NEWSLETTER
Going back to his playing days at Ohio State, I marveled at Justin Fields’ athletic ability. The combination of arm strength, touch, accuracy, and mobility makes it easy to dream on a brighter future for the Bears with him under center.
And now that he is entrenched as the Bears’ full-time starter, Fields gets to meet with the Chicago media weekly. Fields has moments where he is reserved in conversation, as is to be expected with most rookies. Even still … Fields has a certain way with words, especially when he keeps it short, sweet, and to the point:
Justin Fields: "I'd like to score touchdowns. That's what I want to do — no matter how."
— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 27, 2021
A blunt answer that is fitting for the Bears’ current questions. It’s perfect.
What do the Bears need? An offense that scores touchdowns. How are they going to do it? I don’t know, but the team’s quarterback sounds willing to do so by any means necessary. And that it comes one day after Allen Robinson II was pointing to a lack of reps with Fields as to why there seem to be chemistry issues between the two makes the timing pretty timely.
With the Bears throwing Fields into the lineup with minimal first-team reps, there have been ample instances that have left fans, analysts, and casual observers noting how the team would’ve been better off giving the young QB opportunities with the first-team during training camp and/or the preseason. Perhaps with that in mind, Fields is taking some initiative in an attempt to get on the same wavelength as his pass-catchers:
Justin Fields said he's going to start having Zoom meetings with the wide receivers to help get them all on the same page. Said they'll have as many as needed and specifically mentioned possibly "changing the routes on certain plays." #Bears
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2021
Leadership!
Fields says he will begin putting together side sessions via Zoom with wide receivers. This extra bit of effort is being figures to be helpful. Think of it this way. You’ll have a better time finding a rhythm when everyone is on the same beat. Difficult tasks are easier when everyone is pulling from the same end of the rope. So I imagine getting everyone on the same page can have a similar effect. At minimum, it should help cut down on the miscommunication and timing issues that have been prevalent throughout Fields’ starts.
To be clear, this won’t solve all of Chicago’s offensive woes. But cutting down on small problems that snowball into bigger ones is a start. This might not seem like a big deal. Moreover, part of me is curious as to why wait until now to get the ball rolling with these Zoom meetings. Then again, it’s probably more important that they are getting there sooner (to create the most possible time to iron out kinks) than later (thus, avoiding trying to right the ship before things get worse than they already are).
Should these additional meetings turn out to be helpful, Chicago will be scoring those “touchdowns” Fields was alluding to earlier. Then again, after last week, let’s begin with one (1) touchdown, then see where it goes. I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, after all.
