Mason Rudolph says Steelers' offense, and his relationship with Randy Fichtner, improves each week

Mason Rudolph threw nearly a perfect game on Monday night, going 24-28 for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns, but still, there's worry that the young quarterback hasn't taken enough chances. The Steelers' offense has stuck to the short-game with Rudolph behind center, and it's certainly changed the dynamic of this passing attack.

Although Pittsburgh has seen success on offense, the concern comes from shorter throws halting momentum throughout the game. Another concern; the lack of production from JuJu Smith-Schuster while the team tries to ease their new quarterback into deeper passes.

According to Mason Rudolph, there's always a want to get Smith-Schuster involved, but it doesn't always happen. Something the offense will need to adjust to from time to time.

"You got to get the ball to your best players, and that's something to look forward to every week in the gameplan, but also you get the emphasis on my end, in game," Rudolph said. "But you know, JuJu's a team player and there's going to be games like that where they take him away, or other guys need to step up and make plays, and they did Monday night."

As for how Smith-Schuster is handling it? Rudolph assured that the Steelers aren't a team that are concerned about anything other than winning football games. "That's the kind of group we have, it's a very unselfish group," Rudolph said.

Rudolph also isn't concerned about the shorter routes the Steelers are running. Coming from a pass-heavy Oklahoma State system, Rudolph has thrown his fair share of deep balls. Now, he's following the system, allowing the game flow to control how the offense is ran.

"It just happened that way, that we took the underneath stuff and force them to come up and then you see what happens later in the game; you get the deep route there by Diontae and touchdown," Rudolph said. "I was criticized often for doing that too much in college, so it's refreshing to hear the opposite."

Rudolph says the offense the Steelers are running is growing, but for now, it's helping him adjust to being an NFL starter. "It's almost helped me in my game - that rhythmic, intermediate passing game," Rudolph said.

The growth will come by building the relationship between quarterback and offensive coordinator. Rudolph says he and Randy Fichtner are adapting, and with each week, they're becoming more comfortable with each other.

"We've got a good relationship. I think every week there's a trust factor there that improves and he finds out a little more about what I like, and I kind of have a feel of what he's going to call in certain situations," Rudolph said. "You try to develop that relationship where you feel what he's going to call in every situation."

With this intermediate style passing attack, the Steelers have found themselves struggling on third downs. Pittsburgh has only converted on 27.2% of their third downs, going 12-44 through four games.

It's something that has caught the attention of the Steelers, but also a worry that expands further than third down. For Rudolph, he's looking at it like, if the team can produce better on early downs, they'll face less third down situations.

"Part of converting on third downs is getting the first down on first and second down," Rudolph said. "We got to be better on third down and we're moving in that direction; I think we're getting better every week."

Two and a half games into his starting career, Rudolph is finally earning his voice on the offense. Trying to replace a future Hall of Famer is never early, and the Steelers know that. Players and coaches have guided Rudolph through the transition, but the more comfortable he gets, the louder his voice is becoming. "The guys are starting to kinda, let me talk a little more, kinda get the tempo of practice going a little bit opposed to the last couple of weeks," Rudolph said.

As for the Baltimore Ravens, Mason Rudolph knows their starting quarterback well. Lamar Jackson was taken as the third quarterback in the 2018 NFL draft, Rudolph was taken as the fourth.

"I'm competitive no matter who it is, but yeah, I know Lamar and I spent a lot of time with that draft class," Rudolph said. "We're both very competitive individuals and I think it'll be no different this week than any other week."

Heading into Ravens week, the Steelers are focused on earning their second AFC North win of the season. But on top of that, everyone knows the history of this rivalry, and for the first time, Rudolph will be a part of it.

"I kind of got introduced to it last year," Rudolph said. "I know with any AFC North opponent it's going to be a physical game. There's a lot of great players on their defense; they fly around well, they got a lot of leaders, and I'm ready for the challenge."