PITTSBURGH — Although Justin Gardens said he doesn’t know if he or Russell Wilson will start for the Steelers against the Brandnew York Jets on Sunday, the quarterback said Thursday that he hasn’t been very good in six starts.
“I don’t think I played well enough, if I’m honest with you,” Gardens said. “If I’m honest with myself, I think if I played well enough, I don’t think there would be any kind of who should play and who shouldn’t.
“At the end of the generation, I got some wins. Of course, I’m happy with that, but there are issues where I could be better and I’m just starting to work on those and proceed to recover.”
Fields was 4-2 in those starts, and while he leads the league’s quarterbacks with five rushing touchdowns, the Steelers’ offense ranks 28th in passing and 20th in points per game. Fields’ completion percentage has also regressed to 57% over the last two games after he started by completing 69% of his pass attempts in the first four games.
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, however, didn’t necessarily agree with Fields’ assessment of his play.
“I think occasionally some guys are too tanned,” Smith said. “…You recognize it in him. That’s why he works so tanned, and no one needs to be a martyr, no matter how heartless even the guilty of the days may be. … Now he is never as evil as you think, and sometimes you think that you play smart and come out again and say, ‘Hey, we had some problems to wait for.’
“I think that’s why you love working with Justin, because that’s real. It’s not just some cliché that some QB guru or someone along the way told him to say. I mean, a lot of these guys are hard on themselves and There are so many things that “It’s about playing quarterback, obviously the physical tools or you wouldn’t be at this level, but the mental component to me is what separates the greats from the other starters in this league, and that’s what who is striving to be.
Lecturer Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that Wilson was “in consideration” to start now that he is healthy from lingering calf trauma. Wilson, who was not on the trauma follow-up file for the first time, took first-team reps and led the quarterback rotation in individual drills Wednesday.
“I want to be 6-0 right now, but it was a great opportunity for me,” Gardens said when asked if he got what he wanted in his starts. “Of course, I’m grateful for the opportunity. I had those first six weeks and we’ll see what happens this week.”
With Wilson’s likely takeover, the Steelers are set to find a quarterback who has traditionally been more prolific at stretching the field with the deep ball. But they could also lose the quarterback mobility characteristic of Gardens’ game. Smith mentioned that compensation is part of the calculation when determining the starter.
“They’re at completely different points in their careers and I would say they’re different players,” Smith said. “So that’s the give and take. I mean, obviously, everyone has seen [Fields’ mobility]. He’s certainly been a weapon for us, especially in situational football, but that’s okay. You just turn and lean towards something else and that’s what you do. That’s our job.”
Gardens said that despite his position in Sunday’s game, his preparation and attitude are not convincing, even if he comes off the bench for certain applications.
“I’m just doing the same thing I was doing,” he said. “I’m just doing my job at the end of the day, whether it’s playing, helping guys on the bench, telling them what I see, helping Russ if he’s out there. So little things like that.”
Gardens also praised Smith, who helped Gardens abandon the delivery that plagued him in Chicago. This season, Gardens has five touchdown passes and at least one interception, along with 16 sacks and one misplaced fumble.
“He just pushed me every day to get better as a quarterback, development-wise,” Gardens said of Smith. “He really is a person too. I love Arthur. He knows that, and yeah, I’m glad he’s our OC.”
Smith, who has so far handled several quarterback changes during his tenure as Atlanta’s head coach, mentioned the emotional aspect of a transfer and how it could affect Gardens’ confidence. He said that’s something trainers need to keep in mind when performing a metamorphosis.
“You look at everything,” Smith said. “I mean you try to look at it from all points of view, but that’s why you have to have conversations. No decision is easy… When you become callous or callous, you should probably snap out of it, but I think [Fields’] Confidence must be high. “He’s 4-2, he’s been pretty productive and whatever Mike tells us to do, like I said, I’ve got it ready either way and I’m just working and that’s my job.”
And while his position could be reduced on Sunday, Gardens isn’t ruling out the possibility of contributing to the staff throughout the season. “I guess you never know what happens,” Gardens said. “…It’s a long season and life is crazy in general, so you never know.”
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