Russell Wilson Turns the Steelers Into A True Contender

[blu]

Were my eyes not deceiving me last night? Not just another NHALS. I never thought Russell Wilson could move reasonably well. We knew he could throw. Perhaps a wr2 can still be found & if we could hire Mike Munchak to teach Broderick Jones how to be a NFL tackle. Maybe Beanie could show JPJr how to catch, as well. The Steelers may now only need to give the Bears a 6th for Fields after all.

[DP39]

Last night Russ showed me he is who my eyes saw he was in DEN last year. He also showed me what I knew an A. Smith O should look like with a competent/smart QB directing it.

[daikyu]

Russ was OK. He was off on a lot of throws and his deep balls were underthrown.

Hopefully, it was a lot of rust and he gets sharper. Circus catches bailed Russ out quite a bit last night.

[TimmayLake]

Pump the brakes a bit. It was the Jets after all. If Russell can do this against a plus .500 team I will be buying into the hype.

[Ice]

Russ was OK. He was off on a lot of throws and his deep balls were underthrown.

Hopefully, it was a lot of rust and he gets sharper. Circus catches bailed Russ out quite a bit last night.

Yeah, this is where I'm at. Pickens' plays last night were spectacular and made the QB performance (around 50% completions is still very meh, even though the YPA certainly improved) look better than what it actually was. That's a lot of rust to shake off, though, so I'm cautiously optimistic it could improve with more reps.

[Orangesteel]

Russ’s performance last evening for Steelers fans is the equivalent of roaming the desert for years in search of a sip of water and finding a canteen with a few ounces at the bottom.

People either forget (by choice) or simply don’t understand how absolutely dreadful the Canada/Pickett years were. It’s not hyperbolic to say he was a high school level OC paired with a decent ACC level QB playing in the big leagues.

As was pointed out by Brother Perch in the game thread this is the first time in probably 3.5 years our offense has resembled what one should expect in the pros. Yes, it’s been that long.

You need a QB that can run an offense. Make calls at the line, correctly audible, point out assignments, make the hot read throw in the face of a blitz.

Wilson was rusty most of the game but he throws downfield in spots where the offensive talent can MAKE PLAYS. Even Fields struggles with that because he doesn’t keep his eyes downfield. That’s what Wilson brings. We won’t score 37 a game but my goodness it was wonderful to actually watch a COMPETENT offense.

I think the plays that stood out to me the most were 1) Wilson adjusted his throwing technique on at least two occasions last night in the face of pressure to get the ball out quickly. That’s Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers of old type stuff. Fields can’t operate in the face of pressure - he just can’t.

Also, go back and watch the big play to Austin in the 4th quarter. It was required that Wilson remain in the pocket and let the play develop so that Austin could finish the route and get open. Wilson stood there perfectly and threw a beauty to Austin who was wide open, a great play design/concept that was an aggressive call down the field to win the game.

Not in 10000000 years would Fields have remained in the pocket to complete that pass. Nope.

[franco32]

Um, the Jets have quite a good D despite their record. That wasn't the sisters of the poor. I agree Russ started out rusty but he wasn't helped by a bad Austin drop early.

Some of his throws were a touch short but that is nitpicking a bit and he's still working on his timing with the receivers. Bottom line is that if Van Jefferson wasn't tripped at the goal line in the 3rd Q, Russ would have had 3 TDs last night. This is what competent QBs look like. We just haven't seen it in so long.

Anyone with eyes could see that the 8-9 men in the box (w/ run blitzes) that we saw by Dallas, Colts, and Raiders was gone. Jets had to respect both the run and pass.

[DP39]

Russ was OK. He was off on a lot of throws and his deep balls were underthrown.

Hopefully, it was a lot of rust and he gets sharper. Circus catches bailed Russ out quite a bit last night.

Oh, I agree with what you're saying, but considering it's been almost a year since he's seen live game action I'd say it was a pretty good start (and, against a very good D).

His biggest QB differences are: what he brings above the neck (vision/processing), and his ability to vary his passes (touch/arc/velocity (his baseball background is huge there)) -- something JF doesn't possess in his career yet.

Looking forward to Russ being less 'rusty'.

[W&M_Steeler]

I think the Steelers need at least 1 more good WR and to catch a break from the injuries to be a real contender this year. But if Russ improves on what we saw yesterday, then I think the Steelers are at least a top 5 AFC team.

But let's not get too excited. After the 2017 debacle against the Jags, I'm not going to really believe any Steelers team is a real contender until they raise the Lombardi after winning the Super Bowl

[Deebo]

I think the Steelers need at least 1 more good WR and to catch a break from the injuries to be a real contender this year. But if Russ improves on what we saw yesterday, then I think the Steelers are at least a top 5 AFC team.

But let's not get too excited. After the 2017 debacle against the Jags, I'm not going to really believe any Steelers team is a real contender until they raise the Lombardi after winning the Super Bowl

If Wilson remains the QB, it's imperative they get another WR. VJ sucks shit.

[Pabst]

Um, the Jets have quite a good D despite their record. That wasn't the sisters of the poor.

Beat me to it. Even after last night the Jets have the #2 pass D in the league.

What's really killing the Jets this year is special teams and turnover margin.

[Orangesteel]

If the Jets want to ship us Garrett Wilson for a 3rd rounder after they sign Randall Cobb and Donald Driver this week, I’m all for it.

[Steelperch]

A contender for what? A playoff birth and maybe a win? Sure. The SB? Man that’s a bit of a stretch, but he gives them the best chance to get close. The thing with Fields is that he gives you enough to win 9 games or so and make the playoffs, but the offense will necessarily be conservative and run heavy. Wilson’s command at the line, touch on deep balls, and overall play from the pocket are what was needed.

Wilson was the best option all along, no mater how nervous and inaccurate he looked early on. Two starts then a bye week is a perfect ramp up for him. The season got a lot more watchable and interesting.

[W&M_Steeler]

Given Tomlin's history, now that everyone is praising him and calling the Steelers a contender, the Steelers will take the Giants lightly and lose another trap game to a bad team.

[Pabst]

A contender for what? A playoff birth and maybe a win? Sure. The SB? Man that’s a bit of a stretch, but he gives them the best chance to get close. The thing with Fields is that he gives you enough to win 9 games or so and make the playoffs, but the offense will necessarily be conservative and run heavy. Wilson’s command at the line, touch on deep balls, and overall play from the pocket are what was needed.

Wilson was the best option all along, no mater how nervous and inaccurate he looked early on. Two starts then a bye week is a perfect ramp up for him. The season got a lot more watchable and interesting.

Is there any team in the NFL that's not seriously flawed right now?

I honestly don't think I'd lay money on anyone at the moment.

[Orangesteel]

Chiefs are just annoying at this point. They are decimated, Mahomes is throwing more picks than TDs and they are 6-0.

Niners fans want to boot Shanny and Purdy off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Ravens are good but flawed. Bills are good, not perfect.

Only team I’d want to avoid at all cost right now are the Lions and it’s because the throw so much at you, it’s very difficult to keep up unless you are perfect.

I was also very impressed with the Vikings. They have a good thing going right now.

[SteelPro]

Definitely a weird year that feels like almost anything can happen. But it’s hard to have any faith in a Tomlin led team in the playoffs.

[franco32]

The reason the Chiefs are 6-0 is one guy mostly...Spags. He's a genius. Should be fun when he buts heads with Arthur Smith

[LakecrestSteeler]

A contender for what? A playoff birth and maybe a win? Sure. The SB? Man that’s a bit of a stretch, but he gives them the best chance to get close. The thing with Fields is that he gives you enough to win 9 games or so and make the playoffs, but the offense will necessarily be conservative and run heavy. Wilson’s command at the line, touch on deep balls, and overall play from the pocket are what was needed.

Wilson was the best option all along, no mater how nervous and inaccurate he looked early on. Two starts then a bye week is a perfect ramp up for him. The season got a lot more watchable and interesting.

This game might be the equivalent of the Eagles unleashing A.J Brown on us in the 2022 season. You heard about the AJ trade, but never really knew anything about AJ unless you were watching the Titans...and then he torched the defense and Minkah umpteen times. I actually think that game he stole Minkah's mojo.

Now we have RW finally unlocking Pickens for the rest of the league to take notice. People knew a little about Pickens, but there is really nothing on tape to amount to much because of the offensive and QB woes. Could put on a little run here to close out the season, and increase the pucker factor for the playoffs unfotunately.

I could see RW and GP equaling JH and AJB. Pickens has yet to have his A game domination!

[Steelperch]

A contender for what? A playoff birth and maybe a win? Sure. The SB? Man that’s a bit of a stretch, but he gives them the best chance to get close. The thing with Fields is that he gives you enough to win 9 games or so and make the playoffs, but the offense will necessarily be conservative and run heavy. Wilson’s command at the line, touch on deep balls, and overall play from the pocket are what was needed.

Wilson was the best option all along, no mater how nervous and inaccurate he looked early on. Two starts then a bye week is a perfect ramp up for him. The season got a lot more watchable and interesting.

Is there any team in the NFL that's not seriously flawed right now?

I honestly don't think I'd lay money on anyone at the moment.

