Chicago Bears News: Justin Fields is even impressing the enemy
By Ryan Heckman
Since the Chicago Bears drafted Justin Fields, fans have been eating up every bit of content they can about their new quarterback.
From big outlets like ESPN and Bleacher Report, to the number-crunchers and analytics heads at Pro Football Focus, to local media, there has been no shortage of praise for the Bears’ rookie quarterback — and fans absolutely love it.
Wednesday, the Bears took the field for their first joint practice with the Miami Dolphins before this weekend’s preseason matchup. It was the Bears’ first live action against an opponent.
Obviously, all eyes were on Fields — all eyes.
Even the Miami Dolphins media got a glimpse of why the Chicago Bears are ecstatic about Justin Fields.
During the teams’ practice, fans are used to seeing live updates from Bears media about how each and every player is doing. Mostly, it’s fun to read about the bigger names like Fields, of course. After all, fans have been long-starving for a top-tier quarterback.
But, even some of the Dolphins’ media took to Twitter to express their impressions on the Bears’ rookie quarterback — and Bears fans should be happy to see what was written.
For example, Miami’s Sun Sentinel beat reporter, David Furones, had a simple yet effective comment regarding Fields.
To see Dolphins media tweeting about Fields in the middle of a key practice for their own team is pretty telling. The Bears’ rookie was indeed built for the spotlight. He draws people in, regardless of whether or not they’re a bit biased like Bears fans can be.
The one thing that continues to be most impressive about this is the fact that Dolphins media has been hyper-critical of their own young quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Another beat writer, Omar Kelly, tweeted after yesterday’s practice that Tua has “no zip” on his passes, and that they’ve known that from the beginning.
While Chicago’s future looks incredibly bright with Fields, the Dolphins still don’t know whether or not last year’s no. 5 overall pick is going to pan out. That’s something to remember while again watching for Dolphins media tweeting during practice today.
One other note from Dolphins media, regarding practice on Wednesday: the Bears’ defensive line dominated Miami’s offensive line. While the Dolphins have their own offensive line issues, it’s great to read about Chicago’s defensive line returning to form.
Last year, the Bears’ line was hurting without Eddie Goldman and specifically had a hard time generating a lot of pressure, which led to a lower sack number than they would have liked to see. It may have only been a joint practice, and not a game, but knowing this defensive line is getting after it and impressing even opposing teams’ media is a huge positive.