I was waiting to write some of these articles until after Mike Tomlin officially announced Russell Wilson as the Pittsburgh Steelers starting quarterback against the New York Jets. Instead of declaring it Friday, he’s keeping the game going and the New York Jets guessing even if Wilson’s starting status is the NFL’s worst-kept secret.
So, let’s assume Russell Wilson is the starter. Whether you agree or not, all that matters is that he’s poised to make his debut. It’s an unusual situation, a quarterback entering the fold mid-season, making expectations and projections for him difficult. But there are four things I’d expect to see in this one.
Finding George Pickens Early
There are reasonable critiques of OC Arthur Smith for not scheming George Pickens up early enough and getting him involved. A quarterback change isn’t guaranteed to change that, but Russell Wilson knows to get his top receiver involved early. It’s good for him and good for the offense.
While Fields throws a nice deep ball, Wilson shows more touch. His “moonball” is his specialty, which suits Pickens’ vertical skillset well. Expect Wilson to pepper Pickens with the ball, especially if CB Sauce Gardner doesn’t follow him everywhere.
Smoother Play-Action
If there’s one consistent criticism of Justin Fields, his play-fakes were poor. They were too half-hearted, and they didn’t fool the defense. Pittsburgh’s play-action numbers are ugly and have only gotten worse throughout the season. A vet like Russell Wilson might be more detailed than Fields has been. Given how often the Steelers are using play-action, this is an area the offense could see marked improvement in.
Sure, a strong run game helps, but play-action is all about the art of selling the run. Defenses still have to respect it. Given the Jets’ middle-of-the-field closed personality, there could be some great downfield opportunities on crossers and vertical shots.
Knocking Off The Rust
Rust for Russ. Hardly working with his teammates in camp or the regular season, there will be growing pains. Don’t be shocked if a couple of passes look like they were sent to nowhere but errant due to not being on the same page with his receiver. They’ll need reps to nail down when a receiver sits versus when he keeps running. When he converts a route into a curl instead of running deep. Working in a scramble drill and where Wilson looks when throwing hot.
It’s not going to be perfect. You just hope whatever errors and missteps there are don’t end in a costly turnover.
Same Pass Game Structure
While things will look different under Russell Wilson, the entire offense won’t change. The run game concepts will get scrapped with Wilson on the field, but the passing game? The concepts will largely remain the same. Wilson is functionally mobile and can get away from center, boot out, and run all the core concepts Smith’s offense needs. Every quarterback has his favorite plays and calls, but I don’t expect the passing game to have a true facelift schematically. Hopefully, it’s just more effective and fluid.
