Good Relationship, Quicker Release Real Goals

Matt Eberflus mindful of developing a good rapport with Justin Fields but does want to see something from his quarterback that could help the offense

It sounded a bit like a challenge being put forth by Bears coach Matt Eberflus to his second-year quarterback.

Perhaps it's just a goal. Some might interpret it as a warning, but the coach and quarterback relationship hasn't really begun to develop enough for this sort of thing to happen, yet. And Eberflus is going to be mindful to develop this with a positive framework.

Fields took 36 sacks last year in 10 starts and 12 games, although one of those games consisted of only five plays. That's a lot of sacks per game.

It's a new offense now with Luke Getsy as coordinator, and the offensive line is being remade. However, getting the offense to work the way it's intended is not going to allow for holding onto the football too long.

"I think in football everybody has all the protections," Eberflus said. "You've got center going this way, a back going the other way, slide this way. Everybody has those protections.

"I think more importantly, it would be ball out. You know? Getting the ball out of your hands fast and making quick decisions, I think, is what is going to be the important thing for us to do offensively. And when you take shots (downfield), you take shots and you max (protect) 'em up and you protect and you have to do that in the course of a game. But certainly getting the ball out is going to be important."

Next Gen Stats from NFL Media had Fields ranked ahead of only four quarterbacks out of 38 they graded last year in terms of getting the ball out quick. Fields took 2.91 seconds on average, the same as Teddy Bridgewater. Only Jameis Winston (3.02), Lamar Jackson (2.96), Taylor Henicke (2.97) and Jalen Hurts (3.12) took longer.

It's not necessarily an impossible task to get Fields to throw quicker even if this was a weakness noticed in college. And he doesn't necessarily need to get a lot faster to be right there with plenty of other good quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes was at 2.84 and Josh Allen at 2.9.

Besides, getting rid of it fast doesn't automatically equate to being better. Sure, Tom Brady averaged 2.5 seconds and was near the top but in 2021. But in 2020 Nick Foles was among the fastest at 2.51 and Andy Dalton with Dallas was at 2.5 and neither of them had great seasons.

Ben Roethlisberger was fastest both years at 2.3 in 2020 and 2.38 in 2021, and this wasn't necessarily a good thing at all. He almost seemed to throw it the instant it hit his hands.

Still, Fields generally does need to get rid of the ball faster.

Eberflus isn't going to be too critical of Fields at this point, obviously.

He's mindful of this sort of thing and wants to develop a good relationship with his quarterback.

After some of the things that came out about the Matt Nagy and Mitchell Trubisky relationship being more rocky than appeared, concern on the part of Eberflus about this sort of thing would be a refreshing change.

With Eberflus being from the defensive side of the ball, it becomes more of a challenge to make that connection.

The quarterbacks and offensive-side head coaches always seem closer.

"Yeah, I’ve gotten some advice from several of my mentors about it," Eberflus said. "And I just think, be yourself."

Some Bears fans might wince a bit, thinking they just heard "Be U" all over again.

"I don't think there's any one particular thing you want to say or do," Eberflus said. "I just think be yourself and be genuine. I think building a relationship is always that. When you go look someone in the eyes and tell them the truth then they can be on the same page.

"And be vulnerable sometimes. Say, 'I made a mistake. I didn't do that right.' Say that to them. I think that's how you build trust and how you build a relationship."

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