Justin Fields' Next Impressions Made
A non-padded practice like the Bears held Thursday is normally nothing to get excited about, especially with three straight padded workouts through Sunday coming.
Still, the fans at Halas Hall were treated to some of the bigger plays to be produced in workouts, including Alec Ogletree's interception of Andy Dalton in his first practice as a team linebacker, a field goal in the 60-yard range by roster challenger Brian Johnson and Dalton's big deep throw to Damiere Byrd behind the defense.
Of course, the big plays to draw the most response from the crowd were by quarterback Justin Fields. One was a rocket through the coverage to the back of the end zone on a post pattern by Rodney Adams for a touchdown from about 20 yards out in red zone work and the other was when he ran a quarterback draw inside the 10 for an easy touchdown.
Fields always gets them fired up just like he seems to fire up teammates.
"Man, I love the kid," tight end Jimmy Graham said. "He sits beside me in the locker room and, man, he wants to be good. He wants to be great. He puts in the work.
"The guy really can throw the ball. That's been impressive to see his arm strength. At some point I've got to get him matched up at some point with a guy up there in Seattle."
The guy in Seattle is Fields' friend and former teammate Russell Wilson and Graham didn't mind making comparisons.
"Especially, you know, the ability to make plays while you're running," Graham said "It's been impressive to see him so young, so focused and I can tell it definitely reminds me a lot of Russell Wilson."
Back from contracting COVID-19—one he said his 1-year-old daughter also caught—quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo afterward was praising Fields' arm talent.
"Yeah, the throw in the post in the red zone today (to Adams), that was the only spot where that ball could have been," Fields said. "There was good coverage there from the defensive back and he threw it facemask or higher and that was a heck of a throw."
The way Fields throws the ball differentiates him from other quarterbacks. For one, he's able to change speeds on his throws, going to the four-seam fastball on that riser to Adams at the back of the end zone.
"I think a lot of that has to do with you can do that or you can't," DeFilippo said. "The other thing I think we've seen, to build on that a little with your question, I think the other thing we've seen is him being able to change his arm angle."
DeFilippo pointed out a screen pass Fields threw under pressure.
"You saw it today on the screen where he had to dip down and get it around the defensive end," DeFilippo said. "A lot of that is talent. A lot of that is God-given ability to be able to make an accurate throw while you're off platform. We try to mimic those things as much as we can, but getting that full-speed rep in practice is huge."
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