QB Russell Wilson Getting First Team Reps

[polamalubeast]

Where are all the people who said Wilson was washed up and Fields should continue to start because the team was able to grind out a 4-2 record?

I was one of those but I did not expect that Wilson would play similar to his Seattle days!

Glad I was wrong!

[Steeler-in-west]

Where are all the people who said Wilson was washed up and Fields should continue to start because the team was able to grind out a 4-2 record?

Not all 35 year old Qb’s are washed up. Denver just wasnt a good fit for Russ. Pittsburgh/Tomlin are. That 4-2 record under Fields was 80 percent defense and was against the softer part of the schedule.

[Mojouw]

Wilson did something he has never done before in his entire career on Sunday.

Until maybe the second half of the Cleveland game and for sure this past week, Wilson had been unwilling to change how he played to accommodate his age, changes in offensive situations, or really anything. He was gonna run the “Russell Wilson offense”.

Is this a new Wilson? Or is Cincy just awful?

Can’t wait to find out!

[86WARD]

Comeback Player of the Year.

[DesertSteel]

Comeback Player of the Year.

Not even in the conversation. He was statistically good last year. Maybe comeback image of the year, because his image took a beating, mostly thanks to Sean Payton the egomaniac.

[tube517]

Comeback Player of the Year.

Sponsored by Juicy Fruit

Sent from my Pixel 9 Pro XL using Tapatalk

[pczach]

Not even in the conversation. He was statistically good last year. Maybe comeback image of the year, because his image took a beating, mostly thanks to Sean Payton the egomaniac.

Payton may be an egomaniac, but the man knows football. He also knows what qualities are needed to run his offense. Wilson's stats look OK, but when you watched him play in Denver there was no doubt that he was hurting the team with his style of holding the ball and ignoring the design and timing of the offense and taking a million sacks. That is a fact.

Sean Payton has his team at 8-5 starting a rookie quarterback from day one. The team is better without Russell Wilson. Payton is showing that he knows what he is talking about.

If people are going to keep saying Russell Wilson is a huge upgrade over Kenny Pickett, then they have to say that Bo Nix is an upgrade over Russell Wilson in that situation. There is no doubt that the Broncos are better this season without him as their quarterback. There is a much bigger difference in the record of the Broncos this season compared to last season than the Steelers with Pickett in that regard.

It is all about the fit in the particular situation. It is also about the upgrades made to both teams' coaching staffs and personnel. The version we saw of Russ against the Bengals was non-existent in Denver when he played there. Russ refused to run the offense the way that the head coach wanted him to. It's that simple. I don't know for sure if Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith have reached him to make him see the light, or if his fall from grace made him do a little soul-searching and he now understands that he has to play a certain way or he won't be wanted anywhere. In the end it doesn't really matter. I'm just happy that he is playing well right now and I hope it continues for as long as he is a Steeler.

[Mojouw]

Payton may be an egomaniac, but the man knows football. He also knows what qualities are needed to run his offense. Wilson's stats look OK, but when you watched him play in Denver there was no doubt that he was hurting the team with his style of holding the ball and ignoring the design and timing of the offense and taking a million sacks. That is a fact.

Sean Payton has his team at 8-5 starting a rookie quarterback from day one. The team is better without Russell Wilson. Payton is showing that he knows what he is talking about.

If people are going to keep saying Russell Wilson is a huge upgrade over Kenny Pickett, then they have to say that Bo Nix is an upgrade over Russell Wilson in that situation. There is no doubt that the Broncos are better this season without him as their quarterback. There is a much bigger difference in the record of the Broncos this season compared to last season than the Steelers with Pickett in that regard.

It is all about the fit in the particular situation. It is also about the upgrades made to both teams' coaching staffs and personnel. The version we saw of Russ against the Bengals was non-existent in Denver when he played there. Russ refused to run the offense the way that the head coach wanted him to. It's that simple. I don't know for sure if Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith have reached him to make him see the light, or if his fall from grace made him do a little soul-searching and he now understands that he has to play a certain way or he won't be wanted anywhere. In the end it doesn't really matter. I'm just happy that he is playing well right now and I hope it continues for as long as he is a Steeler.

