Justin Fields said earlier this week that he doesn’t think about what others around the league say about him. His only goal is winning football games. Last season wasn’t good enough. He failed in too many aspects of his job as the quarterback. That is why he’s putting in so much extra time this off-season. Lack of preparation won’t be why he struggles in 2022, that is for sure.
Coaches have said for weeks they’re encouraged by his progress. He is developing far ahead of schedule in their eyes. The next step was seeing it in practice. There were inevitable hiccups in the spring, too many interceptions on certain days. Fields wasn’t discouraged. He kept working. By the second day of training camp, there were signs that he might be starting to figure it out. At least based on the updates coming from Halas Hall.
The quarterback had not one or two but several high-caliber throws during drills.
Byron Pringle just put a nice double move on Kindle Vildor for a long completion in WR-DB drills. Nice throw by Fields. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) July 28, 2022
Nice side-arm pass from Justin Fields to a diving Darnell Mooney. Jaylon Johnson in coverage.
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) July 28, 2022
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Holy shit
Dazz Newsome just made an incredible leaping catch off of a ball from Fields. Crowd cheers
— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) July 28, 2022
Justin Fields with an absolute dime to Byron Pringle in 7-on-7. Goes off the WR’s hands to the dismay of the fans in the east bleachers.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) July 28, 2022
It gets even better. He saved his best moments towards the end of practice. The first came when he rifled a 30-yard strike to Cole Kmet between two defenders. It was perfectly placed and would’ve set the offense up with 1st and goal to go. The tight end said afterward it was a throw the two had worked on all off-season.
Justin Fields connects with Cole Kmet on a deep ball.
Placed right in between 2 defenders. Great throw. Great catch.
Video: @Gabe_Reyes62 pic.twitter.com/5wOZsn6BqW
— Josh DeLuca (@JoshDeLuca4) July 28, 2022
He wasn’t done yet. A few minutes later, Fields struck again. Working out of the shotgun, he took the snap. As pressure came in from his right, the quarterback shuffled left and lobbed a ball over the middle to Darnell Mooney. The receiver went up and got it in stride. It likely would’ve been an 80-yard score.
Felt cute. NFL might ask me to delete later. #BearsCamp #FieldsToMooney pic.twitter.com/dK9n9ES0Pf
— Funky Cold Luda (@lcm1986) July 28, 2022
There was only one real blemish play all morning for Fields. It came on a throw to new arrival N’Keal Harry over the middle. The ball was a little high and in front of the receiver. Harry tried to corral it but instead tipped it to Eddie Jackson for an interception. That is a typical timing issue between two guys who have never worked together.
Justin Fields and the offense have a long way to go.
Though the quarterback had plenty of exciting throws during drills, the offense as a whole suffered from numerous issues. The two most pressing were pre-snap penalties and dropped passes. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy expressed his frustration with them after practice was over. Kmet and Mooney admitted the group has work to do before they’re ready to take on the rest of the NFL.
Still, there is already evidence that Justin Fields is well ahead of where he was last year. He is operating with more urgency, consistency, and accuracy. It stands to reason that he will only get better as he continues to stack practices. Unlike last year, he doesn’t have to split practice reps with Andy Dalton. The majority of them go to him this time. That extra work is invaluable to his development.
People forget where things were trending last year.
Before injuries set in, Fields was playing much better football. Over his final five appearances, he had over 60% completions with 1,054 yards, five touchdowns, four interceptions, and an 84.0 passer rating. He also rushed for another 280 yards and a touchdown. It is not crazy to think he will be much better this season.
If practices are a revelation of game day…there are going to be a lot of smiles in the Bears’ clubhouse after the game and in the stands every Sunday!
If being excited about the possibilities of what J-Fields can become is homerish…. Then add me to the Happy Homer List ! Bear Down Chi-Town!
If being excited about the possibilities of what J-Fields can is hoerish…. Then add me to the Happy Homer List ! Bear Down Chi-Town!
I just remember the 11-5 season Kyle Orton had. Was he a great athlete, no. Exceptionally intelligent…not really. He just didn’t make big mistakes. Protected the ball. They ran the ball and played good defense. If Fields protects that ball, doesn’t get goofy with trying to thread needles to covered receivers, and they have a decent running game, they’re going to win a lot of football games this season. Of course, a good defense giving the offense the ball at their own 40 won’t hurt, either. 🙂
#Keep Sleeping NFL “experts”