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| Bears: Justin Fields reportedly was upset with Matt Nagy |
It may have only been in the infancy of his Chicago Bears playing career, but quarterback Justin Fields seemed to have had major reservations about the offensive game plan his former head coach Matt Nagy drew up for him vs. the Cleveland Browns last season.
Fields’ longtime personal quarterback coach Ron Veal appeared on 670 The Score in Chicago on Friday. One of the big takeaways from the interview was Fields was “really pissed off” about the game plan Nagy devised for the rookie quarterback vs. the Browns. This was Fields’ third career game. He completed 30 percent of his passes for 68 yards, as the Bears lost to the Browns, 26-6.
Fields went 2-8 in 12 games with the Bears, completing 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,870 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Chicago traded up to No. 11 in a deal with the New York Giants to take him out Ohio State. Fields was the fourth quarterback picked in the first round last spring. Nagy was fired at the end of the season after four years on the job leading the Bears.
Clearly, there is a ton to unpack here…
Justin Fields was not a fan of Matt Nagy’s offensive game plans from the start
From an outsider’s perspective, the perpetual blame game going on at Halas Hall is akin to the Spider-Man meme. This guy is pointing the finger at that guy who is pointing at someone else who is pointing back at the original finger-pointer. It is cyclical nonsense, only further epitomizing why the Bears remain one of the most dysfunctional franchises in the NFL, one decade after another.
It has been established Nagy was over his skis as a head coach, especially as a play caller. While Fields is not without some blame, keep in mind that he was only a rookie entering a perpetually chaotic environment. He may have offered a ton of talent coming out of Ohio State, but his bad rookie stats are out there for the rest of time. Splash plays here and there do not cover them up.
As for still having holdups about a game played back in September, Fields has to move on. Then again, no organization is more beholden to the past than the Bears. Who on the active roster was alive the last time the Bears won the Super Bowl? Though Matt Eberflus and Ryan Poles could potentially turn this ship around, their budding careers are tied to whatever Fields becomes.
From a physical standpoint, he has to refine his loopy throwing motion. This is not the Big Ten and he no longer plays for Ohio State. Not only does he have to elevate the talent around him for the Bears to be successful, but he has to take it upon himself to be something the Bears have never had before in their football history: A 4,000-yard passer. Maybe Luke Getsy can help with this?
Though the Eberflus and Poles partnership will inevitably determine if this era of Bears football is a success or another huge embarrassing failure, Getsy is perhaps the most important coach on the Bears staff. Because Eberflus is a defensive-minded coach, it puts even more pressure on Aaron Rodgers’ former quarterback coach to refine his new signal-caller’s mechanics to go and be a star.
Fields’ frustration with Nagy from back in September means he should have never played for him.