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Just start Justin Fields for the whole season Pittsburgh will finish 4-13 with a top 5 draft pick Other teams tank, why don't Pittsburgh start tanking for better players
I’m not interested in which QB looks good with the first team in practice and the preseason, because all three QBs can do that. I’m interested in seeing which QB can make the second and third stringers look like the first-team. The QB who can look good with lesser players is the QB who can handle pressure best and beat stingy defenses. That is the QB we want running this squad.
Fields hasn’t done a single thing to demonstrate that he’s even franchise QB material, let alone good enough to unseat a guy like Russ. *Justin Fields’s 3-Year Career Stats (advantaged metrics in boldface* Pass attempts: 958 Pass completions: 578 Completion%: 60.3% TD-INT: 40-30 Passing yards: 6,674 Passer rating: 82.3 *Rushing yards: 2,220* (vs. 1,327) *Rushing yards/yr: 740* (vs. 442) *Rushing TDs: 14* (vs. 7) *Rushing attempts: 356* (vs. 245.5) *Rushing y/a: 6.2* (vs. 5.4) Sacks: 135 Sacks/yr: 45 Yards lost: 908 Yards lost per sack: 6.7 Fumbles: 38 (11 Lost) On pace for 152 fumbles over 12 seasons with 44 lost. Career 4th quarter passer rating: 53 _______________________________________________ *Russ’s average over a 3-year period (based on his career statistics. Advantaged metrics in boldface)* *Pass attempts: 1,416* (vs. 958) *Pass completions: 917* (vs. 578) *Completion%: 64.7%* (vs. 60.3%) *TD-INT: 84-26* (vs. 40-30) *Passing yards: 10,913* (vs. 6,674) *Passer rating: 100.0* (vs. 82.3) Rushing yards: 1,327 Rushing yards/yr: 442 Rushing TDs: 7 Rushing attempts: 245.25 Rushing Y/A: 5.4 *Sacks: 132* (vs. 135) *Sacks/yr: 44* (vs. 45) *Yards lost: 866* (vs. 908) *Yards lost per sack: 6.5* (vs. 6.7) *Fumbles: 25.75 (8 Lost)* (vs 38 w/11 lost) *Career 4th quarter passer rating: 104* (vs. 53) Fields has a slight advantage in rushing. Russ is superior in every other department. That small rushing advantage isn’t nearly enough to compensate for Russ’s superiority as a passer, especially if we discuss 4th quarter metrics. If we discount Russ’s Denver years, Russ’s 3-year average stats would be better than Fields’s by an even larger margin, even if we include two injury years in Seattle (2016 and 2021) that produced outlier statistics. While both take a lot of sacks, Russ has taken them due to bad/inconsistent O-Lines and pure stubbornness on his part. Fields takes them more because he isn’t a great reader of defenses. His O-Lines have been better than Russ’s. _______________________________________________ *Russ’s Career Statistics* Pass attempts: 5,665 Pass completions: 3,668 Completion%: 64.7% TD-INT: 334-106 Passing yards: 43,653 Passer rating: 100.0 Rushing yards: 5,307 Rushing yards/yr: 442 Rushing TDs: 29 Rushing attempts: 981 Rushing y/a: 5.4 Sacks: 527 Sacks/yr: 43.9 Yards lost: 3,464 Yards lost per sack: 6.57 Fumbles: 103 (32 Lost) Career 4th quarter passer rating: 104 *Keep in mind that Russ’s career statistics include two subpar years in Denver.* Both years skew Russ’s stats negatively, especially 2022, when he threw just 16 TD passes and missed two games.
@@4Vertswhy should he have a short leash? Fields is not good at all. Wilson’s worst year ever with one of the worst HCs ever, still had a better season. 😂. Fields derangement syndrome is real.
