Arthur Smith admits he used 'blunt force trauma' to control Steelers O-line: "Maybe I'm sick in the head"
The Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Atlanta last week and handed the Falcons an 18-10 home loss to start the 2024 season. It was an interesting game, to say the least, as the Steelers won without scoring a single touchdown. Kicker Chris Boswell hit six field goals to attain the win for his team.
Sunday's game was the first for Steelers' offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith, with his new team. He was hired by Pittsburgh this offseason after being let go by the Atlanta Falcons as their head coach.
Following the team's season debut, Smith had an interesting assessment of the offensive line's play during the game. In an interview with Chris Halicke, who writes for DK Pittsburgh Sports, Smith described his O-line with the term "blunt force trauma" for their physical play.
Halicke wrote:
"Oh, man. Arthur Smith was absolutely fantastic this just now. One of those times you go in with a game plan as a reporter and you've gotta call an audible. I asked him a question about how he felt his offensive line did, not only did he use the term 'blunt force trauma' as a way to describe how they did in the second half, but ended his answer saying:
(Smith said)
"As a coach, maybe I'm sick in the head, but that was beautiful to me."
Mike Tomlin had a simple assessment on Arthur Smith's debut as the Pittsburgh Steelers' offensive coordinator
The Pittsburgh Steelers had an interesting offensive game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. They scored 0 points and only gained 270 total yards.
They did go with their backup quarterback, Justin Fields, who completed 17-of-23 passes for 156 yards with no touchdowns. As a team, the Steelers rushed for 137 yards, led by Najee Harris, who gained 70 yards.
Speaking to the media, Steelers head coach Tomlin was asked to evaluate Smith's debut. He simply replied:
“1-0”
Smith replaced former offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who was fired midseason last year. Smith has been an offensive coach in the NFL since 2019. He took over as the Falcons' head coach in 2021 and coached them for the last three seasons. He put together three consecutive 7-10 seasons during his tenure.
Smith will have to find more success in the offense if he plans on sticking around long-term in Pittsburgh.