Advertisement
LAKE FOREST — June is typically a time of optimism in the NFL. For rosy visions no matter which franchise.
Justin Fields delivered a dose of reality Tuesday at Halas Hall after the bears’ first practice session at the mandatory mini-camp.
“Uh, no. I’m not ready for the start of the season,” Fields said on Tuesday. “I’m the type of guy who wants to know I’m prepared. So right now, I’m just being honest, we’re not ready to play a game right now. And when that time comes, we’ll be ready, so, now, no, not ready to play a game.”
Tuesday was another tough practice session for the Bears’ offense. Fields was picked up twice and endured a tough three-game stretch near the end of the session, during which he threw a pick-six to Jaylon Johnson, knocked down a pass and incomplete another fall.
However, Fields found a few chunk plays for Equanimeous St. Brown and Darnell Mooney. The sophomore quarterback felt he and the offense were having a decent day overall as they continue to learn Luke Getsy’s system.
“Obviously I think it went well,” Fields said as he reviewed his day. “Right now they are throwing a lot at us. They’re throwing pretty much the entire playbook at us, which is good at the moment, but of course there will be bugs, but we’d like the bugs to come now rather than later in fall or camp, so they were just talking about how pretty they’re us right now now impose a lot, which is good.
“So we learn everything and learn from our mistakes and stuff like that. It’s definitely… I think it went well. I mean, of course it could have gone better, but tomorrow is for that.”
Head coach Matt Eberflus noted how early the offensive is installed. The bears will break after the next two days of minicamp, and Fields is focused on building a relationship with his recipients and tweaking his mechanics.
Despite the Bears’ current offensive problems, Fields remains confident of what the unit can do once it gets up to speed. The potential is there for Fields.
“With the concepts that we have, with the players that we have, I think everyone is arriving pretty quickly,” Fields said. “Like I said, they’re throwing us a lot right now, so I think we’re going to be fair as long as we manage to do everything right or get most of it right and not make the same mistake as well when the time comes.” .”
Adding to Fields’ confidence in the potential of the offense is his bond with Getsy, who is doing everything in his power to get everyone updated and comfortable on offense.
“He’s a smart coach. He’s as cool as the other side of the pillow,” Fields said of Getsy. “He’s just great. He’s always willing to take videos for us and make everything easier for everyone on offense, whether it’s setup videos for us to watch at home. He always goes the extra mile to make sure everyone else is good the next day. I love him and he’s definitely a great guy.”
It’s only June, so Fields and the offense have time to settle in and settle in. But they don’t have that much time. Training camp will be here in less than two months, with a Week 1 date against the San Francisco 49ers coming soon.
For now, it looks like Fields and the Bears offense have a big mountain to climb in order to be fully operational when the 49ers roll into town on September 11th. This journey begins and ends with Fields mastering a system built to exploit what he exploits does best.
“I think for me it just means not making the same mistake twice,” Fields said. “If you make that one mistake in a game, just don’t do it again. Ultimately, if you keep getting better and keep growing, there will be fewer mistakes every day, and of course you’ll be exactly what you want to be.”
Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.
Download
Download MyTeams today!
