As of today, are the Steelers the 4th best team in the AFCN?

[OhioSteeler]

I'll be the one to attempt to spread some optimism because God knows it's not happening for the most part around here.

Fields isn't Mahomes, nobody is. He's playing within the system and slowly being given more of a leash.

This defense is playing lights out. We just shutdown the #1 rushing offense in the league. The Chargers got there without Herbert at QB. We stopped them with Herbert, having to worry about the run and pass. We've held all 3 teams to 10 or under.

I'm not saying we'll be hoisting a Lombardi, but can't we at least enjoy the fact that we have a top defense and an offense that might be ball-control, but they're successful at just that?

[PennyBacker]

Roethlisberger is revered around this board, and with good reason. He was a gift from heaven and came out of the box fully assembled to contribute to winning football. But that does not mean that you would compare 7 year veteran Ben to rookie Ben. That is not fair to either player, they were both special in their own ways.

It is possible to compare what Fields is being asked to do with what Roethlisberger was being asked to do, without diminishing what Big Ben accomplished. Roethlisberger was frequently asked to manage the game early in his career while he got his NFL feet underneath him. Not unlike what the Steelers are currently expecting out of Fields. What made Ben special was his ability to make spectacular plays and his physical presence while performing. Few can even hope to accomplish that because they are not built like a defensive lineman, or have his game breaking talent. And of course, Ben helped to lead the way to Super Bowl XL during the playoffs.

So far, Fields has made some impressive plays, both with his legs and his arm. The hope is that development will continue on a positive trajectory while he continues to get comfortable in the system and as an NFL quarterback.

After a few seasons, Roethlisberger had enough NFL experience that he could go out and call his own plays if necessary. It made sense to try to throw the ball down the field on any down, because the receiving corps had players like Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders, Heath Miller, etc. Right now, it makes very little sense to attempt to run a primarily vertical offense with a QB who is learning how to play the position, and a group of receivers that is in the bottom half of the league in terms of experience and depth.

I am hoping former 1st rounder Najee Harris can continue his trend of never missing a game, so that Pittsburgh can have a full compliment of RBs. 2 bruisers, and one lightning in a bottle guy. A strong running game was essential for Big Ben’s development, and is also essential for Justin Fields’.

[bradshaw2ben]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

[Pabst]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Could be worse

[Steeldrama]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Quite the paradox here with Justin Fields.

On one hand the conservative Arthur Canada offense is working really well for Fields.

He’s playing solid, winning football and it’s pissing everyone off who WANTED Fields to suck.

Yet on the other hand that same conservative approach coupled with awful weapons and gawd awful OL play is responsible for stats like that 18tb in the NFL in EPA so the old Big Ben guard has ammo to tear Fields and his surprising (impressive) start down witb.

And when all else fails just blame the other team’s injuries as an excuse for WINNING

LOL

ITS comical (pathetic)

[Ice]

In discussing the Bungles chances, a national talking head just said "is that going to work against the Steelers or the Ravens?" Sounded a little like balance being restored in the North, and it made me smile.

[stillthere]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

If he keeps putting together 4 and 5+ minute scoring drives and we keep winning I will take the good and the bad.
The guy is even-keeled (as described by teammates). He doesn't get up or down. I guess we will see if that is what the team needs soon enough.

25 of 32 240+ and a TD. He could have completed another couple of yards, maybe even approached 300 yards last week if we needed them. I saw in a few of those film breakdowns that he has taken the 2nd hole shot more than once. That is going to be the bigger play and harder pass but he has an arm that can get it there. We really have not seen him without training wheels on and that is warranted but as the technical backup QB he is doing what Batch was tasked with when Ben got suspended. Win games and he is doing his job.

Is he due for a stinker? Who knows the answer to that one, I am hoping he does not. Every QB in the league has bad games.

[Stlcrtn1974]

I was unhappy when they brought Fields in, he sucked from what I saw. I am very happy with how he is helping the Steelers win. His stats this year are really not that great 518 yards 2 td 1 int, but the only thing that matters is they are winning.