This is all very true.

What I would hope to see next, is the short and intermediate middle of the field passes that Wilson discovered for the first time against the Bengals continue. Will they? No idea. Will they have success to the degree they did against the Bengals? Almost certainly not. Watching some highlights and whatnot over the past few days and two things stood out -- the Bengals ILB played awful and the entire team looked like it kinda just gave up.

[Mojouw]

https://youtu.be/JTdK56hBf08?si=kUOqOyi1VUc-LmPp

For crying out loud. I have no idea why this won't embed as a video. I tried all the things in the little toolbar. None of them seem to work.

Anyway...QB school of the Bengals game.

Summary:
likes Wilson's command of the offense
loves Smith's play designs
laughs out loud at the Bengals defensive efforts

[pczach]

Here you go.

[Mojouw]

On Tapatalk it showed up. Not on my browser.

It is surely an error at my end of the keyboard.

Anyways, watch the flipping video.

[pczach]

https://youtu.be/JTdK56hBf08?si=kUOqOyi1VUc-LmPp

For crying out loud. I have no idea why this won't embed as a video. I tried all the things in the little toolbar. None of them seem to work.

Anyway...QB school of the Bengals game.

Summary:
likes Wilson's command of the offense
loves Smith's play designs
laughs out loud at the Bengals defensive efforts

Many people have been criticizing Arthur Smith's offense, partly because with Fields under center, they were a much more conservative offense, plus they kept Fields from playing under center as much to limit is fumbling problems while taking snaps from under center. What we saw against the Bengals was how the offense can operate when the quarterback uses all of it, using the flow chart of the offense with all the built-in check downs and answers to pressure in specific areas of the field based on coverage to be utilized when the quarterback is pressured, rather than holding the ball too long in search of the big play.

Yes the Bengals defense is awful, and this isn't something that is repeatable every week. However, that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be used as an example of how the offense can go to a different level if executed as planned. Smith's offense is so far beyond anything that Canada ever had from the standpoint of the sophistication of the design and the use of play design and pass routes that are used in combination to create space and separation in the passing game. Sometimes I still don't think enough people here truly understand how incompetent Matt Canada was at his job and how he was greatly lacking in any real understanding of how to make offenses work.

Arthur Smith's offense is truly being seen for the first time when it is fully utilized and executed.

[Mojouw]

Many people have been criticizing Arthur Smith's offense, partly because with Fields under center, they were a much more conservative offense, plus they kept Fields from playing under center as much to limit is fumbling problems while taking snaps from under center. What we saw against the Bengals was how the offense can operate when the quarterback uses all of it, using the flow chart of the offense with all the built-in check downs and answers to pressure in specific areas of the field based on coverage to be utilized when the quarterback is pressured, rather than holding the ball too long in search of the big play.

Yes the Bengals defense is awful, and this isn't something that is repeatable every week. However, that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be used as an example of how the offense can go to a different level if executed as planned. Smith's offense is so far beyond anything that Canada ever had from the standpoint of the sophistication of the design and the use of play design and pass routes that are used in combination to create space and separation in the passing game. Sometimes I still don't think enough people here truly understand how incompetent Matt Canada was at his job and how he was greatly lacking in any real understanding of how to make offenses work.

Arthur Smith's offense is truly being seen for the first time when it is fully utilized and executed.

All true.

My comprehension of just how awful Canada’s “system” was increases every week as Smith shows more elements.

I will likely always have issues with Smith’s style and preferences but that doesn’t mean it can’t be effective! It just means I’m a grumpy pessimistic fan.

That final pass to Jeffferson was something that simply could t have happened while Canada was running the show.

[Voice of Reason]

Not even in the conversation. He was statistically good last year. Maybe comeback image of the year, because his image took a beating, mostly thanks to Sean Payton the egomaniac.

