Steelers' first-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has one job this week - come up with a game plan necessary to beat the Jets.
The variables involved, such as who starts at quarterback for the Steelers, that decision is up to head coach Mike Tomlin.
Smith, who has been involved with making final quarterback decisions during his time as a head coach in Atlanta, understands the volatility and nuances of the matter perhaps better than most.
In 2022 with the Falcons, he made the decision to bench veteran Marcus Mariota in favor of rookie Desmond Ridder for the final four games of the season. In 2023, he made similar choices, bouncing between Ridder and veteran Taylor Heinicke.
"I'll just speak on the one with Marcus from '22. Obviously that was a pretty emotional decision," Smith said Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "A lot of things going on at the time. Things that clearly Marcus and I have talked about, but yeah, it can strain some relationships personally, but that's not this situation.
"The things that Marcus and I talked about with the timing and things when that happened, there were other things going on. You try to be as transparent as you can, but some things, maybe I'm old-school, I don't think need to be out there. Certainly you talk about it later on. You may regret both sides of it, but this one is completely different."
The "this one" to which Smith refers is the decision Tomlin will make this week regarding whether the team sticks with Justin Fields, who has led the Steelers to a 4-2 record to start the season, or whether he turns to Russell Wilson, who was tabbed the starter by Tomlin coming out of training camp.
A calf injury sidelined Wilson for the first five games of the season, but he was healthy enough to serve as the backup quarterback in a 32-13 win over the Raiders last Sunday. Tomlin said earlier this week that Wilson was in consideration to become the starter this week against the Jets (2-4).
Despite the 4-2 start, the Steelers are 26th in the NFL in total offense, averaging just over 298 yards per game. But after scoring a season-high 32 points at Las Vegas, they've risen to 20th in points per game at 20.7.
Coming off a 183-yard performance on the ground against the Raiders, the Steelers are ninth in the NFL in rushing yards per game at 131.5. The biggest issue thus far has been a passing game that has averaged 166.8 yards per game, which is 28th-best in the NFL.
"We wish we were 6-0. We're not," Smith said. "You are what your record says you are, so we're 4-2. I think we've made progress in certain areas some weeks. Other weeks depending on the plan or how they attacked us, there are always things we've got to fix. Constant improvement."
The game scripts have been opponent specific, what the team needed to do that week in an effort to secure a win.
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Against the Jets this week, the possibility exists that the Steelers won't have a ton of success throwing the ball. New York cornerbacks Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reed and Michael Carter might be the best trio in the NFL, though both Reed and Carter have missed practice this week due to injuries. Their status is unknown at this time for the game.
"I think the Jets in the last 40 games since '22, I think they have one 300-yard passing game against them, and it was last year in Cleveland with (Joe) Flacco," Smith said. "These guys are pretty damn good in their pass defense. They do a great job rushing the passer. They take the air out of the coverage. Great man-to-man. They have to change-up to some of their zones.
"So obviously we're going to do everything in our power to win every rep, and we've got to make plays in the passing game. Don't get me wrong there."
It will be incumbent upon Smith to come up with a plan to do that, regardless of who winds up at quarterback for the Steelers.
"There's obviously a human side to it, but we also know our job," Smith said. "So you try to be as transparent as you can be. Everybody wants to know why, and it obviously starts with (Tomlin). Certainly in my job description, there's always going to be emotion because you care about these guys. If you don't, then to me you're not a very good coach. We spend so much time together.
"Whatever decision is made, you need to explain it how you see fit. Then at times you have to make tough decisions, and that's OK if somebody doesn't agree with you. I've done that plenty. I always want to be transparent with why something is going on. Whether somebody chooses to agree with it, I've dealt with plenty before too."