[W&M_Steeler]

I was unhappy when they brought Fields in, he sucked from what I saw. I am very happy with how he is helping the Steelers win. His stats this year are really not that great 518 yards 2 td 1 int, but the only thing that matters is they are winning.

Same, and I'm still not sold on him as the long term solution, but he has been better than I thought he'd be and is clearly an improvement over KP and Mitch. Two iffy flags took away 90-100 yards from Fields' stats due to long bombs to Pickens getting called back, and Muth dropped a beautiful pass Fields threaded through the middle of the Chargers' defense. I'd like to see the Steelers make a move and bring in another good WR before the trade deadline to help give him some more weapons and open the offense.

[W&M_Steeler]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Could be worse

The Browns slammed shut their championship window and set themselves back a decade with the Watson fiasco. Imagine how much better off they'd be with Baker and their 3 first round picks all on the team.

[stillthere]

I was unhappy when they brought Fields in, he sucked from what I saw. I am very happy with how he is helping the Steelers win. His stats this year are really not that great 518 yards 2 td 1 int, but the only thing that matters is they are winning.

Same, and I'm still not sold on him as the long term solution, but he has been better than I thought he'd be and is clearly an improvement over KP and Mitch. Two iffy flags took away 90-100 yards from Fields' stats due to long bombs to Pickens getting called back, and Muth dropped a beautiful pass Fields threaded through the middle of the Chargers' defense. I'd like to see the Steelers make a move and bring in another good WR before the trade deadline to help give him some more weapons and open the offense.

I am interested in what Roman Wilson brings to the table in the next week or two. I want nothing more than for Smith to scheme up a big play for Wilson early in the game and force the defense to have to account for a number with no film. (I know it is a pipe dream but I am smoking some weed right now)

Calvin Austin III ringing that TD bell last week did more to help George than any other play this season. Can't coach speed and he has it. Wilson is supposed to have it too. If we can create a shot play to Wilson and take a lead to eliminate Taylor from the game plan that would be a perfect shitstorm for the Colts young QB to deal with.

[anpsteel]

Unlike Pickett, Fields has all the physical abilities, and he’s pretty accurate.


He just needs to learn to process what he’s seeing, faster and better.


That’s a fairly big IF

[Mick]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Could be worse

yeah, we could have the 29th ranked passing offense…oh wait

[PennyBacker]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Watching highlights of the Colts / Bears game during Tomlin's press conference today made me think that Chicago has not learned anything about how to develop a young QB. Many of the plays looked to lack any continuity, and Williams looked like a sitting duck who knew he was about to have to have to make a run for it. But, it also may be evident after this weekend that the Colts pass rush is for real. Troy Fautanu was doing some real good things at RT before his injury.

Most of the above is to say, Fields may have developed nothing but bad habits playing for the Bears, so agreed, he deserves acknowledgment for his play so far through 3 games. He has done enough to be on the winning side.

The Steelers approach with Justin so far looks right on. Let him get some experience, let him build some confidence, hopefully let the team around him fill out some. Pittsburgh is still transitioning a new offensive coordinator this season. There are plenty of new pieces, and potentially missing pieces, if it is considered that Roman Wilson was hopefully going to contribute, as well as another solid year for Jaylen Warren. Warren was a stud last season. The first guy basically never brought him down, and he always would get more yards than it initially looked like he could.

[Deebo]

I think it depends where QBs go.

Feels like any QB that goes to Vikings improves almost overnight. Even Joshua Dobbs looked decent for a time with the Vikings.

Same with GB, Malik Willis looks a competent back up with potential to get better.

49ers are another team with a QB friendly offense.

Then you have teams like the Bears who for whatever reason can't develop a QB. They would've fucked up Mahomes, Brady, Ben, Manning or anyone else.

Jim McMahon is still best Bears QB I can remember.

Note that I believe Tomlin would have ALSO fucked up PH....

[bradshaw2ben]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Quite the paradox here with Justin Fields.

On one hand the conservative Arthur Canada offense is working really well for Fields.

He’s playing solid, winning football and it’s pissing everyone off who WANTED Fields to suck.

Yet on the other hand that same conservative approach coupled with awful weapons and gawd awful OL play is responsible for stats like that 18tb in the NFL in EPA so the old Big Ben guard has ammo to tear Fields and his surprising (impressive) start down witb.

