Darnell Mooney's Take on Justin Fields

Darnell Mooney isn't afraid to tell the truth about quarterback Justin Fields as he sees it, or just about anything else for that matter.

Whether it's pointing out how Fields needs to be a little more fiery himself, or what Fields is able to do now that he couldn't do in the past, Mooney was providing the details or opinion after Wednesday's struggling practice by the offense.

Fields, it seems, has become good enough in the offense that he can operate without sideline help.

"I would say within the playbook, there's no confusion there at all," Mooney said. "He's just (saying to himself), 'I know where I want to go with the ball. I know where this play is designed for. I know the coverage that I want to get this done in.'

"Even during walkthroughs, he will do a two-minute drill and he's calling plays himself. So that's something that he wasn't able to do last year, for sure, just because he's learning."

Mooney almost sounded a bit jealous of where Fields advanced in this respect.

"And I've tried to do some things like that when we do our own walkthroughs at the end of the night," Mooney said. "I can't do that yet. And this year, he's doing that. He's taking control of everything."

"Even during walkthroughs, he will do a two-minute drill and he's calling plays himself. So that's something that he wasn't able to do last year, for sure, just because he's learning."

While Fields has this side of it down, there are some areas he could polish. One might be on the inspiriational side.

Fields talked to the offense after the defense dominated them and had a specific message.

"His message was, 'Hey man, we got to bring it every day,' " Mooney said. "Like he said, the defense brings it every day, the energy, and we're just flat. We have to have fun. You have to have seriousness and know how to have fun, as well.

"Even if it's just a little play, even if it's like Chase (Claypool) had a good crack block today and I don't think there was many guys that were jumping up and excited about that. Like, that's a good thing. We have to have that and take advantage of everything that we have. Even like the little things. But, I mean, he (Fields) lets us know when he's (ticked) off and when he's happy about practice, for sure."

Fields Can Provide Spark

However, Mooney points out the fire can come from a spark Fields himself provides.

"I think it starts, one, with the quarterback," Mooney said. "I mean, he has to come in the huddle, bring confidence in the huddle, and understand that it's just with him that Justin is a calm guy. So he has to he has to understand that he is our leader and our guy, so we go as far as he goes, and he has to come in with that juice.

"And he does come in, and sometimes he's just so locked in so, so dialed into what he's doing, he has to sometimes click in, like, 'Hey, I gotta get my guys jumping.' And that's why sometimes I'll come up to him just hit him in the back of the head or jump up to him that I'm trying to get him like, not so locked in. So we understand, like, Hey, we looking at you to see how far we can go."

Mooney believes Fields knows this is the case.

"So, and him being a young guy, I mean, it is what it is, this is his team," Mooney said. "But he understand that he has to, he has to bring the juice every day."

While Mooney was in the mood for tell-all, he also talked about teammate Chase Claypool. He's not one, apparently, who needs a kick-start from the quarterback. Claypool can run a lit hot on the field when the chriping takes place like it did in Wednesday's practice.

"Chase, oh, you gotta watch him. He's a hothead, for sure," Mooney said. "You got to calm him down. That's why I'm jumping in there, like, yeah, OK, calm down. Yeah, Chase is a hothead for sure. He'll run through guys and won't know how to calm down.

"You just need somebody to be able to pull you back and like, 'hey, chill out.' I'll be that guy for him, though, for sure."

Mooney thinks Claypool knows he has his back.

"I'm not going to lie, I know I look like this little guy, but a lot of guys respect me so you know, but I’m looking out for Chase, for sure," Mooney said to laughter from the media.

Mooney has seen a change come over Claypool of sorts, as well. He has better understanding of the offense now, and it has shown on the field in the last three practices.

"Not really knowing what's going on, the playbook is kind of hard, especially trying to fit it into a few weeks, but his confidence now within the playbook, it's smooth," Mooney said. "He knows where the right spots to be are and Justin's getting confidence with him as well.

"I think the first couple days he didn’t really have too many catches or whatever, and then like maybe (Tuesday) or a couple days ago they were connecting a lot. And Justin's throwing the ball up to him, just trusting him. You can see that trust for sure."

So now with Fields connecting regularly with DJ Moore and Claypool, it leaves one main receiver to find. It's Mooney himself.

Mooney Ready to Roll, Too

Although their connection had been established two years ago, Mooney went through off-season rehab from ankle surgery and hasn't been as involved. The team held him back somewhat with play reps until they liked what they saw of his recovery. Wednesday was a full-go.

"Yeah, I mean, they've been doing it, they've been giving me more reps and today I didn't have any shackles today, so I was all good," Mooney said. "But, I mean, just the overall process they gave me the peace to just come back whenever I needed to.

"So I've seen it on the other side where some guy is pushing through and just have to go but I'm grateful for them just giving me the opportunity to just gradually getting in there."

Mooney says he's 100% and his problem so far has been more inactivity caused by rehab than the injury itself. He should start catching more passes now, too.

"I don't think about it at all," he said of the ankle. "I mean I've been confident since Day 1. I've been ready to go. I got frustrated multiple times just sitting there watching practice. I'm not used to just sitting there.

"So I vocalized that a little bit and, I mean, they gave me some things to be satisfied about like maybe more reps today or more reps tomorrow. But like I said, I'm grateful for just the pieces they've given me to gradually get to where I'm good on their side as well."

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven