Mediocre Numbers, Tough Lessons Learned

Justin Fields received a real education from his rookie season of 2021 and now what matters is how he applies what he has learned in Year 2.

The words of Bears rookie tackle Larry Borom accurately painted the disappointing situation facing fellow rookie Justin Fields.

"I definitely feel for him," Borom said. "It's tough to be doing something one day then all of the sudden, boom, you're stuck in your house or a hotel or whatever it may be, quarantining an X-amount of days by yourself. It's tough.

"I mean I'm going to reach out to him for sure but it's definitely tough."

A season of great ups and extended downs finished with Fields unable to answer the bell for one final start due to COVID-19. He will not get the 11th start at quarterback against Minnesota. 

Fields' rookie season ends after producing mundane number, with just two Bears wins two show for his 10 starts.

More so for the Bears and coach Matt Nagy than for Fields, it's a depressing conclusion appropriate for this forgettable season. After all, Fields will get another chance, quite possibly for a different coach, in a different offense next year.

For Fields, the stats probably hide his great plays: the hair-raising run against San Francisco, an eye-popping throw to Darnell Mooney to rally the Bears in the fourth quarter against Pittsburgh, the deep ball against the Lions at Soldier Feld in his first start, the clutch third-down pass over the middle to Mooney to wrap up the win over the Raiders.

Instead, a 73.2 passer rating failed to reach even Mitchell Trubisky's 77.5 as a rookie. Fields threw seven touchdown passes, just like Trubisky, but he also threw three more interceptions than Trubisky's seven.

Those stats are not what offensive coordinator Bill Lazor wants him to take from this experience.

"I want him to come out of this with confidence," Lazor said. "I want him to realize that we were behind against the Steelers in the fourth quarter and he was able to take the offense down and score."

It was one brilliant conclusion in a lost game and Fields never really got to pick right up after this, as he had a poor start against Baltimore, suffered broken ribs during that game, then spent the rest of the year fighting back into the lineup, losing in a strong effort against Green Bay and a poor one against Minnesota, spraining his ankle and now going on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

"I want him to step in and say, ‘Yes. Just like they were telling me, I can do this. This is going to be a great story,' use that confidence to kind of propel him into the future," Lazor said.

Fields said Wednesday he believes he sees the field better than he initially did and that is something. Matt Nagy on Wednesday said Fields has complete command in the huddle now, a far cry from his start.

The other thing Lazor liked about Fields was not something he developed on a football field, but rather in life. That is how consistently true to himself he is. ​

"I never see him try to be something different for other people or for his teammates," Lazor said. "I think he's very sincere."

It sounds as if Fields already has been living Matt Nagy's "Be U," philosophy.

"I think his teammates really appreciate that ... his coaches," Lazor said. "And I'm not saying he's perfect. None of us are. And that's why (QB coach) John DeFilippo spends all that time counseling him, both in football and how to be a pro and all of the things. But he's always himself, and I think guys appreciate that. 

"So I think when he goes through difficult times, which injuries can be difficult times for competitors, people realize what he's going through, and those of us who are here to help him and help him develop, he allows himself to be coached and to be counseled and to be helped."

It's not as much fun as Mac Jones taking a team to the playoffs as a rookie or even Trey Lance producing a win in his first start for the 49ers.

For the Bears, in a 6-10 season, it's all they have.

It will be up to the 2022 coaching staff to continue this process of building a quarterback, whoever those people will be.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven