OT: The Pittsburgher Thread: 5 and 2 Justin who? Hand the Fields to Wilson

[WickedWrister]

Kumbaya my lord.... kumbaya

 

[Factorial]

@Zirakzigil, would you be kind enough to update this thread title?

 

[TooManyHumans]

Early on the Jets often had ten guys basically at the line of scrimmage and the Steelers for some reason wanted to throw sideways. Things got better because they started to actually go down the field instead. Also, Wilson can throw with touch. Everything from Fields is on a line. That means a deep ball basically has to be perfectly placed for the WR to have any chance at it. Wilson gave Pickens the chance to make great plays and he did.

 

[OnMyOwn]

Wilson escaping a bit and rolling out while throwing darts doing so was nice to see. He definitely got comfortable and was dictating the offense throughout the second half.

The deep balls were nice and I feel like the DB’s got away with some PI on Pickens, the first one he caught had worse PI than the one where it was actually called.

 

[MrBrightside]

For as pleasantly surprising as much of it is was, there was still nothing in the middle of the field and no intermediate throws. All check downs or quick outs or bombs. They really need to diversify that more as they move forward.

 

[cookthebooks]

russ definitely has superior touch to fields but i can’t get over that noodle arm on out routes

 

[xlm34]

For as pleasantly surprising as much of it is was, there was still nothing in the middle of the field and no intermediate throws. All check downs or quick outs or bombs. They really need to diversify that more as they move forward.

I don’t really expect that to change though with Wilson. He doesn’t like throwing over the middle and he’s pretty much a chuck it or check down guy at this point.

He was a lot better than I expected and deserves to get more games going forward but I’m definitely not ready to crown him or anything. Relying on circus catches isn’t sustainable so hopefully he can keep knocking off some rust.

 

[pistolpete11]

We do need to keep in mind the Jets were 2-4 for a reason, but this is why I was saying it's reasonable to think Wilson could get more out of this offense. I'll admit I had my doubts, especially behind this line, but he is simply a better passer than Fields. Fields making plays with this legs is great, but you get chunk plays by passing the ball.

As @TooManyHumans said, Wilson's touch on the ball was extremely noticeable and made a huge difference. Doesn't matter if he underthrew some. He gave his guys (OK, mainly just Pickens) a chance to make a play or draw a penalty. Many of us have been saying to do that since Pickens was a rookie.

This game also illustrated why I was perfectly fine with the Art Smith hire. You can still put up points by being a primarily run heavy offense, but you need to get chunk plays in the passing game to make it work. Again, it's the Jets, and they did benefit from the INT's, but that game was the blueprint.

Offense line was real hit or miss. They held it together for the most part, but when they got beat, they put up almost zero resistance. Wilson did well to evade the pressure which I was for sure worried about.

Defense locked it down. Some terrible tackling at the times, but I thought Rodgers would have an easier time slicing them up. He's old, but he's still a smart player and they have some good weapons.

Won't get too excited until I see it against a good team, but so far, so good.

 

[JTG]

It seemed like we were watching the young offensive players get taken to school a bit last night. Washington was involved, Najee ran for over 100. Pickens had over 100 and a TD. Austin had a big reception (and a big drop). It feels like they were really looking for an old vet to come in and hold things down. Pickens and Najee both the last 2 weeks have looked different.

Russ, Porter, Larry O, Elliot, and Pickens were the guys that stood out to me. Pickens gets ZERO love from the refs. DBs molest that dude running down the field, granted, he gives it back. His ability to catch balls in traffic is unbelievable, even to the point, he caught that pass behind the back of the DB. Unreal effort.

I think Elliot has been one of the best free agent signings we've had in a long time. I honestly think he has been more impactful than Minkah. He is absolutely everywhere and he's always around the ball.

Larry O is a beast when he's healthy. He can throw offensive linemen at will. He just doesn't have great consistency, but when he's on, he's really on. Benton, Heyward, and Larry O were all great.

Porter had a great game. He's starting to get a bit of that alpha swag. I'm not sure he ever develops into a true top corner, but I can definitely see an Ike Taylor career for him, which is great for us.

I think Russ was decent. These short arm tosses that basically are aimed at the ground make no sense to me. But he throws a REALLY pretty ball. I almost forgot what it looked like to have a QB who could push the ball and give his guys a shot at it. Hopefully Fields uses this as a learning experience and this relationship between the two of them flourishes. It really seems like both can co-exist here.

