Mike Tomlin’s Steelers are now 3-1 with Justin Fields at QB, in sole possession of first place in the division. He has to feel good about that, one would imagine, yet he still, theoretically, has a decision to make. While many are convinced that Fields will remain the starter, Mark Kaboly believes the jury is still out for Tomlin.
“He took another step, checked off another box, but he did have a chance to win it in the end there and didn’t, and almost threw an interception and did fumble”, Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan yesterday. “We have to keep it in perspective, and I think that’s what Tomlin’s doing right now”.
“If you notice, anything Tomlin was asked about Fields, he never gives him credit for anything”, Kaboly continued. “I think he’s still a little bit skeptical just like myself right now”.
Tomlin named Russell Wilson the Steelers’ starter, but an injury forced them to start Fields. While Wilson remains less than 100 percent, he could be healthy enough to play soon. Tomlin has up to now refused to address the depth chart verbally, pointing to the injury reports.
Wilson suffered a calf injury at the start of training camp. That allowed Fields to run the Steelers’ offense for the bulk of the past two months, straight into the season. Tomlin has had a front-row seat for the entire show and has seen plenty of good—and some bad.
Throughout the offseason, Tomlin cited Russell Wilson’s experience over Justin Fields, and that remains an issue. Fields’ center-quarterback exchanges alone are a concern that the Steelers could probably avoid with Wilson. But he hasn’t made so many mistakes that Tomlin would feel compelled to act aggressively.
A week ago, when asked why he wouldn’t name Fields (or Wilson) the Steelers’ starter, Tomlin said he had not done so because he had not needed to do so. Wilson’s health status does render the point moot because Fields has had to start, anyway. But the lack of clarity is only fueling more questions, albeit perhaps for good reason.
After all, there is still a lot that we don’t know about Fields, and he still largely sounds like the player from Chicago. We see the great talent and the tremendous plays, as well as the athleticism. But we also see the mental errors, the missed reads. While his completion percentage is much higher, his intended air yards are also much lower. Lower intended air yards obviously lend themselves to higher completion percentages, so we could be looking more at schematic differences than genuine player development.
Kaboly cautioned that while Fields did put up 24 points and scored three total touchdowns in Indianapolis, it requires context. The Steelers were trailing by 17 early, so defenses play that differently, and the Colts also don’t have a great defense.
