When Mr. Smith went to Washington, he quipped.
“Either I’m dead right or I’m crazy.”
For Mike Florio, the Pittsburgh Steelers starting Russell Wilson is the latter.
Appearing on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday afternoon, Florio said the Steelers should back Justin Fields as their starting quarterback.
“I don’t know what the Steelers are thinking, but I think it’d be crazy not to go with Justin Fields looking at that offense,” Florio told 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “The way the offensive line’s playing. And you throw on top of it, Jaylen Warren presumably being injured into the season. Where do you get the burst? Where do you get the acceleration? Where do you get the excitement? You get it from Justin Fields.”
Pittsburgh’s entire offense has been below-par through two preseason games, and while blame should be shared instead of spared, it starts up front. The Steelers’ offseason plan was to build through the trenches and they did, loading up by spending draft picks on Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick. But Pittsburgh has also dealt with o-line injuries they haven’t experienced in the last two years, especially at tackle, which has impacted the pocket and play of the offense.
Florio’s theory is the more-mobile Fields can avoid that pressure better than a 35-year-old Wilson. That proved true in Saturday’s preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills, with Fields scrambling for some of the Steelers’ biggest plays of the game.
He also repeated what he told Chris Simms on Pro Football Talk earlier this week, noting Fields made the Steelers’ offense more fun to watch.
“There just was a greater sense of excitement when Justin Fields played. And if the offense isn’t gonna be what it needs to be, go with the guy that gives you that ability to make things happen. When the protection falls apart, when the play that’s called goes to crap, and you’ve gotta have a guy who can improvise with his legs.”
Odds are, Florio won’t get his wish. Mike Tomlin confirmed Russell Wilson will start Saturday’s finale against the Detroit Lions, and though the Steelers haven’t declared a starter, Wilson is firmly in the driver’s seat. At this point, it would take a terrible performance from Wilson and a great one from Fields in order for there to be a non-injury related change to the team’s depth chart.
Despite Fields receiving ample opportunity and enjoying an impressive training camp, what matters most for two veteran players is their in-stadium work. Fields hasn’t managed to close the gap there and Pittsburgh remains confident in the o-line protecting better once they get healthy. His best bet is seeing packaged plays while Wilson starts, utilizing Fields’ athleticism in that sense and forcing defenses to plan for it. And should Wilson falter, the team could consider a permanent change.
If the Steelers stick with Wilson, they could be dead right. If not, they won’t just be crazy. Their season will also be plain dead.