And when all else fails just blame the other team’s injuries as an excuse for WINNING

LOL

ITS comical (pathetic)

Listen, man... I think that was a solid win on Sunday. I want to see this team tested so we see what they're made of. I'm not rooting for Fields to suck, I'm expecting him to suck.

You can make excuses about OL play and conservative OC but evidence strongly suggests that if they unleashed Fields he would most likely revert to his mean performance. Could that be wrong and he just suddenly turned a corner and will now make them a true contender? Sure. Are you betting on that outcome? It's like standing on 16 in blackjack when the dealer has a face card showing.

[bradshaw2ben]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

If he keeps putting together 4 and 5+ minute scoring drives and we keep winning I will take the good and the bad.
The guy is even-keeled (as described by teammates). He doesn't get up or down. I guess we will see if that is what the team needs soon enough.

25 of 32 240+ and a TD. He could have completed another couple of yards, maybe even approached 300 yards last week if we needed them. I saw in a few of those film breakdowns that he has taken the 2nd hole shot more than once. That is going to be the bigger play and harder pass but he has an arm that can get it there. We really have not seen him without training wheels on and that is warranted but as the technical backup QB he is doing what Batch was tasked with when Ben got suspended. Win games and he is doing his job.

Is he due for a stinker? Who knows the answer to that one, I am hoping he does not. Every QB in the league has bad games.

I think that might have been one the best game Fields has ever played.

I do think he's playing great backup ball, as you said. The team hasn't really been tested much yet, so the conservative approach is perfect.

[K_C_]

Yeah, well:

A. this is year 4 for Fields, not his rookie season
B. Fields is playing the best football of his career... and is 18th in the NFL in EPA

Quite the paradox here with Justin Fields.

On one hand the conservative Arthur Canada offense is working really well for Fields.

He’s playing solid, winning football and it’s pissing everyone off who WANTED Fields to suck.

Yet on the other hand that same conservative approach coupled with awful weapons and gawd awful OL play is responsible for stats like that 18tb in the NFL in EPA so the old Big Ben guard has ammo to tear Fields and his surprising (impressive) start down witb.

And when all else fails just blame the other team’s injuries as an excuse for WINNING

LOL

ITS comical (pathetic)

Listen, man... I think that was a solid win on Sunday. I want to see this team tested so we see what they're made of. I'm not rooting for Fields to suck, I'm expecting him to suck.

You can make excuses about OL play and conservative OC but evidence strongly suggests that if they unleashed Fields he would most likely revert to his mean performance. Could that be wrong and he just suddenly turned a corner and will now make them a true contender? Sure. Are you betting on that outcome? It's like standing on 16 in blackjack when the dealer has a face card showing.

Fields is a massively talented guy who only this season is finally receiving the kind of coaching and structure (along with a solid but unspectacular supporting cast on offense, and a great group on defense) Fields longed for in Chicago and never received.

It's tough to describe just how shitty Fields had it in Chicago. The Bears are a terrible organization from the top down and to Fields credit, he never, ever complained. He just went out and did his job the best he could under the circumstances which were almost always difficult.

Very few here are fans of Mike Tomlin, me included, but he does have a very solid system in place. It may not be a very imaginative or exciting system, but you can win a lot of games with this system when you have a good QB running it. Look at our QB situation since Ben left. I mean, Kenny got a lot of shit and rightfully so, but it damn near looked like Mitch Trubisky was trying to lose games (I believe Fields has already won as many games as Trubisky did in 2 years......roll that one around in your head awhile) and somehow as we all know, this fucking team STILL couldn't find its way to a losing record.

Fields could very well turn out to be a good QB. If they open up his tool box (which I believe we're starting to see happen more and more each week) there is no doubt at all Fields can be a very good QB. He has all the talent in the world and he finally has the support he needs around him to succeed.

I was not thrilled about the Fields trade because I thought playing for that awful Bears organization ruined the kid.

It didn't.

The guy is a work in progress and has a long way to go, but he's still young as fuck and I think we'd all better start getting used to the idea of Fields being the starter in Pittsburgh for a good long while.

