Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune talks about Justin Fields development. Here he quotes an anonymous personnel man about the situation that Fields finds himself in with the Bears this year.
“You look at Jalen Hurts in Philadelphia. He’s throwing to freaking A.J. Brown and he’s got a young guy on the come in DeVonta Smith, who was the Heisman Trophy winner. And he’s got a young tight end in Dallas Goedert, and the offensive line there is one of the best in the league. If you put Fields behind that line, how good would he look?
The answer to that question is “better“. But still not as good as Hurts.
I’m not at all convinced that what we’ve seen from Field so far this year is simply a result of the talent that he is surrounded with. Fields simply has been unable to throw from the pocket. He was only able to do it in college. And he’s unable to do it right now.
That doesn’t mean that he can’t do it. It doesn’t mean that he won’t learn to do it. But he’s not.
I dont doubt that surrounding him with more talent would make him better. But I don’t think it would make him good.
Fields needs to learn to at least occasionally drop back, hit his back foot, and get the ball out on time to the correct receiver. If he can do that, he’ll look a lot better no matter what talent he is surrounded with. I look forward to the day that that happens.
If it doesn’t by the end of the year, I think the Bears will once again find themselves in a situation where they are searching for another quarterback. As is part of Biggs’s point, it’s too early to make that judgement. But don’t fool yourself. By the end of the year the Bears will be able to do it. They must.