When your team has lost three games in a row and quarterback play is part of the issue, it is only natural for pundits to pile on. Steve Smith Sr. took some time out of his day to post a video on YouTube where he issued a stern warning to Pittsburgh Steelers fans about QB Russell Wilson.
“I’m just telling you, Russ ain’t very good,” Smith said.
Up until a few weeks ago, it would be hard to build a case against Wilson. He wasn’t perfect, but he was on pace for the best season of his career in several statistical categories. Amidst the Steelers’ three-game losing streak, it’s starting to become a bit harder to defend him.
In those three games, Wilson threw for 550 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. He also put the ball on the ground once in each game, losing two of them. His four turnovers were a factor, but they weren’t the only issue.
Coming from a former Baltimore Raven, some of the rivalry is showing in Smith’s commentary, but he lays into Wilson’s play pretty hard.
“I like Russ as a person,” Smith said. “My question is, Pittsburgh Steelers fans, are you happy if the season ends right now? Are you signing Russell Wilson as your quarterback of the future?
“You think I hate Russell Wilson. I don’t know Russell Wilson. I’m just saying I know ball and the quarterback’s struggling. If he does not go through his progressions, you cannot do anything.”
Wilson has made use of the middle of the field a bit more than what the Steelers experienced in 2023 with Kenny Pickett and Matt Canada in charge of the offense, but it hasn’t been utilized enough. His bread and butter is still the moon ball and looking for explosive plays.
As Hard Knocks showed after Week 16 against the Ravens, they said he is a quarterback of “three pointers and layups.” The intermediate passing game hasn’t been a large part of the offense. If the deep ball isn’t there, Wilson looks for the checkdown. That’s also when he gets himself in trouble with extending the play and taking sacks. He has taken 10 sacks over the last three games.
It was a big issue while George Pickens was out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. The deep passing game wasn’t working and therefore the offense wasn’t working. It was like pulling teeth to sustain a drive for more than three or four plays over that stretch.
If the season ended today, extending Wilson would be a very tough decision. If he can get the elusive playoff win that the Steelers have been working toward for the last eight years then the decision will be a little easier. But players typically don’t get better as they approach their 40s and Wilson will turn 37 next season. Just look at Kirk Cousins and Aaron Rodgers’ recent contracts. Both the Atlanta Falcons and the New York Jets probably wish they would have made a different decision.
“If you don’t have a good running game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, then the pass game is ineffective,” Smith said. “I’m sorry, but that’s just the point. You’ve seen it for the last three weeks and it will continue. And you need to be afraid, very afraid going into the playoffs because no one is fearing Russell Wilson as a throwing quarterback.”
There is just one opportunity to get right before the playoffs and that is this Saturday evening against the Cincinnati Bengals. Last time the two teams played, Wilson won in a shootout and had many thinking quite the opposite of what Smith is saying. Maybe the Bengals’ soft defense is just what the doctor ordered to get right before the playoffs. If the Steelers win, they will secure a trip to the struggling Houston Texans in the Wild Card round. From there, anything could happen.
