Few players are under as much pressure in 2022 as Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. The team’s roster mostly consists of younger, less established players, and how quickly they can return to contention primarily rides on their young quarterback’s development. While Fields had some nice moments during his rookie year, it was quite apparent that he had a ways to go before he could be the franchise quarterback the team needed.
No one thinks of preseason games as the end all be all. They are simply exhibition games meant to prepare players for the regular season and help teams make their final cuts. With that said, there is still some value in preseason performance. After all, it’s much better for a quarterback performs well than poorly, regardless of the circumstances. Fields had solid showings in all three of his games. Most notably, completing 14 passes on 16 attempts for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
Preseason performance by Justin Fields should have Chicago Bears fans excited
Fields’ impressive play goes well beyond the stat sheet. There are major improvements that can be observed on film. Last season, he struggled to stay in the pocket, and his tendency to scramble at first chance made it harder on both his offensive linemen and receivers.
Being such a gifted athlete, Fields had been able to get away with this in high school and even college. But being able to make plays within the pocket is a must for quarterbacks. Even players like Patrick Mahomes, who can torch defenses outside of structured play calls, need a healthy balance between playing inside and outside the pocket.
This is where Fields’ improvement is most noticeable. He appears to be far more comfortable climbing the pocket and playing with structure. Even when dealing with pressure, which was his biggest problem a year ago, Fields was able to buy himself time without scrambling. Obviously, the game speeds up in the regular season. It will be much harder for Fields to maintain that level of poise, but the fact we can see a new development in his game should make fans feel very good about his trajectory.
Pocket presence was one of Fields’ biggest weaknesses coming into the draft and played a role in him falling outside the top ten. This doesn’t even need to be a strength of signature skill; it just needs to be good enough that it is no longer a weakness that can be easily exploited by defenses.
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At the end of the day, the 2022 Bears will only go as far as Justin Fields can take them. They lack the talent at the skill positions to win as a unit. It is ultimately up to Fields to elevate the players around him. While it is certainly a tall task, Fields’ offseason improvements and having a new coaching staff should make fans optimistic about his potential.