Anybody with a casual eye for football could tell Justin Fields looked good on Saturday night in Cleveland. He finished 14-of-16 for 156 yards and three touchdowns in less than a full half. Preseason or not that is an excellent night of work. What stood out the most from the performance wasn’t Fields’ talent. Nobody had any concerns about that going in. His athleticism and arm strength are well-established. It was his command from the pocket.
Hall of fame quarterback Kurt Warner had misgivings about Fields last season. While he saw the great athlete like everybody else, he also saw a young passer with serious issues when it came to trusting what he saw on the field. There were too many occasions where the Bears quarterback hesitated and didn’t get the ball out when he should’ve. Warner wanted to see if anything had changed.
He wasn’t disappointed. Two plays caught his attention in the win over Cleveland. Plays that showed how much more decisive and confident Fields has become.
Play #1: 14-yard pass to Dante Pettis
The play came after a holding call that made it 1st and 20. So Fields had the tough assignment of getting some of that yardage back. Warner mentions how he immediately gets the ball out the moment he hits his back foot. It takes place even before Pettis has started his comeback on the route, showing good trust and timing.
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Play #2: 18-yard pass to Equanimeous St. Brown
This is where the play call works well against the coverage. Fields sees the underneath defender caught in a bind. Whichever receiver he decides to drift towards covering, the other one will be open. That moment of hesitation makes the decision easy. Fields uses his arm strength to drive the ball right on the money to St. Brown for a 1st down.
Justin Fields has work to do. He and his coaches know it.
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy offered praise for the progress he’s made. He also said the quarterback has tons of work left to do. His favorite word to use is “process.” Everything Fields is doing is a process. It is a step-by-step approach to improving his game. None of this will happen overnight. That isn’t how the position works. His job is to master it piece by piece. Once those pieces come together, then the real results will come.
He isn’t there yet. There are still moments of hesitation, still times when he doesn’t trust what he sees. He abandons the pocket too soon. The ball gets held too long. Breaking those tendencies was never going to be easy. It is surprising Justin Fields came this far already, considering he had to start over in a new offense.
More hiccups are to come.
That is a necessary part of the process. The trick is for Fields to work through them. As he gains experience, he should gain confidence. Once his understanding of the offense grows, things should become far easier for him. Even the best quarterbacks didn’t learn how to process NFL coverages right away. It took time. He’s getting there.