[Pabst]

But, it also may be evident after this weekend that the Colts pass rush is for real.

Williams was sacked 7 times against the Texans, and Chicago has one of the worst rushing Offenses in the league. Their OL is really bad.

On the Colts specifically, its hard to say. They got to Stroud 4 times, but so has everyone else. They recorded exactly *1* hurry on Malik Willis, but never registered a QB hit or sack.

FWIW, Kwity Paye left the game on Sunday with a quad injury. The injury report will be worth keeping an eye on.

[swissvale72]

Quite the paradox here with Justin Fields.

On one hand the conservative Arthur Canada offense is working really well for Fields.

He’s playing solid, winning football and it’s pissing everyone off who WANTED Fields to suck.

Yet on the other hand that same conservative approach coupled with awful weapons and gawd awful OL play is responsible for stats like that 18tb in the NFL in EPA so the old Big Ben guard has ammo to tear Fields and his surprising (impressive) start down witb.

And when all else fails just blame the other team’s injuries as an excuse for WINNING

LOL

ITS comical (pathetic)

Listen, man... I think that was a solid win on Sunday. I want to see this team tested so we see what they're made of. I'm not rooting for Fields to suck, I'm expecting him to suck.

You can make excuses about OL play and conservative OC but evidence strongly suggests that if they unleashed Fields he would most likely revert to his mean performance. Could that be wrong and he just suddenly turned a corner and will now make them a true contender? Sure. Are you betting on that outcome? It's like standing on 16 in blackjack when the dealer has a face card showing.

Fields is a massively talented guy who only this season is finally receiving the kind of coaching and structure (along with a solid but unspectacular supporting cast on offense, and a great group on defense) Fields longed for in Chicago and never received.

It's tough to describe just how shitty Fields had it in Chicago. The Bears are a terrible organization from the top down and to Fields credit, he never, ever complained. He just went out and did his job the best he could under the circumstances which were almost always difficult.

Very few here are fans of Mike Tomlin, me included, but he does have a very solid system in place. It may not be a very imaginative or exciting system, but you can win a lot of games with this system when you have a good QB running it. Look at our QB situation since Ben left. I mean, Kenny got a lot of shit and rightfully so, but it damn near looked like Mitch Trubisky was trying to lose games (I believe Fields has already won as many games as Trubisky did in 2 years......roll that one around in your head awhile) and somehow as we all know, this fucking team STILL couldn't find its way to a losing record.

Fields could very well turn out to be a good QB. If they open up his tool box (which I believe we're starting to see happen more and more each week) there is no doubt at all Fields can be a very good QB. He has all the talent in the world and he finally has the support he needs around him to succeed.

I was not thrilled about the Fields trade because I thought playing for that awful Bears organization ruined the kid.

It didn't.

The guy is a work in progress and has a long way to go, but he's still young as fuck and I think we'd all better start getting used to the idea of Fields being the starter in Pittsburgh for a good long while.

I'm just hoping Steelers can re-sign fields at end of season. Was kinda interesting hearing Tomlin respond to questions about opening up fields' toolbox on Sunday to include middle of field. He attributed it more to both Atlanta and Denver being strong at safety position in the earlier games. Dunno how true that all is, but sounded good.

[K_C_]

Listen, man... I think that was a solid win on Sunday. I want to see this team tested so we see what they're made of. I'm not rooting for Fields to suck, I'm expecting him to suck.

You can make excuses about OL play and conservative OC but evidence strongly suggests that if they unleashed Fields he would most likely revert to his mean performance. Could that be wrong and he just suddenly turned a corner and will now make them a true contender? Sure. Are you betting on that outcome? It's like standing on 16 in blackjack when the dealer has a face card showing.

Fields is a massively talented guy who only this season is finally receiving the kind of coaching and structure (along with a solid but unspectacular supporting cast on offense, and a great group on defense) Fields longed for in Chicago and never received.

It's tough to describe just how shitty Fields had it in Chicago. The Bears are a terrible organization from the top down and to Fields credit, he never, ever complained. He just went out and did his job the best he could under the circumstances which were almost always difficult.

