Today was the day many Chicago Bears fans have been waiting for.
Not only did Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields make several nice plays at practice, but he spoke with the Chicago media today, and he had the quote of the offseason.
When asked about what he would say to those that are clamoring for him to start immediately, Fields talked about the learning process and how he’s “constantly growing every day,” while maintaining a calmness about his current QB2 situation. And then he dropped these four words.
“Greatness doesn’t happen overnight.”
Every time Fields gets in front of the media he exudes confidence. He’s used to being The Man, and he expects that he’ll be that again in Chicago at some point. But in the meantime, he’s able to take everything he’s learning from the coaches and his fellow quarterbacks and apply that to his practice reps at Halas Hall.
Fields said that there hasn’t been anything that has surprised him so far at camp because the coaches have done such a good job in preparing him. When asked what the easiest thing has been so far in his transition to Matt Nagy’s offense, Fields said it has been the passing game concepts, because they are similar to what he ran at Ohio State. And when asked about the hardest thing he said it was “saying the play in the huddle,” because the Buckeyes, like many college spread schemes, never huddle up.
Bears Twitter was full of fans and the media getting hyped over Fields’ performance today, and while it was just shells and shorts, it’s still fun to hear about a Chicago QB looking good.
This nice scramble and sidearm throw from Fields to Jesse James has been the play that has been making the rounds today.
And speaking of James, he’s fit in quite well so far for the Bears, and he should bolster their tight ends corps nicely.
But today wasn’t just about Fields as Andy Dalton had a nice day as well, but Dalton’s steady performance was outshined by the rookie, who by all accounts, had his best day of training camp so far.
Here are some Tweets from Halas Hall.
Really only only takeaway from Bears camp today:
Justin Fields was good. It’s the velocity of his throws, particularly over the middle, but also how often he gives his WRs/TEs a chance to make plays.
His scrambling and ability to change his arm angle on throws stood out, too.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 2, 2021
Matt Nagy said that Teven Jenkins’ status is the same as last week, but Nagy indicated he is trending in the right direction.
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) August 2, 2021
Dalton has looked real smooth in 7v7. Impressed with his timing, throwing before his receivers break. Leading to some real easy completions.
— The Chicago Audible (@ChicagoAudible) August 2, 2021
#Bears safety Tashaun Gipson hurt his groin in warmups and did not practice today.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) August 2, 2021
First play of 11v11 and Dalton finds Kmet over the middle for a good chunk of yards.
— The Chicago Audible (@ChicagoAudible) August 2, 2021
Interesting today that while Elijah Wilkinson (left) and Lachavious Simmons (right) were the 1st team offensive tackles, the #Bears worked rookie Larry Borom at LT with secondary units.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 2, 2021
For those of you that may have missed it, the rookie Borom has lost 45 pounds since last year when he was at Missouri. The Bears currently list him at 6’5”, 332 pounds, which is the same weight he was listed as his senior year, but he was 322 at his pro day, and he looks noticeable slimmer (but still big) since college.
Fourth practice in a row I had a note about a throw from Justin Fields to Jesse James.
Matt Nagy on Bears new TE: “He’s got super long arms and he’s got friendly hands. So when you throw that football to a guy that is as tall as he is with the long arms, it’s a friendly target.”
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 2, 2021
Biggest ovation of the day comes after Dalton finds ARob who made a nice, difficult catch.
— The Chicago Audible (@ChicagoAudible) August 2, 2021
We got to see Justin Fields’ scrambling ability a couple times today. Fields had a nice completion deep to Javon Wims during 11-on-11.
Andy Dalton continues to look crisp.
Lots of Cole Kmet action as well. He made some nice catches over the middle.
— Sean Hammond (@sean_hammond) August 2, 2021
Justin Fields ends situational drills with a nice TD down the sideline to Javon Wims. Wims was able to get open in one on one coverage. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) August 2, 2021
Justin Fields with two good passes in a row over the middle of the field. Fields hit Riley Ridley first and followed that up with a nice pass to J.P. Holtz.
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) August 2, 2021
Saw more deep balls today than any other practice at Bears camp. The best throw came when Andy Dalton hit Damiere Byrd down the right sideline.
Solid day for both quarterbacks, but Fields led a longer drive in the situational period. Lots of catches today for Kmet, Byrd, Ridley.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 2, 2021
While Nick Foles had a spirited press conference today, and the logical buzz has him in a likely trade to the Colts, I don’t think that’s in the cards. Foles’ relationship with Indy QB Carson Wentz is a tricky one, and they seem to like Jacob Eason as a backup, plus the injury may not keep Wentz out as long as some fear.
Foles makes a lot of money for a QB3, which makes a trade difficult, but behind the scenes he’s been a true professional and has helped Fields quite a bit.
