Smith calm despite Steelers' struggles: 'Preseason could distort reality'

The Pittsburgh Steelers' projected first-team offense has failed to score a single point in two preseason games this year, but new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith doesn't think it's time to panic.

"We need to evaluate (players), and so sometimes it can get distorted, good or bad," Smith said, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Preseason could distort reality, good or bad. We've all seen it."

"Preseason record doesn't go on your permanent record. It's the old joke where Indy went 0-for every year, and they won 13 games almost automatically with Peyton (Manning)," he added.

Starting quarterback Russell Wilson played five offensive series in his preseason debut Saturday after missing the team's first game while battling a calf injury. Justin Fields, who replaced Wilson two weeks ago, was held scoreless as the starter in the first contest and has had fumble issues so far.

"You know that's not their standard, and that's not acceptable," Smith said. "But at the same time, you'd rather go through that now than have that happen Week 1. There's a lot going on there. We've had a really good camp, but the reality is, when we've got in there in the lights ... we got to get out of our own way."

He continued: "I go back to my own experiences, in 2019 (with the Tennessee Titans), I didn't think we were great in the preseason and come opening day we scored 40-something points against the (Cleveland) Browns. I'm not saying we're going to do that in Atlanta (in Week 1), but we hope to. It's just, you've got to have context."

Smith spent the past three seasons as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach but failed to build a strong offense. The Steelers - who ranked outside the top 20 in scoring in each of the last three seasons - hired Smith to replace Matt Canada. Wilson and Fields also joined Pittsburgh this past offseason.

Injuries have been an issue for Mike Tomlin's outfit, as offensive tackle Troy Fautanu (knee), interior lineman Nate Herbig (shoulder), running back Jaylen Warren (hamstring), and wide receiver Roman Wilson (ankle) are dealing with ailments at camp. Fautanu and Wilson are expected to play in Week 1, but Herbig has been ruled out for the entire season. Warren's status for the opener versus the Falcons is reportedly uncertain.