Very few here are fans of Mike Tomlin, me included, but he does have a very solid system in place. It may not be a very imaginative or exciting system, but you can win a lot of games with this system when you have a good QB running it. Look at our QB situation since Ben left. I mean, Kenny got a lot of shit and rightfully so, but it damn near looked like Mitch Trubisky was trying to lose games (I believe Fields has already won as many games as Trubisky did in 2 years......roll that one around in your head awhile) and somehow as we all know, this fucking team STILL couldn't find its way to a losing record.

Fields could very well turn out to be a good QB. If they open up his tool box (which I believe we're starting to see happen more and more each week) there is no doubt at all Fields can be a very good QB. He has all the talent in the world and he finally has the support he needs around him to succeed.

I was not thrilled about the Fields trade because I thought playing for that awful Bears organization ruined the kid.

It didn't.

The guy is a work in progress and has a long way to go, but he's still young as fuck and I think we'd all better start getting used to the idea of Fields being the starter in Pittsburgh for a good long while.

I'm just hoping Steelers can re-sign fields at end of season. Was kinda interesting hearing Tomlin respond to questions about opening up fields' toolbox on Sunday to include middle of field. He attributed it more to both Atlanta and Denver being strong at safety position in the earlier games. Dunno how true that all is, but sounded good.

The Steelers will have no problem keeping Fields down on the farm, especially after what he went through in Chicago. Dude has to feel like he's died and gone to heaven being in the stable environment that Cool Shades has created. Again, I don't like Tomlin but his players sure do and we all have to admit he's consistent.

....and yes, I'm excited to see everything that Fields has got because we've only seen glimpses of it so far.

I never bought the comments about Fields and the Steelers offense avoiding the middle of the field. Fields has the most arm we've seen from a Steelers QB since Ben in his prime and Fields can put the ball where he wants whenever he wants. The biggest thing for Fields is avoiding turnovers. He had issues with forcing throws in Chicago and the Steelers are working with him, rightfully, to make the right/safe reads as often as possible. If dudes are open in the middle of the field, Justin will find them.

[swissvale72]

Fields is a massively talented guy who only this season is finally receiving the kind of coaching and structure (along with a solid but unspectacular supporting cast on offense, and a great group on defense) Fields longed for in Chicago and never received.

It's tough to describe just how shitty Fields had it in Chicago. The Bears are a terrible organization from the top down and to Fields credit, he never, ever complained. He just went out and did his job the best he could under the circumstances which were almost always difficult.

Very few here are fans of Mike Tomlin, me included, but he does have a very solid system in place. It may not be a very imaginative or exciting system, but you can win a lot of games with this system when you have a good QB running it. Look at our QB situation since Ben left. I mean, Kenny got a lot of shit and rightfully so, but it damn near looked like Mitch Trubisky was trying to lose games (I believe Fields has already won as many games as Trubisky did in 2 years......roll that one around in your head awhile) and somehow as we all know, this fucking team STILL couldn't find its way to a losing record.

Fields could very well turn out to be a good QB. If they open up his tool box (which I believe we're starting to see happen more and more each week) there is no doubt at all Fields can be a very good QB. He has all the talent in the world and he finally has the support he needs around him to succeed.

I was not thrilled about the Fields trade because I thought playing for that awful Bears organization ruined the kid.

It didn't.

The guy is a work in progress and has a long way to go, but he's still young as fuck and I think we'd all better start getting used to the idea of Fields being the starter in Pittsburgh for a good long while.

I'm just hoping Steelers can re-sign fields at end of season. Was kinda interesting hearing Tomlin respond to questions about opening up fields' toolbox on Sunday to include middle of field. He attributed it more to both Atlanta and Denver being strong at safety position in the earlier games. Dunno how true that all is, but sounded good.

The Steelers will have no problem keeping Fields down on the farm, especially after what he went through in Chicago. Dude has to feel like he's died and gone to heaven being in the stable environment that Cool Shades has created. Again, I don't like Tomlin but his players sure do and we all have to admit he's consistent.

....and yes, I'm excited to see everything that Fields has got because we've only seen glimpses of it so far.

