Justin Fields Quietly Had His Most Impressive Practice To Date

Justin Fields wants the offense to be great as much as anybody. However, he made it clear that it would take time. It is the first year he and other players are operating in this system. Expecting things to go smoothly out of the gate is foolish. Jay Cutler always said it takes three years for a quarterback to master an offense. Keep in mind he was talking about the same system Fields is in now. So patience is required.

Still, that won’t stop people from evaluating his progress. Is he getting better or not? By all accounts, Fields has made considerable strides since training camp began. He gets more efficient in his operation with each passing day. Saturday’s practice on August 6th may have actually been the most impressive. Not because of a litany of explosive plays, either. The reasons for it go deeper. Context is required to understand.

That practice was a rough one for the offense from an injury perspective.

Velus Jones, Dante Pettis, N’Keal Harry, and Byron Pringle were either already out or left early with various health issues. If that weren’t bad enough, starting offensive lineman Cody Whitehair and Riley Reiff had the day off while left tackle Braxton Jones left with a minor ailment. This is in addition to Lucas Patrick being out with his broken hand. So Fields was down several key personnel. By rights, that means the defense should’ve dominated the practice. According to Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Chicago, that wasn’t the case.

“Despite all the missing pieces, Fields was able to operate the Bears’ offense at a high rate.
In their first “move the ball” session, the Bears’ offense started at midfield.

Fields opened the drill by hitting tight end Cole Kmet for a 12-yard gain. He found Equanimeous St. Brown on a slant for a gain of 8 on the next play.

Three straight running plays gave the Bears a third-and-3 from the 20-yard line.

The Bears executed the third down play well, but Fields overthrew a wide-open Herbert in the left flat, and the offense had to settle for a field goal.”

His best moments came a short period later.

Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy gave Fields a steep challenge. He and the offense would get the ball at their own 30-yard line with 55 seconds left and no timeouts. That meant they’d have to cover ground fast to reach field goal range. Despite some early hiccups, the quarterback was money when the chips were down.

“Fields threw incomplete deep for Darnell Mooney on first down. On second down, Fields threw a strike down the right sideline for St. Brown, but Greg Stroman ripped the ball out of the receiver’s hands.
But the Bears’ offense didn’t stall out.

On third-and-10, Fields ripped a laser over the middle to Kmet for a gain of 23, setting up a first-and-10 at the opposing 47.

After once again failing to connect with Mooney on first down, the Bears’ offense had just 17 seconds to get into field goal range. Fields got good protection in the pocket and delivered a strike to Tajae Sharpe for a gain of 9 to the 38.

Fields hurried to the line and was able to spike the ball with 1.5 seconds left to bring out Cairo Santos.”

Justin Fields produced in less-than-ideal circumstances.

That is what good quarterbacks are expected to do. They may not be able to rip defenses apart, but they still manage to move the ball and get points on the board. Saturday was a small victory for the team but a significant one for the player. It illustrated for the first time that Fields could put the offense on his back when needed. That is often what separates the good quarterbacks from the regular ones.

Much of his newfound confidence comes from a growing relationship with new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. In a recent interview, Justin Fields called him a “mastermind” and the best QB coach he’s ever worked with. It is clear he has bought fully into this new offense. Now it becomes a question of time. The more snaps he plays in it, the better he should get. If Fields can do what he did on Saturday already, there is no telling how good he could be a few months from now.