Kumbaya my lord.... kumbaya

View attachment 919320

What is the cure for everything?

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Also shout out to Pickens. That's the sort of game where you're left thinking that man will hit the Hall of Fame if he really wants it. Think he came out stoked to play for Wilson.

Probably the happiest guy in the room who will benefit from Wilson playing.

That's what some competent passing looks like. I'm the leading founder of the Fire Tomlin fan club, but he deserves a lot of credit for rolling the dice with Russ and trying to get this team to higher levels.

 

[JTG]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1848036966253625557

 

[UnrealMachine]

We do need to keep in mind the Jets were 2-4 for a reason, but this is why I was saying it's reasonable to think Wilson could get more out of this offense. I'll admit I had my doubts, especially behind this line, but he is simply a better passer than Fields. Fields making plays with this legs is great, but you get chunk plays by passing the ball.

As @TooManyHumans said, Wilson's touch on the ball was extremely noticeable and made a huge difference. Doesn't matter if he underthrew some. He gave his guys (OK, mainly just Pickens) a chance to make a play or draw a penalty. Many of us have been saying to do that since Pickens was a rookie.

This game also illustrated why I was perfectly fine with the Art Smith hire. You can still put up points by being a primarily run heavy offense, but you need to get chunk plays in the passing game to make it work. Again, it's the Jets, and they did benefit from the INT's, but that game was the blueprint.

Offense line was real hit or miss. They held it together for the most part, but when they got beat, they put up almost zero resistance. Wilson did well to evade the pressure which I was for sure worried about.

Defense locked it down. Some terrible tackling at the times, but I thought Rodgers would have an easier time slicing them up. He's old, but he's still a smart player and they have some good weapons.

Won't get too excited until I see it against a good team, but so far, so good.

That touch cuts both ways.

1. It was effective on the first deep throw to Pickens because it was really tight coverage and it ultimately benefited Pickens because it gave him an opportunity to beat the DB physically.
2. The other 2 were deep throws were badly under thrown where Pickens had the DB by a couple steps. Way more luck than skills there.
3. Amazing touch on the first throw to Washington and the moon rock to Muth. Then the repeated that trajectory on other throws and it led to minimal gains by Washington.
4. The sidearm throw to Muth was probably my favorite play of the game. He did so many things so quickly on that play and the margin for error on any of those was tiny.

I was getting nervous when he went through that 1/7 stretch (granted one was a bad drop by Austin), but in the end he played a dang good game. Hope that he still had the legs to run sometimes because there were several opportunities that seemed like easier options (and we apparently need that option inside of the opponents 5 yard line).

Lastly, since teams aren’t likely to be game planning around Wilson running the ball like Fields I wonder if this ultimately opens up the running game more for Najee/Warren?

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

We do need to keep in mind the Jets were 2-4 for a reason, but this is why I was saying it's reasonable to think Wilson could get more out of this offense. I'll admit I had my doubts, especially behind this line, but he is simply a better passer than Fields. Fields making plays with this legs is great, but you get chunk plays by passing the ball.

As @TooManyHumans said, Wilson's touch on the ball was extremely noticeable and made a huge difference. Doesn't matter if he underthrew some. He gave his guys (OK, mainly just Pickens) a chance to make a play or draw a penalty. Many of us have been saying to do that since Pickens was a rookie.

This game also illustrated why I was perfectly fine with the Art Smith hire. You can still put up points by being a primarily run heavy offense, but you need to get chunk plays in the passing game to make it work. Again, it's the Jets, and they did benefit from the INT's, but that game was the blueprint.

Offense line was real hit or miss. They held it together for the most part, but when they got beat, they put up almost zero resistance. Wilson did well to evade the pressure which I was for sure worried about.

Defense locked it down. Some terrible tackling at the times, but I thought Rodgers would have an easier time slicing them up. He's old, but he's still a smart player and they have some good weapons.

Won't get too excited until I see it against a good team, but so far, so good.

To me, this is a big issue.
I feel like Najee got his yards these past couple of weeks when the defense had already quit. Look at the first half running stats in both games when the game was still competitive. It's not pretty.

