The Chicago Bears are off to a dreadful 0-2 start, and while quarterback Justin Fields hasn't been playing especially great to begin the season, part of the reason why, according to him, is coaching.
Justin Fields acknowledged he has been playing too robotic, then bit the pin off the grenade and rolled it into the building with his explanation for why he believes it is that way: "Coaching."
Wow.
A LOT more on that in a bit.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 20, 2023
In a press conference, Fields opened up about how he has been playing robotic and not like "his old self."
He said his goal this week, on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs, is "just to, you know, say 'f it' and just go out there and play football how I know how to play football."
Fields, who's in his third season with the Bears, said "thinking less" was a big part of his approach this week.
Later in the conversation, a reporter asked the former Ohio State Buckeyes signal-caller asked him, "When you say thinking less, what do you think was causing you to think so much..."
Fields somewhat hesitated, but his answer was a bit startling.
"Coaching, I think, but at the end of the day... they're doing their job, giving me what to look at and stuff like that, but at the end of the day I can't be thinking of that..."
Another reporter chimed in, asking if it was "too many coaching voices," causing him to overthink.
"Um, I don't think it's too many coaching voices," Fields replied, "But I just think when you're fed a lot of information at a point in time and you're trying to think about the info when you're playing... it doesn't let you play like yourself."
Here's the full video of Justin Fields talking today to the media about his struggles and what he needs to get back to doing, along with his full explanation on "coaching" potentially being part of the issue.
Fields opened up... https://t.co/18iViHWfoj pic.twitter.com/37ocE7e7zQ
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 20, 2023
The former No. 11 overall draft pick in the 2021 NFL Draft said that he saw some plays for the Bears previous game against the Buccaneers where if he was "playing like his old self," there would have been "positive plays."
When it comes to Fields, he's most known, at this point in his career, for his rushing ability. Through two games, there have been five designed run calls for Fields. He had 59 rushing yards in Week 1 against Green Bay, but against Tampa Bay, he had three yards.
The lack of running plays could be to protect Fields, but if the coaching staff is trying to limit him more to pocket passing, that could be where the overthinking is coming from, and thus, taking away one of his best attributes on the field.
As mentioned, the Bears head on the road to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3.
