With one preseason game left, the Pittsburgh Steelers are focused on improving their run game and run defense as they prepare for the regular season. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said the team is not revealing its full strategy during preseason but is encouraged by progress.
“We don’t try to trick anybody in the preseason or show your hand too much, things we may want to use Week One or Week Two,” Smith said. “But just the basic stuff, there was improvement there from Week One to Week Two (in the preseason), and that was encouraging.”
Smith noted that evaluating progress goes beyond statistics in exhibition games. “You’re not getting into any kind of crazy schemes,” he added. “You’re trying to get good at the basics. And you’re mixing lineups, too, in the preseason. But there’s an expectation that’s out there, it’s things you’ve been working on. And sometimes it’s just the small details, whether it’s the tracks, the backs setting up their blocks, people hit their run pressures, you gotta have calls and adjustments to that.”
He also described how early runs in last Saturday’s 17-14 loss to Tampa Bay were unproductive but improved after adjustments: “The other thing, sometimes early in the game, the first two runs (last Saturday night against Tampa Bay), for different reasons, weren’t very productive. But that’s why you make adjustments, make sure they’re in tune to what they’re doing. I thought it got going and that was good to see. We hit some 10-plus-yard runs. We had a couple 9-yard runs. You just want to see improvement and that progress.”
Running back Kenneth Gainwell gained only 1 yard on each of his first two carries against Tampa Bay; however, by game’s end Pittsburgh had rushed for 130 yards on 26 attempts with one touchdown—a significant increase from their opening preseason win over Jacksonville when they averaged just 2.6 yards per carry.
Smith indicated that this year’s offense will feature more wide zone running plays and emphasized building a strong foundation before adding complexity: “Before you move on you gotta be brilliant in the basics,” he said. “If you try to put in 40 different run schemes, you’re not gonna, probably, be good at anything.”
On defense, coordinator Teryl Austin expressed confidence despite ongoing development among younger players up front: “What I’m looking for, I told you I love the energy, but some of the things we’re looking for… all the things that he’s working on to help them become good NFL players start to show up in games,” Austin said about defensive line coach Karl Dunbar’s work with rookies.
Austin explained that improvements such as better hand usage and block recognition are beginning to appear during games: “When you see some of that stuff show up in the game it means you’re moving in the right direction. I think that’s why we have confidence that those guys will be ready to play and contribute for us this year.”
The Steelers invested heavily in rookie defenders Derrick Harmon (first round), Jack Sawyer (fourth round), and Yahya Black (fifth round) after being overpowered by Baltimore’s rushing attack during last season’s playoff loss.
“That’s a big reason we addressed the front,” Austin said about bolstering depth alongside veterans like Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton. “We wanted to make sure we got big, young guys to mix in… But we have enough depth to be able to rotate those guys around and be able to keep our (inside) linebackers clean… It’s just preseason right now but we feel confident in the way we’re moving and the way those guys are growing.”
Austin acknowledged challenges ahead as rookies adjust: “There’s gonna be growing pains and there’s gonna be times they probably get knocked around because this is the NFL. But we feel good about where those guys are gonna go and where they’re gonna end up.”
