The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to blow out the New York Jets a controversial Mike Tomlin decision. Russell Wilson made his 2024 debut and lit up the Jets’ defense, especially in the second half of a Week 7 contest. Tomlin and his staff seemed to have much more faith in the veteran quarterback based off of the plays that he was able to make. He took deep shots much more frequently. Some were pretty, and some were not, just like one would expect from any typical quarterback. That's not the only sign of trust that the Steelers' staff displayed on Sunday Night Football, however.
Wilson was even given the freedom to do something that has rarely been done since Ben Roethlisberger retired.
Wilson has the ability to change the play at the line of scrimmage. The fact that Tomlin gave him that ability shows how much faith he has in the signal-caller. Any audible that was called over the previous three seasons were few and far between. The coaching staff has not felt comfortable with letting any of its quarterbacks take control of a game and call plays based on what the defense shows them. If there's an open spot, that's too bad, the play-caller didn't see it, so just stick to the plan.
Justin Fields previously admitted that he did not have the freedom to call audibles, whether he wanted to or not. Whatever Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith decided was final; no questions asked. It would make sense to give a quarterback that relies on his legs to have the ability to change the play when there weren't enough defenders in the box to slow him down, but there wasn't enough trust for that.
Kenny Pickett was held back by that decision as well. He just presumably did whatever Matt Canada told him to do, which was usually the wrong play anyways. There are definitely some criticisms of Pickett’s play and decision-making, but it doesn’t help to have the worst offensive coordinator in the league dictate everything. Who knows how much he could have grown if he had a real chance to do so?
Steelers and Tomlin Keep Living In Their Fears
Would Fields and Pickett been right about every audible that they would have called if given the chance? Of course they wouldn’t have been. Mistakes would be made, and that’s expected from any young quarterback trying to grow and develop into a starting-caliber passer. There's always the potential of either of them throwing an interception or missing an open read due to them trying to do too much on their own.
However, they need that chance to make those mistakes, so they understand when to change the play at the line of scrimmage. If they are never able to fail at that, they won’t know how to properly call an audible a few years down the road. This is Fields' fourth year in the league, so it's not like he has no understanding of man coverage vs zone coverage. As long as he knows the plays, why not let him try to figure out how to read a defense and call something before the snap?
If Wilson can make those decisions in his season debut, why couldn't Fields? The young quarterback has had a lot more time to gain chemistry with his receivers and practice the playbook. If they have any desire in keeping him around past 2024, it's best if they allow him to learn and make these mistakes. You can't develop as a quarterback if your coaching staff handcuffs you at every given moment. You can't live in your fears when trying to develop a potential franchise quarterback.
