Did Fields lock up QB1?

WHAT? Are you suggesting Russell Wilson is the traditional pocket passing QB? Wilson getting out side the pocket and throwing deep down the field is the reason Sean Payton fired him from his precision offense in Denver. Outside the pocket is where the whole "Let Russ Cook" comes from.

I am expecting George Pickens numbers to go through the roof once Russ takes over.

 

Yes, he was, but what does that prove in your mind? That if we switch in Wilson we're going to see a team that consistently wins games throwing the ball? Those games were a real outlier when you look at what we have seen since BR retired.

I prefer to look at the problems that have been going on for years.

 

Yeah, and number 1 Defense in points allowed.
Again. I don't want to hate on the kid, because whether You , or anyone believes it.....I ....Like....the Kid, and when I listen to him talk, which I do after every game....I like Him more, but. Answer me truly, and Honestly. When was the last time we faced a team that fears our passing game??? There are Wrs, and TEs on this team that would like to play also, and not just in the blocking game. Otherwise don't spend on the TE, or any of them, and just get all blockers. What some of You seem to not understand, or want to understand is.....the offense runs its best when both the passing game, and the running game work.....not just one side, and if anyone watching these games thinks the passing game is working. Well we should have never let Kenny Pickett go....and I wanted Pickett benched for the exact same reason. You must have a passing game. We will not play the Raiders every week.

 

So You are afraid to even check, and see??

 

I disagree. I think Fields is a fine enough starting option. The jury is still out on whether or not he will develop into a highly touted QB in the league, but I think he has been one of the biggest bright spots on this offense so far this season. Our OL is decimated, our WR corps outside of Pickens is trash, and until last game (where he was awesome) Najee was entirely ineffective... Not sure why you think that somehow any of that is on the QB.

I greatly fear Wilson starting. I think he's just going to get hurt. If you remember how the preseason went, he pretty much either threw a 2 yard route, or had to hold it longer than that and got sacked. He completed a high number of passes because they were all short ones, but any time he was asked to hold the ball to make a play further down field (people forget that Wilson has a tendency to hold the ball as long as Fields does) he stood in the pocket and got sacked. He looked... awful.

This type of argument is just the state of our times... Instant gratification. Don't think the offense has been great? Just change the QB, easy fix.... But real life isn't that simple. I hope Fields doesn't screw up (obviously) the rest of his opportunity, because I have 0 reason to believe that Wilson will be anything other than a dumpster fire at this stage.

 

Thing is... Justin Fields operates very much the same way Russel Wilson does. Fields isn't much of a Pocket Passer either. He also has to use the boundary to hit some of his biggest plays.

 

I have never seen so many people for sure about something,,but so unwilling to put it to the test. LoL...Me thinks because honestly deep down....they aren't so sure, but if we don't put it to the test....they can think what they want, and live in the warmth of that. While on the other hand .....I'm willing to be wrong about another Qb, and will welcome the people saying I was wrong if another Qb playing doesn't change anything.

 

Outside of the accuracy of passing....yeah. LoL
Since Kenny Pickett.....I have never seen another Qb that can miss 5 passes in a row, and throw one great pass, and people will say.....see.....see....see. LoL.

 

Nah, swap 'em out for all I care, see what happens. I do know there are far deeper issues with this offense than who is playing QB, and issues that have been going on for years with the offense - and the team in general.

 

So what. Whether it was Fields or Mahomes starting, the starting QB would have the #1 defense in points allowed. Our passing game is going to be hard to get off the ground no matter who the QB is because of the state of our WR room.... Look at Patrick Mahomes this year, he only completes 2% more passes than Fields, has thrown only 1 more TD (but 5 more picks), and has a worse QB rating than Fields. Sure he gains roughly 40 yards a game more than Fields (total yards), but he's been personally responsible for 4 less TD's than Fields. This of course isn't to say that Fields is better than Mahomes... He's not. It's to show that the WR corps matters too, and KC's is just as bad as ours with Rashee Rice out for the season.

Wilson isn't going to magically "fix" anything. We need to collectively get that out of our brains. Teams have to respect Fields' legs and cant just pin their ears back and rush him. With Wilson, there is 0 fear of him running, therefore the edge rushers will just pin their ears back and go. Do we trust our tackles at this point to keep the statue of Wilson healthy? I certainly don't. I think we'd be trading potentially 40 yards additional passing per game for -40 yards of additional sacks per game, and negating our biggest Red Zone weapon at the same time.... I think its a horrible idea to switch. That's just me though.

