Pickett traded

Even before Wilson the Steelers would have been looking to the Draft for a QBOTF. Pickett was their fall-back position as #1 QB if they failed. He wasn't valuable enough for them to tolerate his being a problem. They'll sign a non-threatening back-up to Wilson for now and see what happens in the Draft.

Yay, I hate the Stealers and I'm in AFC country it's going to be fun watching Shitsburgh go back pre 1970's where they belong as for Tomlin? You better make sure your resume is current.

RiverDog said:

The Steelers are desperate for a quarterback to get them over the hump. They are a playoff team with legitimate SB aspirations. The only problem is that they play in a very competitive division.

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That's exactly what people said about the Broncos when Russ was heading there. With any luck, the results will be similar.

Well this sets up Wilson for another extension since they have nobody in waiting unless they make a big trade for someone else.

chris98251 said:

Well this sets up Wilson for another extension since they have nobody in waiting unless they make a big trade for someone else.

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Please make it so (Captain Picard voice).

RiverDog said:

No, he was dumped because he is a spoiled brat. Did you miss the part that he refused to suit up in Week 17 as the emergency QB?

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Yeah, his writing was on the wall when the Steelers healthy benched him in favor of Rudolph down the stretch and he acted really entitled about it.

He hadn't progressed, couldn't squarely beat out Mason Rudolph and then pouted more about a veteran QB being brought in over him - he was always going to have competition and fight for a starter job there

He didn't want to compete, which is nuts because he's not walking into as starting gig anywhere and is now squarely behind hurts

It's a shame he got traded. They could've had Wilson Pickett.

Letting Rudolph go was just so colossally stupid. Rudolph was there Jarrett Stidham, a proven guy who could step in.

PhxPhin said:

Yeah, his writing was on the wall when the Steelers healthy benched him in favor of Rudolph down the stretch and he acted really entitled about it.

He hadn't progressed, couldn't squarely beat out Mason Rudolph and then pouted more about a veteran QB being brought in over him - he was always going to have competition and fight for a starter job there

He didn't want to compete, which is nuts because he's not walking into as starting gig anywhere and is now squarely behind hurts

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I was surprised that the Eagles actually traded for Pickett. With all the teams with an immediate need at QB, I would have thought that one of them would have been the ones to spend resources acquiring him. If they needed a backup to Hurts, there were a lot of them out there that wouldn't have required giving up draft capital.

I think Russell will do well in Pittsburgh. He fits their approach. 26/8 vs 14/14 (TDs/Ints) will win them several more close games. Instead of 10-7, it could be 12-5 or even 13-4 and 1 or 2 seed. All other things being equal of course. And his salary is vet minimum, so this leaves them room to get a couple more talented free agents or keep a couple more of their best players. IIRC, Pissburgh can get 2 years of this cheap Russ rental, and I'm sure they did their due diligence, unlike the Donkeys. All anyone had to do was watch Kurt Warner's breakdown of Russ, to know that he's no Tom Brady. The Steelers will run the "Russell Wilson Offense" and a lot of the Seahawks 2013-2014 elements will be in place for them to succeed.

From Russell's POV, if he helps Pittsburgh make a couple deep playoff runs, AFCCG or beyond, that would cement him as a strong HOF QB candidate. Russell will be motivated.

Or, with some irony, he'll be running the Sean Payton offense; lots of dump offs, hand-offs, followed by killer Russ-Wilson style red-zone and 4th quarter heroics.

LastRideOut said:

Steeler fans better get ready for a whole lot of Me3 and outs punctuated by 20+ yard sacks.

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FIFY

Oly, Russ *needs* the antagonistic force of a qb2 that can actually replace him to push him. More important, his team needs it.

Palmegranite said:

Or, with some irony, he'll be running the Sean Payton offense; lots of dump offs, hand-offs, followed by killer Russ-Wilson style red-zone and 4th quarter heroics.

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We'll probably see something closer to the Russball offense we saw in Seattle, but with less success because Russ is old and fat.

