Rodgers sees flexible Steelers O while praising his play-calling center

LATROBE, PA (93.7 The Fan) – It wasn't a long question and answer with new Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers Wednesday. He was pressed for time after visiting the Pat McAfee show and preparing for the first day of pads at St. Vincent College. There were, however, two takeaways that stood out.

Steelers offense

While it's been a slow start with a number of check downs early, Rodgers backed up what he has said about offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and his system. There is something he really likes about it and it starts with what he believes to be an offense that can adapt.

"I like the flexibility," Rodgers said. "Arthur is not rigid in what he's doing. He wants to tailor the scheme to personnel that you got."

Only in his second year with the Steelers, the thought was last year Smith may not have adapted to his personnel. That he didn't have the right players for what he wanted to do, but still wanted it to go a certain way. There were the reports of friction with starting quarterback Russell Wilson.

A veteran of multiple offensive coordinators and systems, Rodgers has been active in meetings and believes the Steelers have a master plan and will make sure they use all of the new toys along with a few existing from last year.

"When you bring in a Kenny Gainwell, bring in a Jonnu Smith, bring a DK Metcalf and myself with some of the stuff I've done over the years. We're trying to find out what guys do best and implement that in the offense. I love that about Arthur, so we're going to keep doing that."

Smart center

Asked about building a relationship with the offensive line, Rodgers immediately brought up second-year starting center Zach Frazier.

"Zach is a highly intelligent player," Rodgers said. "It helps, because as much as I have a good feel for the offense, I'm not what I would call an expert yet. I become an expert when you break the huddle, and you can see the picture in your mind.

Every now and then the picture's a little fuzzy still, so I'm still working some things out, but Zach is so freaking smart."

"He's making some calls for me. I told him don't get used to that. I said, at some point I'm going to be making the calls for you."

It's part of what we've seen from Rodgers in that he's not just come in as a future Hall of Famer and expected the team to learn about him and what makes him great. He's taken an interest in learning about his teammates. It would be hard to think of worlds farther apart than that of the California native and California alum and the West Virginia native and West Virginia alum.

"He's got a real good disposition for a center," Rodgers said. "He's obviously a talented player, and I think his leadership is what I'd like to see most continue to grow, because the leadership often grows at the same rate as a performance, and everybody knows what kind of player he is. He's going to have more opportunities to lead."

When the rumors first started of Rodgers joining the Steelers, a fun, team-first quarterback is not what was expected. It's a week into camp, it's what we've seen. A long way to go, but a promising start.