New Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith on tight ends, fullbacks, pistol formation

New Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith arrived with a reputation for leaning on tight ends.

Over the first week-plus of training camp, that certainly has appeared to play out.

Though nothing is “official” statistically or tracked reliably by media, rest assured that watching a practice at Saint Vincent would leave any observer anecdotally believing the tight ends are a major emphasis in the Steelers’ offensive formations.

“All these guys, they are finding out what their strengths are, how it fits the overall scheme, but it’s been fun,” Smith said. “When you can play with multiple tight ends, guys that can do a lot especially on those early downs, it has been a good camp for those guys.”

According to data compiled by sumersports.com, the Atlanta Falcons in 2023 under the play calling of Smith (who was their head coach) used at least two tight ends on 59.6% of their offensive snaps (including 7.8% of the time using three tight ends).

For comparison’s sake, the Steelers last season had two or more tight ends on the field for 22.6% of their snaps.

“Some weeks you may like more of a heavy gameplan depending on who’s up or what you think gives you an advantage, especially on early downs,” said Smith, who spent five seasons as a tight ends coach before assuming playcalling duties at the pro level with the Tennessee Titans in 2019. “Some weeks, you may be a little bit more wide open. It just depends on the matchup. So, it goes week to week and that’s what we are working through right now, but it certainly gives you an advantage when you have guys that can play multiple spots, change formations week in and week out or series (by) series.”

Fewer than 8,000 plays in the #NFL last season included two tight ends.

Since such plays are being run less often, teams that employ a double-tight end look gain a potential advantage. https://t.co/FCzlsjEAWK

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) May 31, 2024

Pistol-whipped

Another aspect of the offense differing in 2024 under Smith is more frequent deployment of the pistol formation. The pistol differs from the shotgun in that the quarterback is closer to the center, and the running back is behind the quarterback instead of to his left or right.

Smith noted how the formerly niche formation became increasingly popular in college football over the past decade or two and that Smith himself leaned on it in 2022 after the Falcons he was coaching signed quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota won the Heisman Trophy at Oregon using skills that fit in well with the pistol.

“It just keeps the defense honest when you don’t have tendencies,” Smith said. “Sometimes, maybe on early downs, offset to the tight end or offset away, giving up tendencies it allows you to do your whole package. And then you have quarterbacks that can run, and then you have the zone read element to it and you’re making people defend more.”

Feeling a fullback?

After carrying Derek Watt for three seasons, the Steelers in 2023 did not have a true fullback on their regular-season roster. They signed an undrafted free agent fullback that year, Monte Pottebaum, but Pottebaum unexpectedly retired days into last year’s training camp. The Steelers never bothered bringing in another fullback and allowed then second-year tight end Connor Heyward line up in the backfield on the rare occasions a one was needed.

This year, the Steelers have Jack Colletto on the camp roster. He is a former college quarterback who switched to linebacker before adding fullback duties for Oregon State in 2021 and 2022. The Steelers added him to their practice squad last October, and he’s stuck on the roster since.

Each day, Colletto takes snaps lined up in the backfield during team drills — sometimes along with the first-team offense. Smith would like to have a fullback at his disposal when designing gameplans and calling plays. But he also realizes spots on the 48-man gameday roster are precious, and fullbacks are not used enough in the modern game to make a team on that skill alone.

“If you’ve got a fullback, that can help you, (but) guys also have to help at other spots, so that is where you see the big picture,” Smith said. “We had a very good special teams player in Atlanta in Keith Smith, so that was a valuable member of the roster — he was a core-teamer, and he was a good fullback and gave you the advantage. So, you’re just trying to figure that out.”