 

Then let's see. It's very simple to find out. I promise You this....I'm a Tomlin fan, but if we had a backup HC, and we could sit Tomlin for a few weeks, and see what another HC could do with the team.....I promise I'd be all for that. That way You find out....instead of just guessing.

 

So a bunch of words just saying let's not try. LoL. For someone so sure....sounds weak. You are the prime example of the someone's I'm talking about. I know it's true, but let's not check. LoL

 

It hasn't mattered how many changes we have made over the years, the movie has ended always up looking the same. You know the Steelers seasonal pattern as well as I do. One constant in all that time though, but the same season over and over again.

I always adsvocate for change when things are not working, but let's understand what's not working because it's not just the QB situation which is not ideal, the o-line for example is a disaster, and that's nothing new.

 

Yes

 

Fields is fairly accurate though? He is 11th best in the league in avoiding bad throws, and 20th in the league in on target throws. Pretty much NFL average when combining the two. Again, he's not as good as Wilson has been in years past in these metrics (Wilson used to be a perennial top 5 guy imo), but I don't really think he's any worse than Russ is now. We're 6th in the league in getting sacked... Imagine how much worse it could be if we have an immobile QB. Scary thought.

 

So don't try??? LoL

 

Haven't I just said, swap em out?

 

Again....more words just saying....don't try....I'm afraid I'm not correct. LoL. Again.....You can write a 1000 page novel of why You don't think so, but are afraid to actually find out, and put it to the test.

 

I`m ok with Fields starting. Also feel he will get hurt at some point running the ball.

Therefore, like the idea of Wilson being a backup, but Tomlin has to give him some real playing time IMO and I`m not talking about just mop-up time. If I were Tomlin, I would decide (and announce it publicly) for the rest of the season to let Wilson play one series each game to keep him sharp.

 

I swear people think other teams all have QB's that don't miss throws or fail to see guys who are open...

 

Yes, but then why add more to it. We will know of there is no change. I guarantee if You spoke to the TEs, and Wrs they would love to try something else.

 

What do you mean "why add more to it?".

But you can't gaurantee that.

 

Absolutely, we shouldn't try NOW. There may be a point in the season where it makes sense... but now isn't that time. This isn't a Madden season where you dump someone in and just take them out with no consequences like a video game. There's the locker room, the offensive style that has to take effect, rhythm, etc. Remember that Wilson missed most of camp and preseason with the same injury that he's missed the first 6 games with. He got minimal game reps in the preseason and the reps he produced weren't very good. He re-aggravated his injury and now is finally healthy enough to go... We're just CERTAIN that he is going to come in and be Russ circa 2015? The reality is that he's gonna be rusty, we gotta roll through that bit first. Then we have to assess whether or not he is even still a decent QB at all. Then our patchwork OL needs to keep him alive. Oh, and we're doing all this while we are tied for the lead in our division and averaging 20.7 ppg. Just a weird time to give it the old "ah screw it, lets try this" decision. We can just keep rolling to the bye and make a decision based on where we stand then. We could be 6-2, 4-4, 5-3.... there is a lot that can happen between now and then, and the answer to this question can change drastically in that time. If we're 6-2... then just name Fields the starter the rest of the way. If Justin drops a game or two the next few weeks, then maybe we let Russ cook after the bye.

I don't know that Russ sucks any more than you do. I'm just saying that NOW isn't the time to make a change. That I AM sure that I am right about. I don't care if we "check" on Russ, but it has to be at a time that makes sense.... Last year was a different story since the season was literally on the line when we "checked". If it backfired, then oh well - the season was over anyways. If we "checked" now, we run the risk of being wrong and having it cost us an opportunity to make the playoffs. Even worse, it may cost us the confidence of the locker room for the rest of the season too.

 

Fields might be ranked higher this year on “on target percent” but his percentage is actually down from last year’s. 73 percent ranked 28 in 2023. 63 percent ranked 20 so far this year. So its not that he’s gotten better (he’s actually worse) but that there is worse Qb play across the league right now.

I dont even know if i can say he’s gotten better at taking care of the ball, i think its more of being lucky (he leads Qb’s in fumbles)

 

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't play their best offensive game of the season. In Week 6, they had just 145 passing yards and seven penalties, including two delay of game calls, which is directly on Justin Fields. But the question stands tall as this team approaches Week 7, can you bench a quarterback at 4-2 after scoring 32 points?

From SI