I still maintain this team cannot run the ball effectively. The Oline is shaky and the RB's behind it are ineffective at best.

Buuuut I do think we'll see a bit of a "Mason bump" where teams don't commit to as many defenders in the box as they might fear Wilson's arm. That should really open up the running game.

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1848036966253625557

If Tomlin made this decision because he’s thinking his offense isn’t good enough for January, then I applaud him for FINALLY putting his focus on the goal. But honestly I think he’s just doing this to keep his word to Wilson.

 

[MrBrightside]

To me, this is a big issue.
I feel like Najee got his yards these past couple of weeks when the defense had already quit. Look at the first half running stats in both games when the game was still competitive. It's not pretty.

I still maintain this team cannot run the ball effectively. The Oline is shaky and the RB's behind it are ineffective at best.

Buuuut I do think we'll see a bit of a "Mason bump" where teams don't commit to as many defenders in the box as they might fear Wilson's arm. That should really open up the running game.

Eh, they are 9th in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Fields was a part of that, but worrying about the effectiveness of the running game is not high on the list of worries to me. Jones is awful in pass pro but he can run block, McCormick looks promising, and Frazier has been better than even we could have hoped. Najee and Warren are serviceable enough, and Patterson adds an element - I'm not really worried about the run game - much more concerned that Moore and Jones can hold up against good pass rushes and that the QB play can start using the middle of the field and intermediate routes.

 

[MissADD]

My thoughts on last night after sleeping:
1) We can't judge Wilson on well he played last night or how well he potentially plays next week. The Jets are a few injuries away from calling me to play DB and the Giants are the Giants.
2) That being said, I think the team might have QB figured out for a while. Russ starts for a year or 2, giving Fields time not only to focus on his touch passes, but also to actually see if he even can touch pass since he won't have the pressure to start. Playing behind that bears line wouldn't even allow prime Manning make touch passes and that deffo hindered his development
3) Speaking of lines, where was this o-line the 1st 6 weeks? Not many stupid mistakes, Brockrick Jones didn't look line an idiot. Wilson had time more often than not. And its not like the Jets d-line is bad. That have a really good d-line, so GG o-line
4) What was that leverage call?
5) Beanie Bishop for DROY!!!!! But seriously it was good on him to have such a great game after not looking to great the past few games.

Overall a good team win, Slow start, but Wilson was able to shake off the rust and look decent, him short throws are a little concerning, but hopefully that just rust, On to MNF

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

Eh, they are 9th in the NFL in rushing yards per game. Fields was a part of that, but worrying about the effectiveness of the running game is not high on the list of worries to me. Jones is awful in pass pro but he can run block, McCormick looks promising, and Frazier has been better than even we could have hoped. Najee and Warren are serviceable enough, and Patterson adds an element - I'm not really worried about the run game - much more concerned that Moore and Jones can hold up against good pass rushes and that the QB play can start using the middle of the field and intermediate routes.

If anyone BUT A Smith was the OC, I'd agree with you bc in most other NFL offenses, running is secondary to passing. Right now it's the opposite for who is calling the plays.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about the move to Wilson. I think we might see some more traction on the ground in the future due to the QB change. But right now I still contend this is an offense that WANTS to be run centric, but cannot do it.

 

[bigdaddyk88]

If anyone BUT A Smith was the OC, I'd agree with you bc in most other NFL offenses, running is secondary to passing. Right now it's the opposite for who is calling the plays.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy about the move to Wilson. I think we might see some more traction on the ground in the future due to the QB change. But right now I still contend this is an offense that WANTS to be run centric, but cannot do it.

Not really 3/4 of the championship participants last season were run 1st the other has Maholmes. You have to be multiple sure

 

[Goalie_Bob]

Not really 3/4 of the championship participants last season were run 1st the other has Maholmes. You have to be multiple sure

The Chiefs have also been a running team since the beginning of last season. They won the SB last season because they could run the ball and are 6-0 because they can run the ball.

 

[Goalie_Bob]

My thoughts on last night after sleeping:
1) We can't judge Wilson on well he played last night or how well he potentially plays next week. The Jets are a few injuries away from calling me to play DB and the Giants are the Giants.

This is hogwash and the narrative is crap. The Jets were favored in the game.