*Here are Russ’s 2023 numbers (in 15 games, not 17).* 3,070 Yards 26 TDs 3 Rushing TDs (341 yards, 386 equiv.) 8 INTs 66.4% Complete 98 Passer Rating *Russ’s 2023 Rankings:* 1st in Fourth Qtr comebacks (4) 1st in Game-Winning Drives (4) 2nd in Adj. Completion Rate (78.8%)* 2nd in TD% (5.9) 4th in Completion Differentials 5th in TD-INT Ratio (26:8) 7th in Passer Rating (98.0) 9th in TDs (26) 9th in INT Rate (1.8) 10th in INTs among qualified QBs (8) 11th in Completion% (66.4%) T-13th in INT% (2.0) According to Sports Info Solutions (SIS), Russ’s arm is as deadly as ever! He completed six passes that flew 40+ air yards past the original line of scrimmage (for 301 yards), good for #1 in the league. Four of those six went for TDs, and the two that didn’t were attributed as drops by the targeted receivers. Russ attempted 16 such passes, and 10 were deemed on target by SIS. Of those 16 attempts, not a single one resulted in an interception. Russ had one of the league’s top deep-ball passer ratings, led the league in red zone efficiency for half the season. Rushed for 341 yards in 15 games, which is the equivalent of 386 yards over 17 games, or 220%+ times the rush yards of the average NFL QB. That was with Sean Payton suppressing his numbers. Russ is still capable of rushing for 400-500 yards! That’s ELITE! He also had 4 of the top-5 least probable completions and led the Broncos to a #1 red zone performance rating for half the season. He achieved that with his own coach hating him, and despite that hate, the Broncos still wanted to keep Russ for one more season. They were willing to guarantee his 2025 salary in exchange for Russ deferring his 2024 injury guarantee. Russ rejected the deal because he didn’t want to play there anymore. Context is everything. Russ’s YPG metric is low because Payton had him checking down all the time. Russ could easily have had 6-7 game-winning drives. Payton cut them short, particularly against NE. QBR is suspect statistic. ESPN won’t reveal its methodology, and it relies on inputs from the running game, O-Line and receivers. It’s a flawed statistic that rewards QBs who have strong weapons. 2024: Will perform.
Russ can get the Steelers to 12 or 13 games. Russ has outperformed Mahomes h2h in 4 out of their five meetings. In fact, I think Russ is one of only two QBs Mahomes fears, and the other is retired.
I’m not interested in which QB looks good with the first team in practice and the preseason, because all three QBs can do that. Instead, I’m interested in seeing which QB can make the second and third stringers look like the first-team. The QB who can look good with lesser players is the QB who can handle pressure best and beat stingy defenses. That is the QB we want running this squad. Now, which QB do you all believe that descriptor fits? I’ll give you a hint: he wears the magic number, not the symbolic number for bowel movements. 😏
You’re VERY misinformed, my guy. You need your do your research. The only reason Russ isn’t still in Denver: he refused to defer his injury guarantee for a year to lower the risk that they’d have to pay him nearly $80M for 2024 in the event of an injury plus a guaranteed $49M for 2025 regardless of whether he returned for that season. If Denver didn’t want to keep Russ, they wouldn’t have made that request. It would e been a moot point of they planned on cutting him the whole time. They read the tea leaves. They knew Russ didn’t want to play there, and Sean Payton didn’t like Russ’s persona. If Russ had agreed to the deferral, he would still be in Denver. He didn’t want to be there for o virus reasons. Secondly, Russ had been injured in two of the last three seasons, and in 2021 (his final season with Seattle), he was leading the league in passing before he got injured: 10:1 TD-INT Ratio 75% Completion% 128 Passer Rating He was on an MVP type tear…AGAIN, and the Seahawks were 2-2 at the time. He was injured in the middle of a very winnable game vs. the Rams and had to undergo surgery on his throwing hand the next morning. He appeared in 14 games in 2021 but was healthy for only 9 of those games. He finished with the following stats: 3,113 Yards 25 TDs 6 INTs 65% Completion% 103.1 Passer Rating He also nearly led the Seahawks to the playoffs despite Geno Smith ostensibly losing three games in his absence. He was injured in 2022 and had everything that could go wrong with a football team go wrong, except the defense. How’s that for irony? Then Sean Payton comes in trying to tank! He didn’t coach Russ and didn’t expose Russ to much of the playbook. He tried to sell some bs about Russ not digesting his offense, which anyone with a brain knew was a lie! Even if it had been true, it took Drew Brees three seasons to master Payton’s system. But no one can convince me that Jameis Einston, Teddy Bridgewater, and Taysom Hill could digest an offense that Russ couldn’t, especially when Russ successfully ran Brian Schottenheimer’s complex offense. The Broncos roster was horrible, the defense stunk until midseason, and Payton openly threw games! The other thing I am sick of hearing is how Fields is more intriguing because of his athletic ability. Russ is still one of the best athletes at the QB position. He risked for 341 yards last season in 15 games on mostly non-designed runs! Thats 386 yards over a 17-game period. The average QB rushes for less than half that. Russ is still capable of rushing for 400-550 yards per season. With his arm talent, which is still insane, he doesn’t need to do any more with his legs, and at 35 years old he’s still incredible. Safe, boring, and no upside, huh? *Russ in 2023 (in 15 games, not 17):* 3,015 Yards 26 TDs 3 Rushing TDs 8 INTs 66.4% Complete 98 Passer Rating *Russ’s 2023 Rankings:* 2nd in Adjusted Completion Rate (78.8%)* 3rd in TD% (5.8) 4th in Completion Differentials 5th in TD-INT Ratio (26:8) 9th in TDs (26) 9th in INT Rate (1.8) 10th in INTs among qualified QBs (8) 11th in Completion% (66.4%) Wilson posted a 66.4% number in 2023, ranking 11th out of the 30 qualifying quarterbacks. Not bad on surface level. Then, looking at adjusted completion rates, we encouragingly see Wilson rocket up to second-best in the NFL, at 78.8%. He also had 4 of the top-5 least probable completions and led the Broncos to a #1 red zone performance rating for half the season. He achieved that with his own coach hating him! His stats were a mixed bag, but there is much more room for optimism than there is for skepticism. His QBR sucked, but QBR is an offense stat, not a QB stat, which most people don’t understand. Russ in his WORST season (2022) was better than Fields was in his best. The misrepresentations, obfuscations, and false narratives are troublesome. Why do people wish failure upon Russ, and why do so-called Steelers fans mot want the best QB option for the Steelers, which is clearly and decisively Russ? As for knocking off Mahomes, Russ and Mahomes have faced off 5 times in their respective careers, and Russ has outperformed him in 4 of those matchups, including both 2022 losses. Russ is the only QB for whom Andy Reid never has an answer, and he’s also the only QB outside of Brady who wipes the smiles off Mahomes’s face. If people watched, they would know that. Quit using Russ’s age as an excuse to write him off! He’s not even old. If winning and consistency are safe and boring, give me safe and boring! I’ll take that over wanting to scratch out my own eyes while watching Fields.
Good luck with your channel, Football fans could use more knowledgeable contributors. Let me first say, that the Steelers went 5-1 against the AFC North last year and they did it with subpar QB play from Pickett and Trubisky. So, I don't think the Steelers are intimidated by their division rivals, as much as you seem to be. Shout out to Mason Rudolph because the guy played his heart out at the end of the season, and got them to a record of 10-7 and unexpectedly, got them to the playoffs. So, not sure about where your dismissive 9-8 comment comes from. You must be a big Justin Fields fan. You just listed a number of things that Fields needs to improve on, and yet, you're intrigued enough to start him over Russell? A guy who is a much more accomplished, SB winning QB, a borderline HOF veteran presence, and has proven to be a winner. I don't get it. Unless injuries prevent it, Russell is the now. Fields may be the future if he continues developing. It's well known that Tomlin has wanted a mobile QB since Big Ben began breaking down. But I doubt Tomlin is going to place the hopes of his team in the hands of a guy, who at this point, is not technically efficient, bounces short passes off the dirt,, and his best plays come from tucking it and running it out. I do agree with you though, Fields has a lot of untapped talent. Hopefully, he can help the Steelers win a playoff game.
First off, thanks for the support. I expect Russ to start, but he hasn’t played at a high level in 2.5 years. If they lose a few games early, I’d expect a switch
Fields dropping bombs against a very good defense. Williams throwing INTs against a very good defense. I really hope they don’t ruin another QB. CW should be sitting for the first half of the year.