I never bought the comments about Fields and the Steelers offense avoiding the middle of the field. Fields has the most arm we've seen from a Steelers QB since Ben in his prime and Fields can put the ball where he wants whenever he wants. The biggest thing for Fields is avoiding turnovers. He had issues with forcing throws in Chicago and the Steelers are working with him, rightfully, to make the right/safe reads as often as possible. If dudes are open in the middle of the field, Justin will find them.

Watching fields interviews, he's a very chill dude. But...he was asked if one of the things he wanted to improve was his accuracy and responded sort of..."I think I'm pretty accurate."

[K_C_]

I'm just hoping Steelers can re-sign fields at end of season. Was kinda interesting hearing Tomlin respond to questions about opening up fields' toolbox on Sunday to include middle of field. He attributed it more to both Atlanta and Denver being strong at safety position in the earlier games. Dunno how true that all is, but sounded good.

The Steelers will have no problem keeping Fields down on the farm, especially after what he went through in Chicago. Dude has to feel like he's died and gone to heaven being in the stable environment that Cool Shades has created. Again, I don't like Tomlin but his players sure do and we all have to admit he's consistent.

....and yes, I'm excited to see everything that Fields has got because we've only seen glimpses of it so far.

I never bought the comments about Fields and the Steelers offense avoiding the middle of the field. Fields has the most arm we've seen from a Steelers QB since Ben in his prime and Fields can put the ball where he wants whenever he wants. The biggest thing for Fields is avoiding turnovers. He had issues with forcing throws in Chicago and the Steelers are working with him, rightfully, to make the right/safe reads as often as possible. If dudes are open in the middle of the field, Justin will find them.

Watching fields interviews, he's a very chill dude. But...he was asked if one of the things he wanted to improve was his accuracy and responded sort of..."I think I'm pretty accurate."

Fields can be very accurate. He was incredibly accurate at Ohio State.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-chicago-be ... ollege-era

His problems in Chicago stemmed from trying to make throws when under heavy pressure. Taking some dumb sacks and Fields does not have the greatest pocket presence I've ever seen, but you can see he's learning a lot in Pittsburgh.

He's playing within himself and not trying to do too much or take unnecessary risks and that's smart football. I think we'll soon see more deep shots and longer passes on early downs once Arthur Smith completely trusts Fields and there's no doubt we're getting close to that.

[swissvale72]

The Steelers will have no problem keeping Fields down on the farm, especially after what he went through in Chicago. Dude has to feel like he's died and gone to heaven being in the stable environment that Cool Shades has created. Again, I don't like Tomlin but his players sure do and we all have to admit he's consistent.

....and yes, I'm excited to see everything that Fields has got because we've only seen glimpses of it so far.

I never bought the comments about Fields and the Steelers offense avoiding the middle of the field. Fields has the most arm we've seen from a Steelers QB since Ben in his prime and Fields can put the ball where he wants whenever he wants. The biggest thing for Fields is avoiding turnovers. He had issues with forcing throws in Chicago and the Steelers are working with him, rightfully, to make the right/safe reads as often as possible. If dudes are open in the middle of the field, Justin will find them.

Watching fields interviews, he's a very chill dude. But...he was asked if one of the things he wanted to improve was his accuracy and responded sort of..."I think I'm pretty accurate."

Fields can be very accurate. He was incredibly accurate at Ohio State.

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-chicago-be ... ollege-era

His problems in Chicago stemmed from trying to make throws when under heavy pressure. Taking some dumb sacks and Fields does not have the greatest pocket presence I've ever seen, but you can see he's learning a lot in Pittsburgh.

He's playing within himself and not trying to do too much or take unnecessary risks and that's smart football. I think we'll soon see more deep shots and longer passes on early downs once Arthur Smith completely trusts Fields and there's no doubt we're getting close to that.

I hardly follow college football...or the draft for that matter. That's quite the writeup you linked, KC!!

[Havoc]

They had Mahomes ranked behind Trubisky LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

So I stopped reading

[K_C_]

They had Mahomes ranked behind Trubisky LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

So I stopped reading

I think 32 NFL teams had Mahomes ranked behind Trubisky on draft day.

Obviously it didn't work out that way.

Remember when Trevor Lawrence was supposed to be the best QB prospect since Peyton Manning?

