Fan trust in Steelers' coaching staff should be on the rise entering Week 3

After years (and years) of hearing that the "Standard is the Standard" and that the team will work on things to improve and seeing no results, the Steelers fanbase is understandably skeptical of the team's trajectory.

But something has changed with the Steelers in 2024.

To be clear, it's not drastic. In no way has this team already earned the unwavering trust of its fanbase. But a crucial step has been taken and it's largely thanks to new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.

Smith clearly drew up a game plan in Week 1 to keep Justin Fields out of trouble, avoiding the strength of the Atlanta Falcons defense where safeties Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons lurk. Fans were a bit concerned to see Fields replicate past offense by throwing near the line of scrimmage away from the middle of the field, but the gameplan was effective and led to a victory.

The following week, Smith opened up the offense a bit for Fields. While there weren't scoreboard fireworks, it was clear the Steelers' offense was a bit more aggressive. If not for untimely penalties, the Steelers would have had a couple of highlight-reel-worthy plays to look back on.

While fans were understandably unaware of the Steelers' full intentions in Week 1, they received a timely explanation that made reasonable success. In Week 2, we were loosely promised aggression in the offensive attack, and we saw it.

Steelers are executing the game plan

Though fans would certainly like to see a return to the explosive Killer B's days, the offense simply isn't constructed to be that. Still, during the Canada era, the Steelers showed they wanted to deflate the game by running the ball, protecting the ball, and playing excellent defense to squeeze out ugly victories.

More often than not, that approach worked, but it lacked enough substance to be sustainable. The jury is still out on the 2024 Steelers offense and the future, but it's certainly gotten off to a much more confident start against middling opposition. That inspires some amount of trust from the fanbase to the coaching staff.

If Mike Tomlin's approach to playing as conservatively as possible to squeak out victories can lead to playoff wins, it would certainly be surprising. However, if wins stack and the Steelers look competent, their complaints will wither to a much smaller fraction.

Again, there has to be consistency in this regard, but gamedays will be much more fun with a greater trust in what the coaching staff is offering.