Yeah, a QB's image can take quite a beating if the QB is playing for an unsupportive head coach.

[cubanstogie]

Yeah, a QB's image can take quite a beating if the QB is playing for an unsupportive head coach.

Or if he refuses to dress upon learning about a demotion. But sure it’s easier to blame Tomlin for everything. KP gone, Steelers greater than 5 wins, and Tomlin coach of the year. Sorry this year hasn’t been successful for you.

[polamalubeast]

Yeah, a QB's image can take quite a beating if the QB is playing for an unsupportive head coach.

Tomlin decided to stay with Rudolph at the end of the season because he gave us the best chance to win and the Steelers were in a playoff race...Nothing less,nothing more

[pczach]

All true.

My comprehension of just how awful Canada’s “system” was increases every week as Smith shows more elements.

I will likely always have issues with Smith’s style and preferences but that doesn’t mean it can’t be effective! It just means I’m a grumpy pessimistic fan.

That final pass to Jeffferson was something that simply could t have happened while Canada was running the show.

I just watched the video. I didn't have time yesterday, so I sat down and literally just watched it.

Yeah, Russ was definitely on his game. He had total control of the offense and made just about every correct read and call at the line of scrimmage. I love the way he breaks it down to show and explain to everyone the why on these plays.

That's a great breakdown by JT.

There are a couple things I want to mention after seeing the video.

Pat Freiermuth is a tight end, but when shit goes bad for his QB he reminds me of Hines Ward in the way he so easily breaks off his routes and works to help his QB out by giving him an out. He is great at finding space and working his way to a spot to give the QB a chance. I was stoked to see Russ finally utilize Muth as much as he did in this game. Let's hope this is the beginning of much more of this connection.

I love that he pointed out the play where Pickens quits on a route and says that what Pickens did almost always kills the play. This is what I was talking about last season with the WRs not helping the quarterback out and sometimes making it impossible for the QB to complete passes. Last season, Pickens AND DJ would pull that crap on Pickett all the time. JT Sullivan mentions how just one receiver pulling that shit most times takes down an entire play. Imagine being Pickett and having two wide receivers quitting on plays and not being where they are supposed to be on the field. A play with that happening is as dead as a doornail.

This is why I was losing my mind when trying to explain the horror that was Matt Canada's offense and showing my frustration with everyone clubbing Pickett like a baby seal every single game. I wanted DJ gone so bad because he was a malcontent, and he was a bad player for Pickens to learn anything from with his approach to the game and how to play the game.

Pickens still does things on the field that make you pull your hair out, but he much better this season for a variety of reasons. I just wanted to point that out. There are reasons why the offense is better this season beyond quarterback play. Effort and execution are still so important. Bad offensive design and poor effort makes it nearly impossible to play the quarterback position.

[Dwinsgames]

[Mojouw]

I just watched the video. I didn't have time yesterday, so I sat down and literally just watched it.

Yeah, Russ was definitely on his game. He had total control of the offense and made just about every correct read and call at the line of scrimmage. I love the way he breaks it down to show and explain to everyone the why on these plays.

That's a great breakdown by JT.

There are a couple things I want to mention after seeing the video.

Pat Freiermuth is a tight end, but when shit goes bad for his QB he reminds me of Hines Ward in the way he so easily breaks off his routes and works to help his QB out by giving him an out. He is great at finding space and working his way to a spot to give the QB a chance. I was stoked to see Russ finally utilize Muth as much as he did in this game. Let's hope this is the beginning of much more of this connection.

I love that he pointed out the play where Pickens quits on a route and says that what Pickens did almost always kills the play. This is what I was talking about last season with the WRs not helping the quarterback out and sometimes making it impossible for the QB to complete passes. Last season, Pickens AND DJ would pull that crap on Pickett all the time. JT Sullivan mentions how just one receiver pulling that shit most times takes down an entire play. Imagine being Pickett and having two wide receivers quitting on plays and not being where they are supposed to be on the field. A play with that happening is as dead as a doornail.

