DK’s Daily Shot of Steelers: Preserve Arthur Smith

DK’s Daily Shot of Steelers: Preserve Arthur Smith

[Music] Not about to pitch for a parade for Arthur Smith, but I do feel like it’s worth a pause, not just to flip the script here to appreciate what this offense is beginning to become. Good morning to you. Good Wednesday morning. I’m Dan Kovajovich of DK Pittsburgh Sports and this is Daily Shot of Steelers presented by FanDuel. It comes your way bright and early every weekday. If you’re into hockey andor baseball, I also offer daily shots of Penguins and Pirates in the same place that you found this. No, it is not some complete project. It’s not some super awesome thing. The offense, as a matter of fact, ranks 25th in the 32 team NFL when it comes to average yardage. That’s 297.5 per game. But the offense also ranks 12th in offensive scoring at 25 points per game. And that’s really good. In fact, I’ll take it a little further. That’s enough, I think, to get this team into the playoffs and possibly enough for them to do damage in the playoffs. Now, since I am flipping the script today, I’m not going to get into that other reason why they might not do either of those things. But full credit where it’s due, because not only is the offense producing, it’s also progressing. It’s a little bit better week after week after week. Loved what I saw from them in Ireland. 24 points against the hallowed Brian Flores defense of the Vikings. Really loved what I saw of them against the Browns who might have when everybody’s really going the best defense in the NFL. 23 points against them. And then, you know, going out to Cincinnati, you can pick a knit here or there, but they still popped 31 points. There were a couple of awkward interceptions, meaning they weren’t necessarily on Aaron Rogers. One time DK Metaf stopped running. Another time, Metaf had the ball stripped from him as he was heading out of bounds. That’s not to say that Metaf doesn’t deserve blame for that. Of course he does. I’m just saying they’re not conventional type turnovers where you look at them and say, “Aha, there’s something systematically flawed here.” Metaf’s done way more good than bad. The tight ends aren’t as involved as they could be, but they sure took steps in that regard in Cincinnati. And no one took more impressive steps than Jaylen Warren did in that same game. He’s a true RB1 with a true RB2 behind him and a really nice rookie option growing behind both Warren and Kenny Gainwell in Caleb Johnson. The line, I mean, it’s the line. I’m certainly not going to invest another episode in that subject, but I don’t know of anyone who’d argue that the line also is trending upward for the first time in seemingly forever. And behind it all is the one coach that really, except maybe in game when you’re mad about something that you see that’s specific, can’t be criticized. And that’s Arthur Smith. Arthur’s been here for two years. He’s overseen three quarterbacks now, three starting quarterbacks, each of whom has seen significant time in that role. And of those three, he got probably the best anyone’s gotten out of Justin Fields, who lost his job two days ago for the 0 and7 other Jets and then got ripped publicly by that franchise’s owner. That was just yesterday. Arthur presided over Russell Wilson, who got the Steelers some pretty good football, even though it had been Arthur’s clear preference to stick with Fields. He adjusted. He got some big plays. He helped form a connection between Russ and George Pickkins. And Russ, of course, has now also lost his job also for a New Jersey team, in this case to Jackson Dart. From there, Arthur gets Rogers at age 41 with all kinds of things to teach, but also all kinds of things to learn from somebody who’s been performing at such a high level for such a long time. And I’m not going to come close to taking any credit away from what Rogers himself has done, but Rogers will be the first to credit Arthur for a lot of what’s going on with the offense, particularly his role and the passing game overall. Rogers has already thrown for,270 yards. He’s averaging 7.4 four yards per completion, 212 yards per game. And most impressive, as has always been the case with Rogers, he’s got 14 touchdowns against five picks. His ratios are actually usually even better than that. To put 14 touchdowns into some perspective, Fields and Wilson combined for 21 last year, so they’ve already got twothirds of that total. And the previous year between Kenny Picket, Mitch Trabiscy, and Mason Rudolph coming in at the end for the rescue, the Steelers totaled 13 touchdowns, one fewer than Rogers already has through six games. But no, again, no parade, no going over the top. We’ll see how the offense looks against Green Bay. We’ll see how it looks against Indianapolis and so forth. However, however, there is growing evidence on top of the man’s already established NFL career, both as a coordinator and his three years as head coach in Atlanta, that he’s he’s packing when it comes to a resume. And and I’m going to get ahead of myself here, but I hope not too far when I say that for all those people who express all this regret about Flores leaving for Minneapolis and how could the Steelers let that one get away when Flores really wasn’t doing anything here? He found a job for a year while he and the NFL were having a spat. But this one, I don’t think you want this one getting away. I don’t think you want to lose Smith. So, when the Titans, one of Smith’s former employers, fired Brian Callahan as head coach a few days ago, that’s where my mind went right away was, whoa, head coaching opening and a familiar place that might be interested in a familiar face. And then I was thinking about the damage that had be done from losing him. And and not mid-season. Nobody’s going to do that mid-season. So I’m not talking about 2025. I mean afterward. I mean once everybody has a chance to look at everybody’s contracts, who’s available, how many other positions come open. Yeah. I just I I don’t like the idea of losing him. We don’t often have to think about this sort of thing in Pittsburgh, of course, because under Mike Tomlin, we’ve not seen uh coordinators or assistant coaches, you know, the tree thing that everybody’s always talking about, but I think it’s real here. Meaning, I think this is somebody that you really want to keep. Now, I don’t know exactly how that could or would unfold. I do know that the Steelers have had an assistant head coach as recently as John Mitchell. Now, the difference between Coach Mitch having some legitimate secondary status to Tomlin and reality was pretty significant. The title was really more ceremonial than anything, but it exists. And I’m sure