QB Jones to teammates: ‘Don’t panic’
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Mike Tomlin brought his Pittsburgh Steelers into the meeting room Wednesday morning, told them Landry Jones was replacing Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback and asked Jones if he had anything to say to the team.
鈥淵eah,鈥� Jones said from his seat. 鈥淒on鈥檛 panic.鈥�
鈥淎s smooth as Landry could say it,鈥� linebacker Arthur Moats said with a laugh.
Did it calm the nerves?
鈥淎bsolutely, man. Anytime THE Landry Jones graces us with his verbal leadership, we always appreciate that,鈥� Moats said. 鈥淚n all seriousness, we鈥檙e extremely confident. We鈥檙e not worried about who you put out there. We understand the Next Man Up motto. Doesn鈥檛 matter, any position, as you鈥檝e seen this year, we鈥檝e had those guys come in and have success. It鈥檚 no different with Landry. We鈥檙e anticipating him coming in there and playing a great game. He put his work in, studied. It鈥檚 his time to shine.鈥�
Jones has had his ups and down since the Steelers drafted him in the fourth round in 2013 following a record-breaking career at Oklahoma. His downs include:
n A passer rating in four preseasons of 68.4, and while often playing with starters his ratings the last two preseasons were 71.4 and 76.5.
n He lost his first regular-season start last year in Kansas City.
n His 鈥渨in鈥� as a starter occurred against Cleveland after he left in the first quarter with an injury.
n Thrust into last season鈥檚 playoff game at Cincinnati with a 15-7 fourth-quarter lead, Jones was sacked, intercepted and left the game trailing 16-15 before the injured and re-inserted Roethlisberger pulled out the win.
Jones has had his moments last year, though. He replaced Michael Vick last season against Arizona and turned a 10-6 third-quarter deficit into a 25-13 win with a pair of touchdown passes. His 149.3 passer rating was the second-highest passer rating ever for a QB making his NFL debut.
Jones also pulled out a last-second 38-35 win over Oakland after replacing an injured Roethlisberger and driving the Steelers 79 yards for a short field goal.
Does he have a whisper of a chance against Tom Brady and the 5-1 New England Patriots?
鈥淚鈥檓 anxious. I鈥檓 excited. It鈥檚 going to be a great week,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淭his is a huge game for my career and the direction I want to go. I鈥檓 just excited for the opportunity and excited to get out there and actually get in there and play.鈥�
According to teammates, Jones directed the team flawlessly Wednesday afternoon at practice.
鈥淟andry looked good today. He looked real good,鈥� said Le鈥橵eon Bell. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a lot more comfortable than he was last year, just around the guys. We all hang out outside of football. Him demanding things in the huddle and things like that, he gets more of the respect. That鈥檚 the biggest thing you want from your quarterback, and we saw a lot of that today.鈥�
鈥淚 think he did a great job going out there commanding the offense, getting the guys back to the huddle fast, getting the guys lined up fast,鈥� said center Maurkice Pouncey. 鈥淗e did a good job, man, calling out audibles, checking plays. It was good. We did two-minute, too, and he looked really good.
鈥淕ood signs for us, right?鈥�
Just don鈥檛 panic.