Bears Mailbag -- What Does Justin Fields Need To Improve On?

As Chicago Bears fans slowly accept that Ryan Pace really did pull off trades for the right to draft Justin Fields and Teven Jenkins, the NFL hits fans with another exciting piece of news today:  The 2021 Schedule Release.

Yep, it's a big deal. The Bears have known their opponents (home and road) since the 2020 season ended.  Now, everyone will know when those games are played.  *When* you play a team matters a lot, and the first major leak is not a good one for the Bears:

Matthew Stafford in his first game surrounded with a roster that is actually competent and an elite head coach?  Whew.  Tough that the Bears have to be the guinea pigs here.  We'll see how the rest of the schedule shakes out tonight. With that, let's reach into this week's Bears Mailbag.  Thanks to those who submitted questions.  Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.

Bears Mailbag

I'll start with some strengths:  I said it when they drafted him -- physically, Justin Fields is an Adonis-like figure.  Impressive size/strength/speed, a blend unlike we've probably ever seen in the NFL.  For the most part, he is a pocket-passer first, which is really nice to see (unlike his predecessor in Chicago, or some of the "highly touted" QBs in the NFL like Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray).  He has good-to-great arm strength and he gets his receivers the ball consistently (though there's more on this soon). To me, his main weakness is his post-snap processing.  He does not seem to anticipate particularly well and lingers on a read until he sees it open and remain open -- that kind of time does not exist in the NFL.  The speed is several notches above his current operation speed, and slower eyes could give defenders the time they need to clog throwing lanes that he thought were getting open.  That's the main challenge he has to overcome.  However, Matt Nagy does seem to think Fields has what it takes from a mental acuity perspective, and if he *can* speed up the processor to progress a bit faster or anticipate better, I think Fields can transcend scheme with his other abilities. I said above that Fields gets his receivers the ball consistently -- and he does.  From an accuracy standpoint, he is quite good.  It's rare that receivers need to make heroic catches (diving for balls, fighting with DBs on jump balls, etc.).  What I want to see more of, though, is improved ball placement.  Some of his deep balls are a bit underthrown at times, causing a receiver to rotate slightly backwards to secure the catch.  It's not necessarily the end of the world, but in the NFL, that can be the difference between a chunk play and a ball batted away at the last second, especially if up against a stickier CB. All of what I shared above are certainly concerns that I want to see Fields overcome to turn into an elite QB, but as far as his initial ability to contribute in the NFL, I don't expect those to be huge problems because I think Nagy/Bill Lazor/John DeFilippo can and will design a scheme to alleviate some of these burdens.  I actually imagine the Bears will incorporate a good bit of what Ryan Day's offense used at Ohio State, and with the speed the Bears have added to their arsenal (getting Tarik Cohen back, Marquise Goodwin, Dazz Newsome), they can make it work.  I do think the running game will be featured pretty heavily early on, and with that, that's where Nagy could open up his vertical passing game.  He couldn't for three years due to the wasteland at QB, but taking advantage of play-action with a QB whose skillset teams will respect (if not overrate in the beginning), could move the ball significantly better than they've been able to in prior years. Here's my final message:  Fields has work to do.  If he can close the gap on his deficiencies, he has the ability to be a true star.  If he can't, he can still be an effective weapon with his physical talents for at least his rookie contract.  What I'm most excited to see is how the Bears scheme going forward.  The Bears' offense has added several good pieces this offseason.  Hopefully the ingredients make something delicious.

On the latest @clubdub_podcast episode, I said I don't believe Fields opens the season during Week 1.  I think the best time to evaluate a possible QB change will be during the bye week, but here are the important questions:

• When is the bye week?
• What is the record at the bye week?
• How are the Bears performing, especially offensively, at the bye week?

A Week 4 or Week 5 bye week may not give the Bears enough time to evaluate the other two bullets very effectively. Let's say the Bears' bye week is Week 9, so they've played half the season.  If the Bears are in good shape (say, 6-2 or better) with the offense seemingly in a decent groove, they may continue to play Dalton. If the Bears are in middlingish shape, say 4-4 or 5-3, they may ask Fields to take over and inject some life into the season, especially if the offense is sputtering.  But they could easily choose to ride it out with Dalton and evaluate on a week-by-week basis, but perhaps giving Fields 25% of the reps in practice. If the Bears are 3-5 or worse, at that point, it could be in Nagy and Ryan Pace's best interest to play Fields.  Show that he is capable of playing well, leading the offense, and that there's reason for hope in 2022.