Arthur Smith actually made a good point for once about Justin Fields’ shortcoming

It was practically a party for the entire city of Pittsburgh when the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada, which was followed by the trading of quarterback Kenny Pickett. These two figures had become the main source of mediocrity for the Pittsburgh Steelers. At least that's where the fans were pointing the finger.

In the Week 1 opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Arthur Smith took Canada's place as OC and Justin Fields took Pickett's place as QB. The Steelers were bound for a dominant offensive performance, right?

That's where you would be wrong. While Fields made good throws and used his legs much better than Pickett ever had, the scoreboard and box score reflected a Canada/Pickett type of game, rather than a revamped Arthur Smith offense.

If you just look at the box score and the passing chart, you would think that Fields was just Pickett in disguise. Fields didn't throw a touchdown—Pickett rarely threw them. But most notably, Fields avoided the middle of the field with his throws.

Justin Fields vs. Kenny Pickett

Here's the passing chart that I'm mentioning:

Let's compare that with a Kenny Pickett passing chart from the Matt Canada era:

There are some clear similarities. Obviously, the fact that the middle of the field is being avoided is the biggest one. This has caused Steelers fans everywhere to panic, comparing Smith's offense to the horrendous play calling of Matt Canada.

Arthur Smith provides context to Steelers' offensive approach

But Arthur Smith provided some context this week for why the Steelers didn't throw over the middle much. There was one big reason that Smith avoided that: Jessie Bates.

"Our Jason Bourne—TJ Watt—wrecked the game, theirs didn't," Smith said. With this added context, the pass chart makes a lot more sense. Why would Smith put Fields in a position to target the Falcons' best defender when Smith can practically eliminate Bates from the game?

This idea makes a ton of sense. There was no point to target Bates when the Steelers could find better matchups that they like all over the field. I don't expect the middle of the field to be avoided nearly the same in the coming weeks when Pittsburgh doesn't play such a great pair of safeties.

It's also worth mentioning that Fields went into the week expecting to be the backup. Russell Wilson was ruled out late in the week, leading to Fields being thrown in as the starter. Take that for what it's worth.