Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not hold back on Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith during his most recent Footbahlin podcast episode. He thinks the offense looks no different than the Matt Canada years.
“We’ve had different offensive coordinators, different defensive coordinators, but it’s kind of been the same story. This looks a lot like Matt Canada’s offense,” Roethlisberger said.
Roethlisberger also doesn’t understand Smith’s usage of tigh end Pat Freiermuth. Freiermuth played only 17 snaps and wasn’t targeted in Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Smith has been utilizing Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith over Freiermuth. Jonnu Smith has a history with Arthur Smith, as he played for him in Tennessee and Atlanta.
“It seems like if you’re not an Arthur Smith guy, you’re left behind. It seems like he doesn’t like Pat Freiermuth, obviously,” Roethlisberger said. “He didn’t get one ball thrown his way. You pay Pat Freiermuth a lot of money. Use him! You paid a guy $150 million in DK Metcalf. Why does he have the same amount of catches as Kenneth Gainwell? Is that Aaron Rodgers, or is that the scheme? It seems like it’s a lot of scheme.”
Freiermuth spoke with the media on Wednesday about his 17 snaps against Buffalo. The fifth-year tight end is understandably frustrated, but he’s going to keep his head down and continue to work.
“Obviously it’s frustrating but at the end of the day I have complete faith in Arthur … Just got to be able to understand my role and hopefully it changes going forward‚” Freiermuth said. “Just got to be able to go out there and do what’s asked of me.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Big Ben Blasts Steelers OC Arthur Smith: ‘This Looks a Lot Like Matt Canada’s Offense’
