offense to become at least respectable went way up. There are certain differences that are already known to anyone who studies offenses. Smith runs a wide zone system that prioritizes the run and heavily utilizes play-action, but also tries to test defenses downfield in the passing game. That's different. Both of those.
But it's not just about schematics. It's also about the daily approach to coaching up concepts, teaching the details of each play to the players and knowing how to properly run and execute them. And then, there's the accountability that comes when plays aren't run well enough.
I spoke with several offensive players about these differences and, to get a fuller picture, I asked them to do so without attribution. Throughout, two consistent themes emerged.
"Overall, there's a lot more detail in what we're doing offensively than last year," one player told me. "There's a lot of stuff that goes into that, but just summarizing, I feel like that's probably the best thing. Right now, there's way more detail, there's way more accountability than what we've had."
Detail and accountability.
Not having details nailed down makes everything much harder. No room for error. For example, if the routes being run in a specific concept aren't run to the correct depths, or aren't designed to be run to certain depths, it could create smaller throwing windows for the quarterback, thus making it more difficult to execute plays. Anyone who's read my Chalk Talk pieces from last season knows how poor Canada's offense was in this regard.
Details all over the place. That was confirmed by multiple players with whom I spoke. They also confirmed that's not how Smith operates.
"It's not like we gloss over a play, and if it's not run to perfection, then we don't just go over it and say, 'Well, we know what we're doing, we'll figure it out,' " another player told me. "It's repetitions to get it done and get it accomplished in practice so when we go out into a game, it's second nature."
"Before, we were hoping it got fixed or just ... sitting on the edge of the bed hoping the player got it fixed," another player said. "But this coach will say something if it's not done correctly."
An example given to me involved wide receivers and tight ends staying late to go over specific motions and shifts that weren't done correctly during practice. It's one thing for players to stay after practice and work either alone or together on something. Van Jefferson adopted the Antonio Brown regimen of catching 300 balls off the JUGS machine. Sometimes quarterbacks and receivers will stay and work on route timing.
This is different. This is multiple positions and their coaches staying to work on something that didn't get done correctly in practice. Why?
"Because it's expected for us to be done in games."
This attention to detail is something players are raving about right now regarding Smith's approach. And while some obviously compared that to the previous coordinator, this excitement really is more about Smith.
"He clears the questions before you even ask them," another player said. "He does a good job at that. If it's not done the right way, we don't just look past it. We get it fixed right then and there."
They're excited about the way guys could be schemed open, too. Gone are the days of telegraphing what they're going to do. In fact, they expect to be as unpredictable as possible, mainly by not putting handcuffs on certain players and limiting them to one thing or another.
"In the past, we were very predictable on what we were going to do," one player told me. "I feel like the biggest change is formations, motions, shifts, not putting people in buckets, allowing them to expand their role. ... Not putting people in a certain role and sticking to that, allowing them to go and do other things that defenses wouldn't expect them to do."
However, outside of coaching up detail and being excited about the nuances of Smith's system, accountability has increased in the room. Part of that is imposed by Smith. That's illustrated in his approach to making sure players properly execute the details.
Before the players even met Smith, I was told by pretty much everyone I spoke with that the players met together to raise their level of accountability with each other. In fact, I was told specifically that it was a "big" emphasis among players in the offseason. Another player even told me player accountability was more important than any change to the coaching staff. Sure, listen to what the new coaches say, but also have a level of accountability with each other to make sure everyone stays on task and up to standard.
"We've seen it. We've seen what it looks like when we don't do it. We've seen what we want to be and what we can be," one player told me. "We're really honing in on trusting the details of the coaching."
The jury's still out on just how good this offense can be. The preseason is never a good barometer. But the next time this team takes the field in Atlanta, the game will count. And we'll finally get our first look at the real product that's been worked on for months.
But, yeah, these guys are excited.
"Going into a season," one player said, "this is easily the best of any offense I've been on."
MORE STEELERS
• The Brandon Aiyuk saga is over. The Steelers didn't land him, as he signed a four-year, $120 million extension to remain with the 49ers.
However, based on just a few quick texts I've had with some people on the inside, I'm inclined to believe Omar Khan still has a plan of some kind to upgrade the receiver position. Two names that could be worth watching are Davante Adams or DK Metcalf, but those may be trade-deadline type targets.
Either way, though it appears to be this way, I don't think this was necessarily an Aiyuk-or-bust approach by Khan. It was genuinely a situation in which he made an offer and if he landed him, great. If not, they'd move on to another option. We have yet to see how that shoe is going to drop.
• I can also reiterate what I've previously reported: The Steelers never offered a first-round pick to the 49ers over the past several weeks.
• I haven't been able to get a firm diagnosis on Ryan Watts' injury. But if being placed on season-ending injured reserve isn't enough, I can confirm Watts has been wearing a neck brace for multiple days now, further indicating a more severe injury than a stinger.
• Don't be surprised if you see the Steelers sign John Rhys Plumlee and Dez Fitzpatrick to the practice squad.
• As you saw in our Steelers Feed this week, Troy Fautanu has still been wearing a knee brace while doing very minimal work in practice. Despite his own optimism, I have a hard time seeing Fautanu dressing in Atlanta for the season opener. Maybe he can. As I previously reported, the prognosis for his injury was 4-to-6 weeks. The first game of the season would be just a couple days over four weeks from the time he was injured on Aug. 9. It just depends if he can participate in practice next week. If not, he won't play.
• Nothing new to report on the internal extension talks with Cam Heyward, Pat Freiermuth and anyone else. However, now that the Aiyuk saga is over and done with, I'd expect there to be some movement. Khan still plans to maintain the policy that the Steelers won't negotiate contracts during the season.