it would have come with more pay. So, maybe that’s the route. Maybe there’s another route that you’ve probably been thinking of ever since I brought the subject up. Tomlin’s not going anywhere, but he’s also not going to be around forever. You would think. And it’s plenty common across the scope of professional sports for teams to say, “Hey, if you hang on just a little bit here, we might be able to get you the job that you would really want.” Only throwing this out there. There’s no smoke here, much less fire. It would just be nice to not watch this individual walk away. When we come back, J1Q. [Music] This segment of Daily Shot is brought to you by our good friends at Mike’s Beer Bar. They’re located on Federal Street, directly across from PNC Park. Mike has more than 500 beers on tap, including from more than 50 local breweries. Stop in and say hello. Tell Mike we sent you. Mike’s Beerbar. Football season’s finally here. Time to check out the latest odds, futures, and win totals on the FanDuel sports book. Think the Steelers are headed to the Super Bowl? Lock in your bets today. Whatever your game, FanDuel Sportsbook delivers the latest lines, futures, and specials so you can join in on all the action. For those of you who are doing real work in construction, in a warehouse, if you’re a mechanic, you want reliable, comfortable gear to help you perform well on the job, Brunt Workar’s got you. They’ve got waterproof boots, safety toe, soft toe, pull on, lace up, whatever you need. You can wear them to work. And if they’re not right for you, send them back. I don’t know of any other brand doing that. Brunt was tired of the work wear brands out there cutting corners. You work too hard to be stuck in uncomfortable boots that don’t hold up. So, they built something better. Boots that are insanely comfortable and built for any job site. For a limited time, our listeners get $10 off. Just head to bruntwork.com. Use the code dkports and you’re good to go. After you order, they’ll ask you where you heard about Brunt. Do us a favor here at DK Pittsburgh Sports and tell them it was from this show. [Music] Today’s J1Q comes from Austin Dalton who says, “DK, I’d like to know what your opinion is on the Minka Fitzpatrick trade 7 weeks into the season. Personally, I feel like Minka being traded took a chunk of the defense away. I could see moving in that direction, Austin, over time. I’m just speaking for myself here. You’re free to feel however it is that you want. I could see if the Steelers, for example, continued to just really flail, fall apart, cuz that’s what happened in Cincinnati. That was a collapse where you could say, “Hey, what they really needed was that calming presence in the back.” They really needed that dynamic elite potential threat. Maybe to be the opposite of a calming presence, to be someone who’s a dynamic gamecher that picks everybody back up. But I’m nowhere nowhere near that. And don’t forget that the trade itself wasn’t just MA for Jaylen Ramsay. It was Minka for Ramsay and John Smith. And I’m beyond convinced that the Steelers have yet to get the best out of Smith. But you know, you’re not the only one to express that sentiment in this direction, Austin. And the first thought that I have when I see it, regardless of the context is, I mean, have you been watching Juan Thornhill? He hasn’t exactly been part of the problem. He’s been pretty good. He’s done the center field thing. He’s been quiet. He’s been reliable. He’s been aggressive and physical when called upon to step up. He’s been terrific as a teammate in his own kind of quiet way as an internal leader. And make no mistake, this is the player who replaced Minka. So, whatever you think you would have lost in not having Ma, it would have to be evident at that position. Now, I I’m seeing exactly what you wrote here, and you said, “I feel like Minka being traded took a chunk of the defense away.” And I understand that you, although you don’t lay this out, are probably referring to just some heart and soul presence or identity or or anything like that. But the fact is just because the Steelers have been terrible in the secondary and they do rank 31st in pass defense that doesn’t mean it Minka would have made a difference in this particular scheme. Minka in all likelihood was just going to continue being asked to do what he did the past two seasons here which and I know this from Minka telling me this this summer was going to be the same thing in 2025 also. And I think this is really important, maybe the most important point that I’ll make on this subject. Are you seeing the Steelers, Austin, getting scorched over the top? Are you seeing teams just throw bombs and come down with them and putting up 50 or 60 yard touchdowns? No. No, not at all. That’s what MA was there for. That was Minka’s role. That’s what Thornhill is principally there for. Hasn’t happened. Hasn’t happened. What you’re seeing instead, of course, is a whole lot of nickel and dimming underneath. Countless quick slants, an inability on the part of the linebackers and the corners to cover those, and an unwillingness on the part of the coaches to change something schematically to keep that from occurring. as often as it does. I’ve been joking about planting a scarecrow in the middle of the field, but I’m not laughing at it either. I mean, I’m talking about just having a player you stick there and say, “Hey, this thing that you’ve been watching on film all season, it ends tonight. You You might beat us, but you’re not going to beat us over the middle. You’re just not going to do that anymore. So, you will have prepared. You Green Bay Packers will have prepared for something that we’re not going to show you tonight. A lot of things do have to change over there. Austin Minka’s not the answer, even in the most hypothetical sense. I appreciate the question. I appreciate everybody listening to Daily Shot of Steelers. Really appreciate those of you who have downloaded the DK Pittsburgh Sports app. That is the number one way to support what it is that we do as a company, as a media enterprise, allows us to travel, allows us to get to all the places that we go to with all the reporters that we employ full-time. We’re reliant on you through subscribing to that app. Download it for free. It’s DK Pittsburgh Sports on either Apple or Android. then email me [email protected] and I’ll get you a massive discount on the premium version so you don’t see ads, you can comment, you can communicate with the reporters, all that good stuff. Let’s hook up again today at 400 p.m. Eastern for a double shot of Steelers. [Music]

Preserve Arthur Smith in Pittsburgh at all costs.

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