This is why I was losing my mind when trying to explain the horror that was Matt Canada's offense and showing my frustration with everyone clubbing Pickett like a baby seal every single game. I wanted DJ gone so bad because he was a malcontent, and he was a bad player for Pickens to learn anything from with his approach to the game and how to play the game.

Pickens still does things on the field that make you pull your hair out, but he much better this season for a variety of reasons. I just wanted to point that out. There are reasons why the offense is better this season beyond quarterback play. Effort and execution are still so important. Bad offensive design and poor effort makes it nearly impossible to play the quarterback position.

Good points.

This is likely WAY off, but on the play JT pointed out Pickens (and he seems to LOVE to take Pickens to task), it almost looked like Pickens was setting up to block. Like he expected the ball out quick to the receiver breaking underneath him. This may not be the case at all and he just gave a crappy effort. I have no idea. But that is what it kinda sorta looked like to me.

PF has the best feel for where the "hole in zone" is going to be among the Steelers entire offensive roster.

Wilson has added or Smith has felt comfortable enough to add this to the offense....but the QB switching stuff up to attack the weaknesses that are indicated pre-snap is something we haven't seen from the Steelers for like 5 years. It is a welcome change. And is what the veteran brings to the table more than anything else. Like a defense is going to confuse Wilson. He's seen it all.

Agreed that Canada drawing plays in feces and crayons on construction paper didn't help anyone. I still am of the belief that KP lacks the physical traits needed to play in the NFL at a high level....but we may never be able to test that speculation on my part.

[pczach]

Good points.

This is likely WAY off, but on the play JT pointed out Pickens (and he seems to LOVE to take Pickens to task), it almost looked like Pickens was setting up to block. Like he expected the ball out quick to the receiver breaking underneath him. This may not be the case at all and he just gave a crappy effort. I have no idea. But that is what it kinda sorta looked like to me.

PF has the best feel for where the "hole in zone" is going to be among the Steelers entire offensive roster.

Wilson has added or Smith has felt comfortable enough to add this to the offense....but the QB switching stuff up to attack the weaknesses that are indicated pre-snap is something we haven't seen from the Steelers for like 5 years. It is a welcome change. And is what the veteran brings to the table more than anything else. Like a defense is going to confuse Wilson. He's seen it all.

Agreed that Canada drawing plays in feces and crayons on construction paper didn't help anyone. I still am of the belief that KP lacks the physical traits needed to play in the NFL at a high level....but we may never be able to test that speculation on my part.

You make good points, and I think it is something that people can notice without having to be an ex-NFL QB if you have been watching this offense and seeing breakdowns for a couple years.

In regard to Pickett, I agree that he has no elite traits. I am not claiming that he is going to be a star. This is me still stewing over the fact that they never got to really find out what they had.

I believe in giving players a chance to develop. I'm not sure if you pay attention to me enough to notice that I don't like to rag on young players too much their first couple seasons in the league. Playing at that level is extremely difficult both physically and mentally. Players need to be supported. Particularly young quarterbacks. I tend to look at the young players and look for what is possible and not fixating at limitations to try to see what they can become. I guess I am a glass half full kind of guy because I know it takes time for most players to figure it out. And that's under the best conditions.

[hawaiiansteeler]

[Mojouw]

You make good points, and I think it is something that people can notice without having to be an ex-NFL QB if you have been watching this offense and seeing breakdowns for a couple years.

In regard to Pickett, I agree that he has no elite traits. I am not claiming that he is going to be a star. This is me still stewing over the fact that they never got to really find out what they had.

I believe in giving players a chance to develop. I'm not sure if you pay attention to me enough to notice that I don't like to rag on young players too much their first couple seasons in the league. Playing at that level is extremely difficult both physically and mentally. Players need to be supported. Particularly young quarterbacks. I tend to look at the young players and look for what is possible and not fixating at limitations to try to see what they can become. I guess I am a glass half full kind of guy because I know it takes time for most players to figure it out. And that's under the best conditions.

