Kozora: My Thoughts On Justin Fields After Two Steelers Practices

Although it’s only been two days of practice and the Pittsburgh Steelers don’t put on the pads until next week, the biggest headline news is Justin Fields serving as the team’s starting QB while Russell Wilson nurses a minor calf injury. Wilson should be back soon, perhaps this weekend, but Fields has taken advantage of valuable first-team reps.

So…how has he looked? The overall sentiment, by myself and others in attendance, has been positive. But I wanted to dedicate space to detailing his play, the good and bad, even knowing the sample size is small.

The Stats

– Camp stats aren’t the end-all but they’re useful objective tools to help provide baseline data. Through the two days, here are the stats I have down for Fields: 11-of-25, 119 yards, 1 TD 0 INTs. A quarterback rating of 71.9.

Obviously, numbers alone lack context. There have been a couple where his receiver could’ve/should’ve made the play and didn’t. But the completion rate is low. That’s in part due to some bad underneath misses and having three passes batted down during Friday’s practice. One by OLB T.J. Watt, one by DL Cam Heyward, and one by DL DeMarvin Leal.

The Good

– Fields’ arm strength and downfield throws have been on the money. He started on Thursday in 7v7 with a 46-yarder down the left sideline to Van Jefferson, beating CB Donte Jackson who slipped and fell mid-route. Still, the pass hit Jefferson in stride.

Friday’s practice was even better in that regard. The highlight was Fields hitting George Pickens on a post during full team period for a 51-yard pickup. Most impressive was the muddied pocket around him, unable to step into the throw, this was sheer arm strength to put the ball on the money.

Later, Fields hit TE Pat Freiermuth with a nice touch pass on a slot fade down the left sideline, beating SS DeShon Elliott for 25 yards. Even some of Fields’ incompletions downfield haven’t been his fault, like a well-placed pass that George Pickens could’ve (and should’ve) caught during the first practice, unable to haul it in against Donte Jackson.

– Beyond the arm strength, Fields has largely made good decisions. He hasn’t tried to force passes into impossible windows and hasn’t been bitten by a lurking linebacker or safety he never saw. He’s gone through his progressions, a full-field read to complete a short pass to Freiermuth on the first team period throw of camp, and he hasn’t felt skittish in the pocket or bailing early. Of course, no one can sack him and that provides a sense of comfort but it’s still good to see.

– While this isn’t inherently good, it is if you’re Freiermuth. That’s been his favorite target through two days, targeting him at least a half-dozen times.

The Bad

– There needs to be more of “doing the routine things routinely” which has been an issue throughout his career and the biggest part holding back his consistency. Short-game accuracy and placement need to improve. Examples from our daily logs:

“1. Justin Fields again looks for Pickens over the middle. But the pass is low and dies about 3 yards in front, Pickens sliding to the ground but with no chance to make the play.

2. 11 personnel. RPO. Fields pulls the football out of Najee Harris’ belly and again looks for Freiermuth just inside the goal line. It’s high and over his head but Freiermuth reaches up and gets hands on it. The ball skims through his fingers and incomplete, Porter on the coverage.

11 personnel. Fields has Austin open for a crosser working left to right but the pass is behind him and incomplete, Austin a slight show of frustration over the missed opportunity.”

Not to mention all those batted passes I referenced above. Throw a better ball and avoid the bat downs and Fields completes six more passes, giving him a 17-of-25 line and 68 percent completion percentage.

– And perhaps there was one or two poor reads. Two RPOs where he could’ve handed it off instead of throwing. Throwing to a covered Austin for an incompletion on a fade Friday.

Final Thoughts

– No conclusions after two days. But so far, Justin Fields has been as-advertised. Wow moments with his arm downfield. Needing to clean things up on underneath throws.

Overall, I’m content with his play the first two days but there’s still a ways to go. Nothing he’s done in two days, not that there’s anything he could’ve done to change the depth chart, tells me he will or should start over Russell Wilson. But that won’t stop the chatter until Wilson is back in the lineup, which he should be by Tuesday at the latest.