Yep
Nobody has any idea how this all will play out. We are 12 games removed from Pickett being here. Anyone that claims to know is lying to themselves.
Jalen Hurts was playing at a less than average level for almost 12 games between last season and the first 5-6 games this season. He finally got it going and the Eagles are rolling now. Pickett is one play away from getting another shot as a starting quarterback in the NFL. He is currently learning a new offense that he has hardly gotten any experience playing in.
Way too many people think they have a quarterback figured out after watching them play a few games. It doesn't work that way.....even with seasoned veterans that are already supposed to understand offenses and have the ability to read defenses and identify what defenses are trying to do to him....even though that quarterback has seen everything imaginable over 16 seasons of being a starting NFL quarterback.
Defenses watch tape and figure out the weaknesses in offenses, in protections, in quarterbacks, in tendencies, and then they adjust how they play against that team or that player. It takes time to really know how even a seasoned quarterback fits into a scheme and executes an NFL offense.
I also think the FO and Tomlin are behind Justin Fields getting signed this offseason and going forward with Fields as the QB1. I also think there will be some conversation with Russ about expectations from both sides and possibly signing Russ to stay on as the veteran backup/mentor. The guys in charge of putting the team together seem to like the dynamic in the QB room, and will probably try to somehow maintain it.
Very possible we see more Justin Fields this week. The Bengals give up yards by the bunches. Fields can excel vs the Bengals. Just my opinion.
So, I think it was Fitipaldo that mentioned Russ at 40 million over 3 years. So would you rather have Russ at 40 million a year for 3 years or Justin at 20 million per year for 3 years? How much does your opinion change if Russ leads the Steelers to a playoff victory?
The issue for me comes down to whether you think Fields will actually develop into player capable of passing a team to big victories on a consistent basis. Much rather have the younger player - all things being equal. However, the money savings is irrelevant if Justin has a ceiling below that level. If he does have that ceiling, then you're just wasting some great defensive player careers, and we might as well just throw the 40 million at Russ (which isn't really that much money for a starting QB) and hope that we get two good years out of him.
I’m thinking it doesn’t make a difference if they don’t fix the O-Line. I don’t think the line is as bad as it’s been but it’s not that improved either. There’s clearly a lot of talent on the line. I just don’t think they are prepared or coached well enough.
have to agree, Jones, Seumalo, Frazier, Fautena, McCormack/Moore should be a good line. Two guys are on IR, but still Jones and Moore struggle. Communication is an issue (Frazier?) They dont use Najee in pass protection help enough. I think they can do better with better O line coaching. Almost 4 sacks a game in the last four.
I'm dubious that Fields will ever be as good a QB as we need.
I think they need a better O-Line Coach and they'll probably get one here in the near future. Tomlin just doesn't address that sort of thing soon enough in my opinion. I'll give him credit, he doesn't panic hire and fire but in some cases, the case is crystal clear that its not working out.
There has been plenty of time for the O-Line to 'gel' but they just aren't coming together and Jones is just regressing rapidly. To Meyer's credit, Dan Moore is playing much better but the whole line just looks lost out there for most of the game...to the naked eye. Wilson doesn't help at times, but there are times that he does help...same with Fields.
unfortunately, the 0-line started seeing drop off as soon as Munchak left. We still had a pretty talented group but the difference was apparent. They haven't had any strong 0-line coaching since. A lot of experiments in who they've put in the position. I think that's Tomlin's MO frequently. We rarely see really strong coaches working under Tomlin.
And now we can update to
Russell Wilson: 10 TD's in 6 games
Kenny Pickett: 13 TD's in 25 games