The Pittsburgh Steelers were one of the hottest teams in the NFKL through the first half of the season. Unfortunately, things fell apart in the Steel City in the home stretch of the year.
The Steelers lost their final four games of the regular season to lose control of the AFC North to the Baltimore Ravens. Then, in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs, Pittsburgh lost its fifth game in a row to those same Ravens to end their season.
One reason for the complete collapse may have been a rift between offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and quarterback Russell Wilson, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gary Dulac.
“Multiple sources have told the Post-Gazette the offense lacked imagination and that the audibles and route adjustments Wilson was making at the line of scrimmage were creating a conflict with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith,” Gulac reported.
“According to several sources, Smith did not want Wilson changing plays at the line of scrimmage, like he did in Cincinnati, and deviating from the game plan.”
Fans reacted to Dulac’s report that Wilson was punished for deviating from the gameplan against the Cincinnati Bengals.
“So Seattle, Denver and now Steelers OC Arthur Smith can’t get it done with Wilson, but they’re holding him back? Yeah that may be the chatter in some circles but I’m not buying it,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“If this is true, then Smith either has to go or be told to let his QB put the team in the best position in the moment. My guess is Smith wouldn’t have meshed w/Ben either… and this has the look of Tomlin – CONTROL. Let the players play!” one fan added.
“Another example of coaching malpractice. The entire coaching staff is so risk-adverse that they are paralyzing this team (both sides of the ball). It’s like they play not to lose – playing in their own fears so to speak,” wrote someone else.
“I’m no Russell Wilson defender, but I’d trust him to call audibles at the line. He’s a veteran and a proven QB in this league. Smith did not impress me at all in year 1,” one fan wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see if Wilson returns to Pittsburgh.