Chiefs and Lions should be disappointed if they don’t make the SB. Packers, Texans, Ravens, and Bills are right there. I’d put Steelers in the third group of likely playoff teams that would need some luck and a hot streak to get to the SB along with the Vikings, Eagles, Redskins, Bucs and Niners.

[Ice]

I think the NFL knows about George Pickens. I think he was happy to be put in a position to succeed last night, and his effort increased accordingly. Still don't love the attitude earlier in the season, but 22 YPC, your first TD and a bunch of opportunities will make any WR's disposition improve.

[Deebo]

A contender for what? A playoff birth and maybe a win? Sure. The SB? Man that’s a bit of a stretch, but he gives them the best chance to get close. The thing with Fields is that he gives you enough to win 9 games or so and make the playoffs, but the offense will necessarily be conservative and run heavy. Wilson’s command at the line, touch on deep balls, and overall play from the pocket are what was needed.

Wilson was the best option all along, no mater how nervous and inaccurate he looked early on. Two starts then a bye week is a perfect ramp up for him. The season got a lot more watchable and interesting.

I think this will end up being a case of: same dog, different fleas. Meaning that JF and Wilson each possess different traits, but each of their limitations will prevent this team from truly contending.

[Dan Smith--BYU]

This will be good for Fields...cannon arm is going to have to work very hard on his touch passes and moonballs. Pickens showed they work even when off target.

[R_S]

Russ played about as good as can be expected. He was pressured constantly. He had dudes in his lap immediately during PA passes. It's hard to be accurated throwing off balance avoiding a pass rush.

[LakecrestSteeler]

Russ played about as good as can be expected. He was pressured constantly. He had dudes in his lap immediately during PA passes. It's hard to be accurated throwing off balance avoiding a pass rush.

The good news is his feet were cinder blocks last night in the first half...and they were definitely failing him.

As I said in the game thread...it was after he did the sack avoidance shovel pass at someone's feet that things began to click. It was like he said I still have it, and it was all improvement from there, plus his receivers , somewhere between doing their jobs as expected and bailed him out, helped a great deal!

I think we will get even better results against the other Gotham team.

[LakecrestSteeler]

This will be good for Fields...cannon arm is going to have to work very hard on his touch passes and moonballs. Pickens showed they work even when off target.

As I said in the game thread...if Tim Wakefield learned to throw a knuckle ball in his first or second season with the Pirates, JF can learn touch if the organization makes it a priority.

I believe Tim went and visited with Nikro brothers with the blessing of the Pirates etc....Fields has RW at his disposal...just needs some equipment and specialty coaches to unlock it for him.

This issue isn't like a receiver with stone hands....not the same thing.

[franco32]

If JF could learn to throw with touch he would have done it by now. Do you think he likes throwing line drives all the time? Some people just really struggle in this area.

But, it's beyond the touch passes. RW was so much more vocal and assertive at the line. His pre-snap reads were on point and he audibled twice (at least) with great success. He also doesn't completely SH*T his pants against a blitz. JF panics way too quickly.

[jebrick]

Russ was OK. He was off on a lot of throws and his deep balls were underthrown.

Hopefully, it was a lot of rust and he gets sharper. Circus catches bailed Russ out quite a bit last night.

Yeah, this is where I'm at. Pickens' plays last night were spectacular and made the QB performance (around 50% completions is still very meh, even though the YPA certainly improved) look better than what it actually was. That's a lot of rust to shake off, though, so I'm cautiously optimistic it could improve with more reps.

Under thrown moonballs are a Flacco specialty which burned the Steelers on a regular basis. The Steelers are lucky to have GP who will get those balls. Almost all of them could easily be called PI. I am not sure what constitutes PI anymore after watching Sauce grab arms and push and shove in the EZ without looking for the ball.

[bradshaw2ben]

Um, the Jets have quite a good D despite their record. That wasn't the sisters of the poor.

Beat me to it. Even after last night the Jets have the #2 pass D in the league.

What's really killing the Jets this year is special teams and turnover margin.

I think tackling and DB injuries have had a huge impact. They might be #2 in passing yards allowed but that’s so hollow. DVOA has their defense as 22nd in the NFL.

The good news is: the Steelers only have one team left on the schedule who are top 13 in the NFL in defensive DVOA (KC).

[bradshaw2ben]

Given Tomlin's history, now that everyone is praising him and calling the Steelers a contender, the Steelers will take the Giants lightly and lose another trap game to a bad team.

Their defense isn’t as bad as the record suggests. They have the year to date sacks leader on their team and he lines up over the most inexperienced OL next week. That alone should be enough to get their attention.