We have gone over the struggles Justin Fields had in his rookie NFL season of 2021. We have also gone over the fact that more often than not, those struggles were advanced (if not outright caused) by former head coach and offensive “shot-caller” Matt Nagy. Now that Nagy is mercifully gone — he’s back with the Chiefs as their senior assistant and quarterbacks coach for whatever reason — Fields can develop his NFL game in a less hostile and more hospitable environment.
To replace Nagy as Fields’ primary accomplice, the Bears, under new head coach Matt Eberflus, hired ex-Packers quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Luke Getsy. We’ve also discussed the ways in which Getsy can give Fields half a chance to succeed, which would be at least 100% more than Nagy ever gave him. From a moving pocket, to play-action, to pre-snap motion, there are all kinds of things Getsy can add to Fields’ plate to help him see, and react to what he’s seeing, on the field.
In the Bears’ preseason opener against the Chiefs (go figure), Fields completed four of seven passes for 48 yards, no touchdowns, no interceptions, two sacks, and a passer rating of 78.3. Not a huge sample size, but Fields did look more comfortable for the most part. The sacks were caused to a degree by Fields reacting to open routes late, and he went touchdown-to-checkdown before he should have once in a while, but that’s part of the process. Fields has been debited by some as a “slow reader,” but that could be a function of the offense he ran at Ohio State, where plays took longer to develop at times.
The one play that got everyone in the Bears organization talking was Fields’ 19-yard completion to receiver Tajae Sharpe with 1:23 left in the first quarter. Sharpe ran up the boundary against cornerback Joshua Williams, and somehow brought this pass in against tight coverage. The throw from Fields was especially impressive, because safety Deon Bush was about to sack him on a blitz. Fields hung in the pocket, took his time, and let it fly.
Yeah, we saw that,” Eberflus said right after the Bears’ 19-14 win. “That was part of practice. We were letting him extend plays, throw the ball down the field, and I think you saw it there. He’s got great instincts. He’s an instinctual player, and he has to harness that and use that, and he’s doing that right now.”
Fields, who said that he changed the protection before the play based on the blitz, had this to say about the throw and catch.
“Yeah, just kind of gave [Sharpe] a signal out there and threw the ball up one on-one,” Fields said. “Of course preseason. you’re going to see a lot of man coverage, so just gave him a shot and he came down with it. He’s a great receiver, has great ball skills, has great routes, so I’m excited to see what he does for us this season for sure.”
Fields also discussed the adjustments to his timing this season, and how that can be helped by route concepts.
“I think the internal clock comes with of course plays, but also a route. I knew it was one-on-one the whole time, so I’d better not be holding on to the ball that long if I know I’m going there before the play starts. So I think some plays, you have to have that internal clock and just have that feel of the pocket to see where guys are coming from. Of course, if you have to escape you have to escape, but of course there’s always that internal clock going off in your head.”
Fields will have his second opportunity to show growth in the post-Nagy era when the Bears take on the Seahawks Thursday night.