Every starting quarterback is a star in the summer. Regardless of whatever happened last season – or, you know, the last four seasons – every QB figures it out in the summer. A change of scenery always helps, as does being in the best shape of your life.
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The Steelers know this routine well, which is one of the many luxuries the comes with spending almost half a decade trying to play the free agent QB lottery. It seems like only yesterday that Steelers fans were bending over backwards trying to convince everyone* (*themselves) that the Bears simply didn't know how to coach Justin Fields (which, fair). Fields' time in Pittsburgh was what it was, and now he's the Jets' starting QB. And while there are probably a couple players on Pittsburgh's roster who could warn us all about the dangers of being the Jets' starting QB, it sounds like things are going well in New York so far. Shocker! The latest Fields report from The Athletic is pure, uncut summer football analysis, and Steelers fans will know it well.
Steelers fans will be awfully familiar with the latest quotes about Justin Fields
"'He’s not trying to be the celebrity quarterback, he’s just trying to be himself,” Glenn said, referencing an adage made famous by his mentor Bill Parcells. “And whatever comes with that, it comes with it. So, he’s not trying to impress anybody. He’s going out there and he’s busting his a– trying to be the best quarterback he can be for this team. Everybody sees that — and I like that ... ' Since the Jets signed Fields, Glenn has repeatedly alluded to the idea that Fields, in his past stops, was not put in an environment that actually let him play quarterback — as in, throwing the ball and making plays with his arm as much as with his legs. It’s an important distinction for a player who has been one of the better running quarterbacks the NFL has ever seen."
I'm sure that is a Bill Parcells reference, but also, you can't convince me it's not also a tiny bit of shade. And Glenn didn't even work with Rodgers, but it's definitely shade; he knows his audience. As for the Fields stuff? Sure, fine, whatever. Every coach in the NFL thinks they know how to get the best out of him, and I can't even really blame them: his skillset is undeniably awesome, and it doesn't take that much squinting to see the vision. The problem is that, uh, no one's figure it out yet. And this is now Fields' third team in five years. The Baker Mayfields and Sam Darnolds of the world have made it possible to imagine a world where Fields figures it out somewhere down the line, but it certainly hasn't happened yet.
Maybe Glenn's the guy to do it, but I'll believe that when I see it. Until then, best of luck, Jets fans. It didn't work for anyone else, but it might work for you.