Justin Fields isn’t getting anywhere close to the same buzz as other second-year quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and even Davis Mills have gotten lots of love from the national media going into 2022. Fields is an afterthought to many. Much of that is due to the perception that he’s being hung out to dry by the Chicago Bears’ inability to infuse more talent into the offense. One person that doesn’t seem discouraged by this is former Bears tight end, Greg Olsen.
He had a chance to watch Fields multiple times last season. While it wasn’t all pretty, he told Bernstein & Holmes of 670 The Score that not enough people recognized his improvement. He saw a young quarterback that became far more comfortable and decisive as the season went on, playing much better in the process. It didn’t always show in the box score, but that is a mistake people often make. They’re too focused on stats and not enough about his body language, leadership, and operation in the offense. If people go back and watch those things last season, they’ll be surprised by Fields’ improvement.
Greg Olsen isn’t wrong. Even the stats reflect it.
Through his first five games, Field threw only two touchdowns with five interceptions and a 64.8 passer rating. Over the next five, he had five touchdowns to four interceptions and an 84.0 passer rating. It might not be the breakout fans were hoping for, but that is a tangible improvement. It is unfortunate the QB suffered his injuries late in the year because it felt like he was trending in the right direction.
There should be another significant jump in 2022. Yes, Fields may not have an elite supporting cast around him. However, other things should be better including the offensive system crafted by Luke Getsy and his staff. He is getting every meaningful snap in practice too, a luxury he wasn’t afforded under Matt Nagy. He’ll be far better prepared this time around. Greg Olsen sounds optimistic the productivity will come.
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Buzz is meaningless. It’s only a thing for fans, not players. Name one post game interview where the player of the game instead of thanking ‘whatever’, thanks the “buzz” he got in preseason.
It also might help to not having the opponents defense after the game saying, “Yeah, we were surprised they made it so easy for us!”