Sometimes, people talk to just to talk. And when the words come out of their mouth, it’s clear that whatever point they’re getting at isn’t going to make much sense. When the Pittsburgh Steelers and QB Justin Fields were brought up on ESPN’s Get Up this morning, former NFL CB and current analyst Dominique Foxworth said words, but not a lot of them made much sense.
Foxworth took aim at Fields, saying that he’s “not special” and that a team starved for good QB plays is convincing itself that he is.
“I think the Pittsburgh Steelers are more like a stray dog, and they ain’t had a good meal in awhile. So you get him a little snack, and they convinced this is a full meal. And it feels like Justin Fields is not special right now,” Foxworth said.
Foxworth also said that while Fields didn’t turn the ball over on Sunday, he took sacks that killed drives, and he’s worried about his issues with the Bears resurfacing. Which, by the way, is a completely idiotic statement because the two drives that Fields took sacks on were scoring drives, including the touchdown drive in the first quarter.
I don’t think anyone is talking themselves into believing that Fields is a “special” quarterback. But he’s done enough to win, using his legs well and making throws down the field as needed, and he has the Steelers at 2-0. If the Steelers are confusing themselves into thinking Fields is special, they would’ve committed to him as their starter by now and not left uncertainty about whether he’ll hold onto the job when Russell Wilson returns from his calf injury.
And I want to go back to Foxworth saying that Fields’ sacks killed drives. Fields was sacked twice on Sunday for all of seven yards. The first sack came on 1st and goal at the Denver 4, and Fields lost six yards. After a Najee Harris run, Fields hit Darnell Washington for the first touchdown of the game. Real drive killer, huh?
His second sack was a one-yard loss on 1st and 10 from the Pittsburgh 44. Two plays later he hit WR Calvin Austin III for a third-down conversion to keep the drive alive, and the Steelers ended the half with a field goal on the same drive. It would’ve been a touchdown drive if not for a bad penalty call against WR Van Jefferson.
If you want to go on national TV and make some big analogy to try and knock a guy, at least watch the tape and get your facts correct. To say that Fields “started taking sacks that killed drives” is a patently false statement.
Justin Fields might not be a special quarterback, but he’s an undefeated quarterback right now. He’s done what the Steelers have asked of him, and I don’t think anyone is confusing him with an upper-echelon quarterback. But he’s done enough to win, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
