PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Statistically about as balanced as you can be in today’s NFL. The Bears are over 1,000 yards in rushing and passing, however in preparing for Chicago, Steelers have their eyes on the rookie quarterback.
“Look at him last week, he rushed for over 100 yards last week,” said Steelers corner Cam Sutton. “That’s not something that is looked over. It’s obviously something that keeps any team on its heels.”
He is first round pick Justin Fields and if any Steelers player should have some insight, it’s a Buckeye.
“I get more excited playing Ohio State quarterbacks,” said former Ohio State defensive end Cam Heyward. “I’ve watched them enough during college football.”
“Mobile quarterbacks, they stress a defense. He’s a young, mobile quarterback that is still growing that can beat you with his arm and his legs.”
Fields has thrown for 991 yards, completing 59.5% with three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He’s also the third leading rusher at 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Quarterback mobility is a component of play, something that you don't deal with every week, something that we better be ready to deal with this week,” Tomlin said. “I think last week was his first 100-yard game. I imagine he's gaining a sense of comfort of when to utilize those skills and when it's most appropriate and how to take advantage of his talents with each passing week. That has our attention.”
“They had, I think, two called runs,” said Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler. “He’s more of a scrambler type. I think a lot of the yards that he got when he rushed for 100 yards was scrambling. So, we’ve got to do a good job of keeping him in the pocket.”
Butler’s defense has had pretty good success against mobile quarterbacks. Fields, despite not being the starter all year, is the most sacked quarterback in the league; sacked 26 times or once every 13 drop backs .
Butler believes the key will be in stopping tailback Khalil Herbert (351yds, 3 TD).
“Taking care of the running backs first,” Butler said. “Try to make them use the quarterback. We play Baltimore twice a year, so we get kind of used to that. We try to use some of the same stuff that we’ve done before against good running quarterbacks.”
“They’re atop five run group, and so it starts there for us,” Tomlin said of Chicago, the number one rushing team in the NFC. “If we want to get in circumstances where we get an opportunity to work, to wreak havoc, to play the style of ball that we like to play, we’d better minimize that component of their attack.”
Heyward warns in watching a number of Fields’ college games, he’s a great athlete. That doesn’t mean he can’t throw the ball. Heyward says Fields is a complete player and they just can’t stack the box.
“I think he puts a lot of pressure, an added element of those off-scripted plays,” Sutton said. “Rush integrity, holding our gaps, holding our leverage and getting after the quarterback. Not be hesitant just because he’s a mobile quarterback, we are still going to do our thing and play a Steeler brand of football.”
“We'll do our best to keep him from running the ball and then putting him in situations he's not used to,” Butler said. “We're gonna try to make him
a little bit uncomfortable if we can.”
When Fields does throw it, he has some veteran receivers Marquise Goodwin (11-123 yds.) and Allen Robinson (26-271 yds.). More experience at tight end with Cole Kmet (22-187 yds.), Jesse James (former Steeler who caught a TD last week) and Jimmy Graham.
“They’ve got talent, they’ve got speed, they're capable of stretching the field vertically,” Tomlin said. “I can't say enough about [Darnell] Mooney, who I'm familiarizing myself with. Darnell Mooney (33-409 yds.). Young guy from Tulane who has really captured my attention in terms of the rapport that he's been able to build with Fields and the things that they're doing, increasingly so of late.”
“However the Bears are going to attack us, we have to be ready,” Sutton said. “We’ve seen a mix of everything. Trying to lock in and be fundamental and put ourselves in the right situation.”
Bears Defense
While the Bears won’t have potential Hall of Famer Khalil Mack Monday, Tomlin is impressed by middle linebacker Roquan Smith. The 24-year-old has 81 tackles, 40 more than anyone else on Chicago’s team with a pair of sacks, a pick six and three passes defended. Tomlin called him an ‘all situations linebacker’.
“His athleticism and things along with [Alec] Ogletree, they're a challenging tandem because of their athleticism and their range and their ability to get to a lot of things,” Tomlin said. “Can't say enough about [Eddie] Jackson and [Tashaun] Gipson at safety. They’re a veteran tandem. Both guys have had Pro Bowl quality years in their career. They mix their coverages up well. Those two guys are highly productive guys for them in the running game and in
the passing game.”
Linebacker Robert Quinn is the active leader in sacks with 5.5 with Mack out.
Monday Magic
Steelers haven’t lost a home Monday night game in Ben Roethlisberger’s career and even with the addition of weekly Sunday and Thursday night games. The original remains special.
“I remember as a kid, there weren’t all these games,” Roethlisberger said. “It was
like Monday Night Football was all you had, and if I was nice, if I didn't ask too many times, my dad might let me watch the first quarter. But most of the time, I had to go to bed, so now it's just like, man, I get to be on the field and there's some kid somewhere that’s gonna watch the game. So that makes it pretty cool.”