NFL fans blast former Falcons HC Arthur Smith for unfair QB decision
Arthur Smith's start as the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers only looks good if you look at his team's record—everything else has been ugly chaos.
Despite a win over the Falcons, we all saw firsthand, once again, the limitations of his offense as he could not muster a single touchdown drive. Since then they have had countless problems, including issues with their star receiver George Pickens.
Now, Smith and Mike Tomlin have made the controversial decision to start veteran quarterback Russell Wilson after Justin Fields' 4-2 start.
Arthur Smith, Mike Tomlin make controversial quarterback decision in Week 7
No one will argue that the Pittsburgh Steelers' offense has been the reason for their 4-2 start. While they have had a couple of bright performances, it has largely been more of what we saw from Arthur Smith in Atlanta—ineffective playcalling.
Russell Wilson was initially the starting quarterback before he was injured and Justin Fields was thrust into duty. Many felt like Fields did enough to keep his starting job but Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith disagreed as he is heading back to the bench for Wilson.
This is the first time a quarterback has been benched after starting 4-2.
As we all know, the quarterback position is more than just his team's record. We saw Matt Ryan routinely lose games despite playing flawlessly while other guys around the league win games despite playing poorly.
In his six games, Fields only threw for more than 160 yards twice and has fumbled six times. However, Arthur Smith's offense isn't the most QB-stat friendly and he only threw one interception.
You can argue the decision either way; it is just shocking to see them make this brash of a decision after winning four games.
I don't like the decision for one reason; Justin Fields can do more in Arthur Smith's offense than Russell Wilson. Smith hasn't opened his QB-run offense up yet but with Wilson back wouldn't you be more willing to run Fields? It is another dynamic part of the game in an otherwise non-dynamic Arthur Smith offense.
The decision is just another confusing one by Arthur Smith. To be completely honest, I think everyone in Atlanta was glad to see him go elsewhere this past offseason.