SantaClaraHawk said:

Letting Rudolph go was just so colossally stupid. Rudolph was there Jarrett Stidham, a proven guy who could step in.

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Rudolph was out of contract and the writing was on the wall for him. The Steelers were looking for a QBOTF and Pickett was their incumbent and developmental starter if that failed. His teammates were talking to Russell Wilson so Rudolph was plan C or plan D. Even if the Steelers offered him more money he was better off finding another back-up job.

Palmegranite said:

Or, with some irony, he'll be running the Sean Payton offense; lots of dump offs, hand-offs, followed by killer Russ-Wilson style red-zone and 4th quarter heroics.

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I didn't realize there was a difference between RWO and RW-SP-O, but upon reflection, I believe you're right. It's not exactly what Russell ran in Seattle, and it's evolved. I suppose I'll now think of it as RWO 2.0, or 1.5, but still just call it RWO (Payton mod) for simplicity.

The "real" Sean Payton offense was what we saw with Drew Brees under center. But I do agree Payton improved Russell, and Russell and the Steelers will incorporate the best of what they saw from the Payton version of the RWO.

RiverDog said:

I was surprised that the Eagles actually traded for Pickett. With all the teams with an immediate need at QB, I would have thought that one of them would have been the ones to spend resources acquiring him. If they needed a backup to Hurts, there were a lot of them out there that wouldn't have required giving up draft capital.

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They've given up very little Draft capital and Pickett's contract is very cheap. It's a good deal for the Eagles. It's not good for Pickett. Now he has no chance to improve in year 3 and get a new contract.

LastRideOut said:

We'll probably see something closer to the Russball offense we saw in Seattle, but with less success because Russ is old and fat.

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It will be interesting to see how much the Stealers have Russell run, how much of the Read-Option we see. IMO for Russell to be most effective, R-O with a Lynch-type of RB is an essential element. Doesn't have to be a lot, but does have to be an any-down, any-time threat, especially in the 4th qtr. I'm guessing it will be less running than 2013-2014 Russell, but more than the LRC delusional phase of Russell and Bevell/Schotty.

olyfan63 said:

I think Russell will do well in Pittsburgh. He fits their approach. 26/8 vs 14/14 (TDs/Ints) will win them several more close games. Instead of 10-7, it could be 12-5 or even 13-4 and 1 or 2 seed. All other things being equal of course. And his salary is vet minimum, so this leaves them room to get a couple more talented free agents or keep a couple more of their best players. IIRC, Pissburgh can get 2 years of this cheap Russ rental, and I'm sure they did their due diligence, unlike the Donkeys. All anyone had to do was watch Kurt Warner's breakdown of Russ, to know that he's no Tom Brady. The Steelers will run the "Russell Wilson Offense" and a lot of the Seahawks 2013-2014 elements will be in place for them to succeed.

From Russell's POV, if he helps Pittsburgh make a couple deep playoff runs, AFCCG or beyond, that would cement him as a strong HOF QB candidate. Russell will be motivated.

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That's a fair take, certainly from the standpoint of a pro RW fan.

But the flip side is that this is not the same Russell Wilson of 2013-14. That Russell Wilson was amazingly elusive, a football Houdini who frequently would escape from the most impossible of situations and make game changing plays as a result. But Russ still retains those elements that made him successful 10 years ago in his current repertoire of quarterbacking skills.

Basically, he holds onto the ball too long. Despite being 35 years old, he's amongst the league leaders in both time to throw and pocket time, ie the time between the snap and when the QB either throws or the pocket collapses.

Pittsburgh's offensive line had their problems in pass protection last season, with PFF ranking them 31st in the league in that category. The Broncos OL, on the other hand, ranked 5th in pass protection, yet Russell was still the 4th most sacked QB despite playing in just 15 games.

That means that one of two things has to happen: Either the Steelers vastly improve their offensive line as it applies to pass protection, or Russell starts getting the ball out of his hands quicker, something that he hasn't been able to do his entire career.

My take is that it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. But we'll see. It's going to be an interesting drama to watch unfold.