They hung 37 on them. People complain constantly about how Tomlin teams always play down to teams and don't crush a team when they are hurting. So they do that and it doesn't count? F that, this is the NFL, there are no easy weeks.

 

[CheckingLineCenter]

This is hogwash and the narrative is crap. The Jets were favored in the game.

They hung 37 on them. People complain constantly about how Tomlin teams always play down to teams and don't crush a team when they are hurting. So they do that and it doesn't count? F that, this is the NFL, there are no easy weeks.

Yeah you can only play who’s in front of you and it’s not like they played 2008 Detroit or 2017 Cleveland

Same team almost beat Buffalo

 

[Buddy Bizarre]

The Chiefs have also been a running team since the beginning of last season. They won the SB last season because they could run the ball and are 6-0 because they can run the ball.

Chiefs are also really good bc they have the best DC in the league for the past few seasons.

 

[JTG]

I forgot Beanie in my recap post, but they are SO good at finding slot corners. That being said, that INT he had was actually a ball he was too short to tip. It was right in the WRs hands.

If Tomlin made this decision because he’s thinking his offense isn’t good enough for January, then I applaud him for FINALLY putting his focus on the goal. But honestly I think he’s just doing this to keep his word to Wilson.

I agree. I think he legitimately wanted to see Wilson play. Nothing more, nothing less. I can understand why he wanted to because it had been a long time since this team was headed by a guy who was a franchise QB and did the thing at a super high level.

I thought Fields earned the right to start, but after seeing Wilson, he was getting the best out of these young guys. We will see what happens when they play better defenses, but I don't even think this is a horrible thing for Fields. He just played 6 games and did well. His confidence should be high, and to me, it seems like he understands the script here with how he speaks and moves. He may get some real insight from Russ playing and can maybe fix some of these long time issues he has had. Wishful thinking, but we will see.

This team needs a WR in the worst way. We will see how Russ runs the offense, as it does seem like he likes hitting the TEs and RBs more than Fields, but Austin just isn't consistent enough to be a 2.

 

[Goalie_Bob]

Chiefs are also really good bc they have the best DC in the league for the past few seasons.

Agreed and really good defensive players.

 

[pistolpete11]

That touch cuts both ways.

1. It was effective on the first deep throw to Pickens because it was really tight coverage and it ultimately benefited Pickens because it gave him an opportunity to beat the DB physically.
2. The other 2 were deep throws were badly under thrown where Pickens had the DB by a couple steps. Way more luck than skills there.
3. Amazing touch on the first throw to Washington and the moon rock to Muth. Then the repeated that trajectory on other throws and it led to minimal gains by Washington.
4. The sidearm throw to Muth was probably my favorite play of the game. He did so many things so quickly on that play and the margin for error on any of those was tiny.

I was getting nervous when he went through that 1/7 stretch (granted one was a bad drop by Austin), but in the end he played a dang good game. Hope that he still had the legs to run sometimes because there were several opportunities that seemed like easier options (and we apparently need that option inside of the opponents 5 yard line).

Lastly, since teams aren’t likely to be game planning around Wilson running the ball like Fields I wonder if this ultimately opens up the running game more for Najee/Warren?

I'll take some underthrows with some touch over everything being on a line. Maybe that means coming back for a ball that could have been a TD if it was a perfect dime, but it still gives them a chance at a chunk play more often than throwing darts.

To me, this is a big issue.
I feel like Najee got his yards these past couple of weeks when the defense had already quit. Look at the first half running stats in both games when the game was still competitive. It's not pretty.

I still maintain this team cannot run the ball effectively. The Oline is shaky and the RB's behind it are ineffective at best.

Buuuut I do think we'll see a bit of a "Mason bump" where teams don't commit to as many defenders in the box as they might fear Wilson's arm. That should really open up the running game.

Not sure I buy that. Things got ugly in the 2nd, but that was as much if not more on the passing game. Harris and Warren combined for 26 yards on 3 carries on the opening drive. Harris opened the 4th quarter with 46 yards on 4 carries and it was still a 1 score game. I don't think they dominated. They had ups and downs, but they were effective when they needed to be and I'm not going to turn my nose up at being able to close out a game with the running game.

But yeah, the O-line is shaky at times. Not much you can do about it when you're on your 2nd or 3rd string on 3 of the 5 positions. Don't know that changing offensive philosophies helps that.