@@4Verts maybe. But when I went to training camp on Saturday he could barely get a playoff. How is he going to develop rhythm with the offense if he isn’t given the time to let the play develop? He held the ball and missed reads and played “hero ball” in college. They need to develop him. They’re placing too much pressure on this kid.
Stupid take. Humor me, who should Caleb sit behind? A quarterback who was a rookie last season and won 2 games? Or the quarterback who's only 1 time been on a team longer than a year who's only attempted 168 passes in his career? You sit a quarterback behind a good quarterback, Bears don't have Mahomes, Rodgers, Burrow or Allen
I'm a big time bears fan ,and I hope justin fields lights the league on fire..I was pissed when chi let him go.i know it's business, and if the bears fucking botch this I'm gonna be pissed,might just start rooting for the steelers if chicago shits there pants again.
Based on what? A few good practices without Russ next round him? You gotta come better than that! Right now, Justin Fields is the equivalent of a basketball player who looks good during warmups but plays like garbage when the game starts. He’s the boxing challenger who looks good stepping into the ring but still gets knocked out on R1. He hasn’t done anything, and the last time he had Russ next to him, he looked average at best. When Russ gets next to him again, he will look average at best, and very inconsistent. The reason is simple, Russ will raise the bar and Fields, unable to match Russ, will get nervous and fall right back into his habits…not reading…bailing too quickly…forcing throws…bad mechanics…etc. I’m not interested in which QB looks good with the first team in practice and the preseason, because all three QBs can do that. Instead, I’m interested in seeing which QB can make the second and third stringers look like the first-team. The QB who can look good with lesser players is the QB who can handle pressure best and beat stingy defenses. That is the QB we want running this squad. Now, which QB do you all believe that descriptor fits? I’ll give you a hint: he wears the magic number, not the symbolic number for bowel movements. 😏
So, Fields gets thoroughly outperformed in OTAs, comes in without Russ for the first 9 days of training camp, looks pretty good for most of it (certainly not all) and all of a sudden, he’s the franchise QB? Bullsh!t. It doesn’t work that way. Fields will need to show out on games, and I guarantee you Russ is going to show out the way he did in 2012 when he buried Matt Flynn and Tavaris Jackson to win the Seahawks’ QB1 spot as a true rookie.
As someone who has watched Russ his whole career and knows what a toilet bowl the Broncos organization has been over the last 9 years, let me tell you this: Russ is SOOOO the one! No QB could’ve helped your dysfunction criminal organization, and Russ shouldn’t have gone there. What he pulled off was incredible given your poor coaching hire de idiots and poor personnel decisions. I keep hearing people make these arguments about Russ but the metrics say otherwise. Russ has had the misfortune of playing for a sh!tty organization, a mess he got himself into, but he never hit a cliff. If Russ has declined, where’s the evidence? As long as he has had lousy lines, he has taken a lot of sacks. That was true even in 2015! In 2023, Russ rushed for 341 yards with n 25 games on mostly non-designed runs just last year. That equated to 386 yards over 17 games. His rush Y/A isn’t far behind Fields’s. Russ can still rush for 400-500 yards per season, clearly. The average QB rushes for 175 yards per season. That 386 yards puts Russ at more than 220% times the average. So, his legs aren’t gone! According to Sports Info Solutions (SIS), his arm is as deadly as ever! He completed six passes that flew 40+ air yards past the original line of scrimmage (for 301 yards), good for #1 in the league. Four of those six went for TDs, and the two that didn’t were attributed as drops by the targeted receivers. Russ attempted 16 such passes, and 10 were deemed on target by SIS. Of those 16 attempts, not a single one resulted in an interception. This is a guy whose best receiver was a glorified #2 WR at best. Courtland Sutton was supposed to be the third option behind Jerry Jeudy and Tim Patrick. Russ made Sutton a Pro Bowler last year by throwing 4 of the top-5 least probable completions to him. The dinks and dunks you all saw were Sean Payton sabotaging Russ and trying to force Russ to defer his injury