I think all of that is totally correct.

The only disagreement I have is that I don't think teams can actually "afford" to do that in the NFL at certain positions....and QB is one of them.

I noticed in the Cincy game highlights....it seems like Semalu has taken on some sort of line calls or pre-snap stuff and then he taps Frazier and the play gets going. Not sure what that is. BUT....assume it is taking a mental load off the rookie center. You can do that. But you just can't past a certain point at QB. And with the ludicrous salary cap advantage that a rookie QB contract gives you....you have to get your young QB up to full speed right away.

It is unfortunate, because that means the NFL landscape is littered with QB's that got discarded that could likely contribute but just not in the amount demanded of them in years 1-3.

[tube517]

I think all of that is totally correct.

The only disagreement I have is that I don't think teams can actually "afford" to do that in the NFL at certain positions....and QB is one of them.

I noticed in the Cincy game highlights....it seems like Semalu has taken on some sort of line calls or pre-snap stuff and then he taps Frazier and the play gets going. Not sure what that is. BUT....assume it is taking a mental load off the rookie center. You can do that. But you just can't past a certain point at QB. And with the ludicrous salary cap advantage that a rookie QB contract gives you....you have to get your young QB up to full speed right away.

It is unfortunate, because that means the NFL landscape is littered with QB's that got discarded that could likely contribute but just not in the amount demanded of them in years 1-3.

Ramon Foster used do that w/Pouncey. Especially in the road games

[Mojouw]

Ramon Foster used do that w/Pouncey. Especially in the road games

Maybe that’s it. I hadn’t noticed it before. Which means nothing other than my powers of observation are suspect!

[86WARD]

They’ve been do8ng the tap for a pretty long time.

[El Kabong]

Maybe that’s it. I hadn’t noticed it before. Which means nothing other than my powers of observation are suspect!

I think it's just on the road with the crowd noise the center can't always here the QB call for the snap so the guard looks for the QB to signal for the snap, the guard taps the center, and the center snaps.

[Voice of Reason]

I believe in giving players a chance to develop. I'm not sure if you pay attention to me enough to notice that I don't like to rag on young players too much their first couple seasons in the league. Playing at that level is extremely difficult both physically and mentally. Players need to be supported. Particularly young quarterbacks. I tend to look at the young players and look for what is possible and not fixating at limitations to try to see what they can become. I guess I am a glass half full kind of guy because I know it takes time for most players to figure it out. And that's under the best conditions.

A very wise approach to evaluating young players. I wish that some of the people here, and especially Mike Tomlin, had adopted it.

[Voice of Reason]

It is unfortunate, because that means the NFL landscape is littered with QB's that got discarded that could likely contribute but just not in the amount demanded of them in years 1-3.

Be still my heart. I think you're finally starting to get it.

[pczach]

I think all of that is totally correct.

The only disagreement I have is that I don't think teams can actually "afford" to do that in the NFL at certain positions....and QB is one of them.

I noticed in the Cincy game highlights....it seems like Semalu has taken on some sort of line calls or pre-snap stuff and then he taps Frazier and the play gets going. Not sure what that is. BUT....assume it is taking a mental load off the rookie center. You can do that. But you just can't past a certain point at QB. And with the ludicrous salary cap advantage that a rookie QB contract gives you....you have to get your young QB up to full speed right away.

It is unfortunate, because that means the NFL landscape is littered with QB's that got discarded that could likely contribute but just not in the amount demanded of them in years 1-3.

I agree with your disagreement in theory, but my comment was me saying that they could have found out much more about Pickett if the organization and Tomlin showed Canada the door much, much earlier. By the end of last season, they may have had a definitive answer if he was operating in a real offense with a competent OC. That's all I meant by that.

[Mojouw]

Be still my heart. I think you're finally starting to get it.

Welp...you took that totally out of the context of the other sentences that surrounded it and changed the meaning....but sure.