The narrative around the Chicago Bears drafting Justin Fields is a fascinating one. Usually, experts are panning the Bears for picking the wrong player. This is one of those occasions where everybody agrees they got the right one. However, there is still a degree of pessimism around the choice. Several experts have said they believe Fields ended up on a team that isn’t the best fit for him.
Of the five quarterbacks drafted in the 1st round, only the New York Jets were viewed as a worse landing spot for a young quarterback. People just aren’t buying into what the Bears have. Both in terms of their supporting cast but particularly their coaching staff. Matt Nagy doesn’t have a lot of believers out there. Not after three seasons of failing to crack the top 20 in terms of total offense including 29th and 26th the past two.
How can anybody believe he is the right guy to develop Fields?
One person who isn’t worried about that at all? Brad Childress. The man spent 20 years in the NFL including five as a head coach. He was a coach in some capacity dating all the way back to 1978. So the guy has seen every form of quarterback development there is. He also knows Nagy, having worked with him in both Kansas City and Chicago. By his estimation according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears are handling it the exact right way. They aren’t going to hand Fields anything until he proves he’s ready.
“You’ve got to earn it and you’ve got to show it to the guys on the practice field. I am sure that is what Matt is referring to when he says, ‘Everybody will know when it’s time.’ They’ve got probably as good a staff as you can have in place for grooming a guy that way.”
It is easy to forget this staff squeezed another decent year out of Mitch Trubisky last season. A 93.5 passer rating with 2,055 yards, 16 TDs, and eight interceptions in nine starts. John DeFilippo is widely regarded as one of the best QB coaches in the league. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor also has a reputation for being a quarterback specialist. They even added former Texas coach Tom Herman to the mix. He was a key factor in guys like Cardale Jones and Sam Ehlinger getting drafted.
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Justin Fields is in capable hands provided he listens
Remember DeFilippo already had a hand in molding the likes of Derek Carr and Carson Wentz into capable NFL quarterbacks. Nagy did in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes. Lazor did with Nick Foles and Ryan Tannehill. It’s not like these guys are out of their depth. They’ve done this thing before. The most likely source of concern is whether they can actually form any sort of cohesive scheme that defenses must respect.
Is that fair? It doesn’t matter. The NFL isn’t about being fair. It’s about results. Nagy may have no losing seasons as a head coach yet, but his shortcomings on offense haven’t made that easy. Look at somebody like Kyle Shanahan. His team was ravaged by injuries last year and started three different quarterbacks. Yet their offense still finished 15th. Is the quarterback situation really the entire source of the issue? That is the primary concern regarding Justin Fields.
That Nagy isn’t equipped to get the best out of him.
Childress thinks otherwise. He believes this staff has the right system and the right environment to make the kid a success. They have a plan. One that has worked several times in the past. All it requires is some patience. Something that is difficult to ask for in this day and age. Fields’ time is coming. The Bears just want to make sure he’s ready when that happens.