guarantee for a year. He and Broncos ownership were purposely trying to tank for draft position, scapegoat Russ, and ensure that other teams wouldn’t want him. It all backfired. There’s more: The fact that the Steelers are being so cautious with Russ should tell everyone that Russ is the guy, and he SHOULD be. A lot of the idiots in mainstream and social media assume that Russ being injured is Fields’s option to just come in, show out in a few practices, and be the guy! It doesn’t work like that. For one, Russ was coveted by the Steelers, including ownership, the front office, the coaching staff, and the players who helped recruit him. Secondly, has still had a far better offseason going back to OTAs. Thirdly, Russ had a better 2023 season and, despite the Broncos formally breaking up with Russ by cutting him, was still desired in Denver for another year at least. Fields is in Pittsburgh because the Bears no longer believed in him. Russ is in Pittsburgh because he refused to defer his injury guarantee and knew that refusing to do so would prevent the Broncos from keeping him. He WANTED out! Lastly, unlike Justin Fields, Russ has a long track record of success, including the worst season of his career (2022) being better than Fields’s best. Russ literally does everything better than Fields outside of run, and he’s not that far behind in that department. Russ still out-rushed 90% of the NFL’s QBs in 2023. He rushed for 341 yards in 15 games. That’s equivalent to 386 yards in 17 games. The average QB rushes for 175 yards in 17 games. Russ had 341 yards while playing for a coach who didn’t like him and didn’t design many runs for him. There is absolutely no justification for starting Fields over Russ, and frankly Mike Tomlin should be frightened at the thought of even doing it. Fields is inconsistent, can’t read defenses, and tends to take unnecessary risks. You say Russ is “a little past his prime.” The metrics below would’ve had the Steelers playing on the AFC Championship game last season, and possibly the SB, and Russ is still capable of putting up better numbers. Again, Payton suppressed him. *Russ in 2023 (in 15 games, not 17):* 3,015 Yards 26 TDs 3 Rushing TDs 8 INTs 66.4% Complete 98 Passer Rating *Russ’s 2023 Rankings:* 2nd in Adjusted Completion Rate (78.8%)* 3rd in TD% (5.8) 4th in Completion Differentials 5th in TD-INT Ratio (26:8) 9th in TDs (26) 9th in INT Rate (1.8) 10th in INTs among qualified QBs (8) 11th in Completion% (66.4%) Wilson posted a 66.4% number in 2023, ranking 11th out of the 30 qualifying quarterbacks. Then, looking at adjusted completion rates, we encouragingly see Wilson rocket up to second-best in the NFL, at 78.8%. He also had 4 of the top-5 least probable completions and led the Broncos to a #1 red zone performance rating for half the season. He achieved that with his own coach hating him, and despite that hate, the Broncos still wanted to keep Russ for one more season. They were willing to guarantee his 2025 salary in exchange for Russ deferring his 2024 injury guarantee. Russ rejected the deal because he didn’t want to play there anymore. His stats were a mixed bag due to his comparably low QBR, but there is much more room for optimism than there is for skepticism. His QBR sucked, but QBR is an offense stat, not a QB stat, which most people don’t understand. Sean Payton had more to do with that than anybody. Again, Russ in his WORST season (2022) was better than Fields was in his best. People want to see Mahomes knocked off? Russ and Mahomes have faced off 5 times in their respective careers, and Russ has outperformed him in 4 of those matchups, including both 2022 losses. Russ is the only QB for whom Andy Reid never has an answer, and he’s also the only QB outside of Brady who wipes the smiles off Mahomes’s face. If people watched, they would know that. To anyone who says Russ is declined, I say they’re wrong.
@@4Verts: Russ has been INJURED!!!!! Is that a hard concept for people to grasp! Of Mahomes had suffered the worst injuries Russ had, we would never hear the end of it. Russ suffers injuries, one of which was career threatening, and people talk like he has been fully healthy! I’m sick of being gaslit by people who hate the guy. Disliking someone should never impact objectivity. The last time he was fully healthy (2017 through the first 1/3 of 2021), and playing for a DECENT squad - the Seahawks weren’t great 2015-2021 - Russ was destroying the league. He was the top QB in those years in the aggregate…nobody was better.