Tony Dungy encountered the full spectrum of quarterbacks during his Hall of Fame coaching career. He dealt with perceived 1st round bust Trent Dilfer when he took over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Then he tried developing a late round pick in Shaun King before moving on to veteran free agent Brad Johnson. Finally, he moved on to Indianapolis, where he inherited future all-time great Peyton Manning. Dungy knows the pitfalls and difficulties of developing quarterbacks. That is why his opinion on Justin Fields matters.
Many people are ready to pull the plug on the Chicago Bears quarterback. Much of this centers around his continued struggles throwing the football. While his breakout year as a runner is great, most believe it’s not sustainable in the long term. If Fields is ever going to achieve greatness in the NFL, he must become a good passer. Already calls are coming in for the Bears to pivot. GM Ryan Poles should trade Fields while his value is high and then use his top four pick on a new quarterback. Is that really necessary?
Dungy doesn’t think so. He believes Fields is on the cusp of taking a leap similar to another young quarterback in the NFC. All the Bears have to do is get him some help.
Tony Dungy understands quarterbacks don’t do it alone.
As great as Manning was during his peak years in the 2000s, he was aided by a terrific supporting cast. He had All-Pro receivers in Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, a Pro Bowl running back in Edgerrin James, a Pro Bowl left tackle in Tarik Glenn, and a Pro Bowl center in Jeff Saturday. Fields has nothing close to any of those things. His best wide receiver went down with a season-ending ankle injury. His left tackle is a rookie, his center is a backup, and the rest of the cast is underwhelming, to say the least.
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Asking Fields to thrive under such conditions is not fair. Tony Dungy knows this. He deserves some patience. Give him time to continue learning the offense. Let Ryan Poles fill out the roster with better players (hopefully). If Fields keeps struggling despite these improvements, then the conversations can start about a change. He’s done enough this season to justify more time. The greatness is in there. Everybody has seen the glimpses. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to coax it out.
