Natalia Chi
Welcome to the Chicago Popular News community. The subject of this news is Justin Fields, Offense Still Has a Long Way to Go – Chicago
here are the details.
Bears minicamp observations: Fields, offense has a long way to go originally appeared on nbc sports chicago
LAKE FOREST – During the OTAs’ final practice, the Bears’ offense struggled to gain traction.
It was much of the same Tuesday during the first mandatory practice of the minicamp at Halas Hall.
With the umpires present, head coach Matt Eberflus decided to ditch the scheduled plays and let his offense take on the defense to simulate a game-like scenario.
That eight-play sequence began with Justin Fields hitting Darnell Mooney on a crossover route for a decent pickup.
A false start by rookie left tackle Braxton Jones put the offense behind the sticks. But Fields got the offense out of trouble, hitting running back David Montgomery on a swing pass for a small gain before connecting with Equanimeous St. Brown on a slash for a thick play.
So the offense stalled.
Fields threw an incomplete shot to Velus Jones Jr. down the left side, and the defense sent a pass to Khalil Herbert on the next play to set up third and long. Fields connected with St. Brown on a curl route that was 1 yard from the crossbars. The Bears tried on fourth-and-1, but the offensive line was whistled for a false start that ended the period.
Eberflus noted that Fields and the offense are still very early in the setup. That and the unprotected nature of practices can lead to more mistakes than you might see in a practice where the running game is a legitimate threat.
“I’d just say we keep working to get better at everything: footwork, timing and keep working on that,” Eberflus said of Fields and the offense. “I think a little bit of that is because you don’t have as much passing play in this environment because you’re not really running the ball. Sometimes it almost becomes a passing camp because you’re working on your passing game, due to the nature of the business.
“So I think those windows will become clearer and more open once we put the pads on, so I’m excited to see that.”
Fields ended a difficult streak in the 11-on-11 portion of practice.
It opened with Jaylon Johnson skipping an exit route intended for Nsimba Webster and retaking it for what would have been a pick-six.
Micah Dew-Treadway then deflected a pass from Fields before missing his next attempt to finish the rough sequence.
“How do you answer?” Eberflus said when he was asked what he wanted to see from Fields after those plays. “Bounce back. Bounce back. We’re all going to get knocked down, right? Every single one of us. We all get knocked down in life. What do you do? Bounce back. Just get up, next play.
“That’s what I want to see from all of our players, and that’s important. We are all going to have adversity. You have to step up and go to the next move. That’s what I want to see from him and the rest of the team as well.”
The Bears’ offense has bogged down in the sessions the media has been able to see. But some of his struggles could be the product of going up against a defense that already seems to have bought into the Eberflus mantra of all intensity, all the time.
“Definitely a lot,” Mooney said when asked how the defense challenges the offense. “We realized that the first couple of weeks when they were getting the ball out, hitting the ball, they were all over the place. The way they run to the ball makes you scream and want to end up in the end zone because you have guys yelling at you and running fast at you.
“That will help us, for sure. Just being able to finish and understand that the guys are going to keep coming.”
Fields admitted that he and the offense have a long way to go, but insisted they will be ready come Week 1.
“I think, for me, it’s just not making the same mistake twice,” Fields said. “If you make that mistake on one play, just don’t do it again. If you ultimately keep getting better and keep growing, there will be fewer mistakes every day and of course you’ll be right where you want to be.”
Other notes from Day 1 of the mandatory minicamp:
–Robert Quinn was not present on Tuesday. Eberflus seemed disappointed that the veteran running back chose not to show up, but said he would let general manager Ryan Poles work it out. The absence was not excused.
— Offensive guard Dakota Dozier had to be pulled from practice with what appeared to be a leg injury. Dozier, who is expected to compete for the starting right guard job, saw action primarily as a backup left guard before his injury.
— The Bears’ offensive front line Tuesday saw Braxton Jones at left tackle, Cody Whitehair at left guard, Lucas Patrick at center, Sam Mustipher at right guard and Larry Borom at right tackle. Teven Jenkins worked at right tackle for the second team.
Eberflus said the Bears would keep that lineup for the rest of minicamp before deciding how to move into training camp.
“So we’re just assessing the guys’ talents, assessing their skill level and going from there,” Eberflus said. “You want to start perfecting it. Guys have the same look all the time, ‘I’m playing right guard, I’m playing right tackle,’” and they have the same look, the same mechanics, if you will. The technical mechanics to play the position. We want to perfect that; the sooner the better. We just don’t have the answer right now.”
— Jaquan Brisker also intercepted Fields, but this one was over wide receiver Dazz Newsome, who let a ball bounce off his hands and into the arms of the Bears rookie safety.
— Kyler Gordon and Al Quadin-Muhammad were in attendance but did not participate in practice.
— Rod Marinelli watched practice Tuesday and will speak to the team Wednesday.
Click here to follow the Under Center podcast.
Discharge
Download MyTeams today!
