As a former head coach, Arthur Smith knows all that matters is winning. And he knows what happens when you don’t. You get fired, as Smith was after three-straight 7-10 seasons manning the Atlanta Falcons. So being 4-2 with the Pittsburgh Steelers is a solid spot to be in, though Smith acknowledged the team still has room to grow.
Asked about what presumed Week 7 starter Russell Wilson offers and Smith gave a winding answer that talked up Fields, discussed the team’s progress, and left the quarterback decision in Mike Tomlin’s court.
“We gotta ramp [Wilson’s] reps up and so [Tomlin’s] got a decision to make by the end of the week,” Smith said via The Trib’s Chris Adamski. “Unfortunately, Russ has missed a lot of time, so we’ve never really gotten to see him. I think Justin’s done a good job. By no means has anybody been perfect around here, but it’s about winning.
“Obviously, we wish we were 6-0. We’re not. You are what your record says you are. So we’re 4-2, and I think we’ve made progress in certain areas some weeks. Other weeks, depending on the plan and how they attacked us, there’s always things we gotta fix.”
There certainly wasn’t a response to “what Wilson brings the Steelers.” In fairness, that’s partially due to his limited reps since the summer. He missed most of training camp with a calf injury, played seven preseason series that mostly ended with punts, and only returned to practice on a full-time basis last week. Wilson has a long NFL resume but a short one with Pittsburgh, making his fit hard to project.
At the risk of projecting Arthur Smith’s comments, he doesn’t seem to be enthused over the prospects of swapping Fields for Wilson. But that’s a Tomlin decision, not one for Smith to make.
For Fields, a 4-2 record likely isn’t enough to keep the job. His play was mixed and waned in recent weeks as Wilson got healthy, opening the door for him to be replaced. But Wilson will have to keep up the Steelers’ winning ways, starting with a tough New York Jets defense on Sunday night, a unit that hasn’t allowed more than 23 points in any of their last five games.
