EVERY TEACHER’S DREAM
Fields’ appetite for learning has coaches pleased as he readies for more action Saturday
Frustrated by the way he played in practice Thursday, Bears rookie Justin Fields had a request for quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo: Walk him through the practice script — which plays the team ran — a second time.
“It’s just really refreshing to see a young guy as willing as he is that’s had the amount of success he’s had in his past, [and] he wants to be great,” DeFilippo said. “Little things like that that . . . I don’t want to say wow you, because I know the player. I’ve gotten to know him over time. It doesn’t shock me that he wants to do that.”
It’s a good sign. Fields won’t be the Bears’ Week 1 starter, but he’s preparing to take the job eventually. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor notices it in nighttime texts from Fields — “Not too late. He’s respectful,” Lazor said — asking questions about the next day’s practice. Or when Lazor hears him call out a play with wonky wording at 9 a.m. as if it’s his second language.
“[I know] how willing he is to learn and to do what’s necessary to really be great,” Lazor said. “I didn’t say ‘how much he wants to be great,’ but how willing he is to do what’s necessary.”
For now, at least, Saturdays in the preseason are where Fields can show his work, and there are only two of those games left before the regular season begins. He’ll get a second opportunity to dazzle the Soldier Field crowd at noon Saturday against former Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the Bills. After sitting out practice Wednesday with a groin injury — having struggled Tuesday in part because of it — Fields practiced Thursday and was given the allclear to play the exhibition game.
Bears coach Matt Nagy reiterated that the team was being cautious with him Wednesday.
“Again, anything could happen,” Nagy said. “But I think giving him [Wednesday] off to help him was good, and he feels good . ... We wanted to be able to sacrifice that day of practice to be able to get him right for Saturday.”
He’ll take the field in the second half of the second quarter, after starter Andy Dalton leaves. The Bears want to see Dalton run an efficient, explosive offense after going three-and-out twice last week, then see Fields take the next step in his development.
Lazor said Fields is “right on track” so far. The plan remains for Dalton to open the season as the starter and for Fields to learn the subtleties of quarterbacking from the classroom and sideline.
Bears fans just want to see another thrill while they still can. Last Saturday, Fields went 14-for-20 for 142 yards and one touchdown against the Dolphins. He ran five times for 33 yards and another touchdown and was timed as the third-fastest ball carrier in Week 1 of the preseason — behind two wide receivers.
“He’s electrifying,” safety Eddie Jackson said. “He’s just exciting to watch. He’s one of those players you just sit on the sideline and go, ‘What is he gonna do next?’ Him and the pocket awareness, his mobility, is what keeps everyone on their toes.”
The speed is something no one can teach. But Fields’ coaches are more impressed with what he has been willing to learn.
“How great he wants to be,” DeFilippo said. “It’s really impressive.”