People are debating what is wrong with Justin Fields. Sure they didn’t expect the Chicago Bears quarterback to light things up this season, but they also didn’t think he’d look this bad. He resembles too much of the player he was early in 2021. It isn’t that his talent looks gone. The kid seems overwhelmed. Everything is a struggle for him. His head is swimming. One dare say it appears Fields has lost his confidence. Many are starting to wonder if he’s not cut out for the speed and complexity of the NFL level. It is a challenge for new head coach Matt Eberflus to undertake. He is far from the first. One man who can relate is Bill Parcells.
The Hall of Fame head coach encountered a similar scenario when he ran the New York Giants. They, too, had a floundering former 1st round QB in Phil Simms. He struggled with consistency across three seasons. The Giants managed to overcome them with defense and running the football. However, it all reached a crisis point in 1986. Simms was brutal through the first ten games of that season.
53.20% passes completed for 2,049 yards, 12 TDs, and 14 INTs
Fans got fed up with him. The media declared the Giants would never compete for a Super Bowl with him at quarterback. Confidence was nowhere to be found. Parcells had a decision to make. Either try talking to Simms and seeing if he could get his QB straightened out, or turn to backup Jeff Rutledge. The head coach opted for the former, pulling Simms aside for a private conversation.
Those words had a profound impact. Simms immediately began showing more confidence on the field. Over the final nine games that season, including the playoffs, Simms threw for 1,932 yards, 17 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a 98.01 passer rating. He ended the year by locking up Super Bowl MVP honors.
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Bears should take that Bill Parcells approach with Fields.
Right now, the young quarterback, like Simms, is thinking way too much. He is not going out there and just letting it rip. There isn’t any swagger in the way he’s playing. Not like the second half of last season. People can talk about the mechanics and the field vision. All of it is valid, but at the end of the day, quarterbacks are at their best when they’re not thinking too much. They’re just playing. That is what Eberflus must do for Fields.
Bill Parcells gave him the perfect blueprint to get there. Pull the kid aside and keep it simple. The Bears are 2-1. They have a dominant ground attack and a more than serviceable defense. It is a team that has already proven it can win without him. So he doesn’t have to keep shouldering the burden of being perfect. Go out there and play football. Forget the media. Forget the haters.
Do what you do best and trust you’ll have the full support of the coaches.
There are 14 games left in this season. Plenty of time to get things fixed. Fields knows he can play at this level. He’s shown flashes of it multiple times. It is about finding consistency. If Simms could find it after what he went through, so can Fields.
It’s going to take more than a pep talk. I’m sure that has already been tried.
Leave it to the master, Bill Parcells.
I agree with Parcells. I think Fields is thinking too much and not relying on his instincts. He has talent and he needs to trust his natural instincts and use them. Sure, techniques are important, but don’t be so focused on them that you lose your focus on the opportunities before you. Fields spends a lot of time practicing and trying to improve himself but he needs to go out and play like the champion he can become.
I said yesterday that this was what they needed to do. I suspect the coaches are already doing it!
I like the new job analogy. Yes, it’s in the same field and you know some stuff but not the way people who have been there know it. Throw in a whole new team of people you have to manage and it can take a while to smooth out. Or how about when you get new software? The simplest things take time to understand and work through before you get proficient in it’s use. You get hung up on the stupidest things along the way. I remember when we first got Outlook before Y2K. Folks were stopped in their tracks… Read more »