Pittsburgh plays a gritty brand of offensive football that’s led to a 2-0 start. QB Justin Fields has utilized his strengths and minimized taking risks to give this offense a different dimension than it did last year to help propel Arthur Smith’s vision for a strong running game.
They have the highest usage rate of 13 personnel in the league, a philosophy that allows Fields to take chances when given the opportunity to throw the ball downfield. Obviously the team needs more splash plays in the future from the passing game to keep up with other teams who have more prolific offenses.
Never shy about giving his opinion and analysis, former NFL head coach Jon Gruden recently shared his thoughts on Fields. Previewing tomorrow’s Steelers-Chargers game on his YouTube channel, Gruden discussed Fields’ ups and downs.
“Justin Fields is like watching a rollercoaster,” Gruden said. “You ever been on one of those rollercoasters at Disney World? It’s exciting, man. Woo. Ah, it’s just crazy. Justin Fields makes some of the great plays you will see running to his left.”
Fields’ athleticism and big arm make him a threat from any launch point and arm angle. Even when defenses plaster all passing lanes, Fields can rip off big runs with his legs. But Gruden still hasn’t seen enough consistent play to make him easy to trust.
“He can make all kind of plays, but then he makes some head-scratching plays. He misses a flat route that’s wide open. He misses the throw right in front of him. He doesn’t see the field at times and sometimes he gets careless in the pocket, but he has the talent. He just needs to get it consistently together.”
Although Gruden has fair points about Fields as a passer, he has shown growth in minimizing risk, not turning the ball over in his first two weeks with Pittsburgh. His deep ball is also a threat. According to PFF, he is one of the best deep ball passers in the NFL this year so far, ranking fifth league-wide with a 94.4 grade. He also has a pair of 30-plus yard completions to George Pickens nullified by penalties.
To his credit, Fields has followed the coaching staff’s game plan to maximize the strengths of the offense – a healthy dose of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and taking shots down the field to George Pickens when they’re available.
Eventually the Steelers will have to expand their offense to encompass more play-action usage, middle of the field concepts, and taking more deep shots down the field. However, they’ve done enough to win games so far that is greatly impacted by the presence of an elite defensive unit.
This progression and Fields’ increased confidence in the offense hopefully yields a more diverse passing attack and increase in explosive plays. All of this has to be taken into context as well as the fact that he’s playing with an offensive line that has been in flux. This upcoming game against a formidable defense in the Los Angeles Chargers will be a big gauge of where he’s at and what type of potential this offense has with Fields at the helm.
