Justin Fields has so many talents as a quarterback. His mobility and arm strength being the two that stand out the most. Yet he also boasts plenty of accuracy, toughness, and intelligence as well. Like most quarterbacks though, he didn’t arrive in the NFL without flaws. If teams felt he was perfect, he’d have gone #1 overall. Fields fell to #11 for a reason. There were misgivings, even if they were blown out of proportion. Either way, it falls to Matt Nagy to iron out those issues.
That appears to be something the head coach is attacking every single day in practice. While he makes sure to encourage Fields all the time, he is also quick to pull the rookie aside whenever he does something inadvisable. Adam Jahns of The Athletic caught sight of one such instant at the August 8th practice. Even as Fields performed well during a red zone drill, he did do something that caused Nagy some anxiety.
“As noted above, the Bears’ first-team defense definitely won the day when it came to head coach Matt Nagy’s four-minute drill, which was fully live. That changed once the offense practiced in the red zone. Rookie Justin Fields, in particular, was impressive, throwing more touchdowns than misses during seven-on-seven action. It wasn’t all perfect. Nagy made sure to speak to Fields after he held the ball too long on one rep. But the coach still will like what Fields put on film Sunday.”
Fans who watched Fields in college will recognize this right away.
For all the great things he did at Ohio State, one of his few frustrating problems was his tendency to hold the ball too long. He’d linger on a receiver from time to time rather than either moving on to the next read or taking off and running. Doing this always opens the quarterback up to unnecessary hits or sacks. Either of which is detrimental to the offense. It was something Fields never really corrected.
Justin Fields hold the ball longer than almost any QB in the Draft.
His 3.1 second avg time to throw is the 3rd slowest in his class. pic.twitter.com/bxtlYbmCyd
— PFF College (@PFF_College) January 22, 2021
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
This is not to say the quarterback can’t improve. There were plenty of instances in 2020 where he demonstrated the ability to move through his reads quickly and make snap decisions. The goal is to get him to a point where he does that all the time. Nagy knows how punishing the NFL can be to quarterbacks who hold the ball too long. He wants Fields to be around for a long, long time.
Matt Nagy is aiming to protect Fields from himself
It isn’t just the holding the ball issue that the head coach is focused on either. He also admitted in a recent press conference that he is pestering the QB constantly to be smart about sliding whenever he takes off running. Get as many yards as possible and then get down. Don’t let defenders get a free shot at you. Fields himself said he’s learned to embrace this philosophy after the brutal hit he took in the Sugar Bowl against Clemson.
All of this is a natural progression for most quarterbacks. Learning to take what they did great in college and ironing out the wrinkles to become a better, more efficient professional. Matt Nagy knows that Fields is smart enough and humble enough to take his instructions and work to implement them into his game. It is only a matter of time and patience to let him progress.
That is what practices are for.
Word is the rookie is evolving rapidly. His previous three training camp sessions may have been the best of his time in Chicago so far. A great sign for where he is headed. Fans are anxious to see him in live action for the first time. That will come on August 14th when the Bears host the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field.