Chicago Bears: Fields To Make Up For Last Season’s Troubles

The Chicago Bears drafted Justin Fields to be the franchise quarterback. He understands he didn’t perform up to par and wants to do better in 2022.

One of the most extended storylines over the history of the Chicago Bears is their search for a franchise quarterback. To highlight that fact, they are still the only team in the NFL not to have a quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards.

The team and its fans felt that all changed last year when the Bears drafted Justin Fields. Fields has all the tools to be one of the top quarterbacks in the league. He has a strong arm, throws accurate passes, makes good decisions, and runs well.

Another aspect of Fields’ game is his leadership. In college, he was a great leader. In fact, he was mostly responsible for the Big Ten having a season in 2020. Because of COVID the conference was planning on not having a season. He organized players and spoke to top officials until he got them to reconsider and have a season. He then proceeded to lead his Ohio State Buckeyes into the College Football Championship.

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Drafting Fields elicited excitement and hope among fans

The Chicago Bears moved up from 20 to 11 to select Fields. The fans were extremely excited and hopeful when that happened. With a big need at quarterback, many felt that the top prospects at that position would not be available when the Bears picked. The Bears made sure that didn’t happen.

There was some controversy when training camp began, however. Former head coach Matt Nagy wanted to use Fields sparingly. He preferred to use veteran Andy Dalton.

That decision created a rift between the fans, NFL analysts, and Nagy. It seemed like Nagy was one of the only people who supported this move. Eventually, however, Nagy had to start Fields when Dalton hurt his knee.

While Fields finally started, Nagy didn’t adjust the offense to utilize the young quarterback’s skillset. The result was not a good one. Fields played 12 games, starting 10 of them. His record was 2-8 in the games he started. He completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,870. He had 7 touchdowns against 10 interceptions. Additionally, he was sacked 36 times.

Fields still feels the sting of that season. After all of the success he had at Ohio State (30-4 record), his first season as a professional was not one to remember. He does remember it, however.

Fields wants to use last year’s failure as motivation for this season. Instead of feeling discouraged about the failure and then seeing a rebuild, he’s using it to push harder.

Failure pushes me to go even harder. So, you know, that’s really all I’ve got to say. I want to do everything I can to win that trophy and get that ring. I’m a big believer in, ‘everything happens for a reason.’  Who knows how I would have taken it if I had a great game every game? Maybe I wouldn’t have that hunger still.

Fields’ leadership is again on display. He hit the offseason and worked hard. He called some of his teammates to work with him. Last season, he had trouble gaining rapport with the receivers because he received no snaps with the starters in training camp. That won’t happen this year. He didn’t want to wait until training camp to start working with his teammates. He wanted to know his receivers before the start of training camp so they can get off and running once it did begin.

Fields received praise for his leadership and work ethic. His teammates really love playing with him. Additionally, he has impressed new head coach Matt Eberflus.

[H]is leadership and his grasp of the offense was outstanding, the way he learned and the way he grew that way. We talked about his footwork and his fundamentals; that’s through the roof going in a positive way too. So he’s doing a great job right now…We’re excited about his development.

Last season left a bad taste in Fields’ mouth. He wants to show that the confidence the team has in him is not misplaced. He wants to be a reason this storied franchise returns to its winning ways.