I do...and he isn't.

[Pabst]

Just stumbled on a video discussing the strange resurgence of cast-off QBs around the NFL this season: Fields, Willis, and Darnold.

Got me thinking about QB's that took a while for things to click. Here are some recent examples I could think of....

Drew Brees - Was so bad in his first 3 seasons that he was benched for Doug Flutie and the team drafted Philip Rivers. May have never been a starter again had Rivers not held out most of training camp. The light finally went on in year #4

Aaron Rodgers - Never started a game until his 4th season

Kirk Cousins - Was 2-7 with a 77 QB Rating through his first 3 seasons. Named the starter over RG3 in his fourth season and never looked back.

Geno Smith - Bust in NY. Spent nearly a decade as a backup before becoming a decent starter in Seattle at age 31.

Alex Smith - Through his first 50 games compiled a 19-31 record with a negative TD/INT ratio and a QB rating of 72. Finally emerged as a capable starter in year 7 under Harbaugh.

Matt Hasselbeck - 2 year backup in Green Bay. 2 years as a 'meh' starter in Seattle. Finally broke out in year 5.



I'm not suggesting that Fields will have the career arc of Drew Brees, nor am I saying that his situation is directly comparable to some of these guys, but a QB emerging after several seasons and/or a change of scenery is not unheard of.

[bradshaw2ben]

Just stumbled on a video discussing the strange resurgence of cast-off QBs around the NFL this season: Fields, Willis, and Darnold.

Got me thinking about QB's that took a while for things to click. Here are some recent examples I could think of....

Drew Brees - Was so bad in his first 3 seasons that he was benched for Doug Flutie and the team drafted Philip Rivers. May have never been a starter again had Rivers not held out most of training camp. The light finally went on in year #4

Aaron Rodgers - Never started a game until his 4th season

Kirk Cousins - Was 2-7 with a 77 QB Rating through his first 3 seasons. Named the starter over RG3 in his fourth season and never looked back.

Geno Smith - Bust in NY. Spent nearly a decade as a backup before becoming a decent starter in Seattle at age 31.

Alex Smith - Through his first 50 games compiled a 19-31 record with a negative TD/INT ratio and a QB rating of 72. Finally emerged as a capable starter in year 7 under Harbaugh.

Matt Hasselbeck - 2 year backup in Green Bay. 2 years as a 'meh' starter in Seattle. Finally broke out in year 5.



I'm not suggesting that Fields will have the career arc of Drew Brees, nor am I saying that his situation is directly comparable to some of these guys, but a QB emerging after several seasons and/or a change of scenery is not unheard of.

The problem with this in Fields' case is you're likely going to have to take a huge gamble on him contract-wise before you really know what you've got. If he emerges as a top QB in the playoffs, then he'll be worth the money. If he doesn't or gets injured before you find out... you're probably going to have to pay him a lot of money on a multi-year agreement to find out. This is why the rookie contract window is so important.

At this point, we just have to see how it plays out. Hard to guarantee anything after 3 games.

[Pabst]

They had Mahomes ranked behind Trubisky LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

So I stopped reading

Everyone did. Go check out any mock draft or pre-draft analysis from ESPN, CBS, NFL.com, wherever.

Mahomes played in a gimmick offense in college and had a losing record as a starting QB. He was a classic boom-or-bust pick. All credit to him & the Chiefs for how he developed.

[Havoc]

They had Mahomes ranked behind Trubisky LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL

So I stopped reading

I think 32 NFL teams had Mahomes ranked behind Trubisky on draft day.

Obviously it didn't work out that way.

Remember when Trevor Lawrence was supposed to be the best QB prospect since Peyton Manning?

I do...and he isn't.

I thought the Bears were stupid moving up and drafting Trubisky.

I just read an article stating the head coach for the Bears at the time John Fox had the QB position ranked in this order...

Watson 1
Mahomes 2
Trubisky 3

Unable to link the article

If true, the GM was not on the same page as the head coach (which the article implied). It's the bears, wouldn't be a surprise.

I don't think Jacksonville was stupid to take Trevor Lawrence in spite of how it has worked out to this point.