Justin Fields: My expectations are higher than anybody’s in this world

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields was on a media tour during Super Bowl week, and it allowed the team’s franchise player to discuss his second season in the NFL and his excitement for the future.

Fields has been the media’s unfair target of trade speculation despite the Bears signaling their commitment to him after a near record-setting 2022 season. Fields ran for 1,143 yards, just 63 yards shy of Lamar Jackson’s single-season record for a quarterback.

Most players would be satisfied with such a remarkable season, but Fields isn’t like most players.

“I always tell people that my expectations are higher than anybody’s in this world,” he told Bleacher Report. “I expect myself to perform at a high level regardless of the circumstances and regardless of what’s going on around me. I’m expecting a big year out of myself.”

Photo by Michael Reaves-Getty Images

Justin Fields’ growth as a passer to improve with stability inside Bears organization

The criticism of Fields’ 2022 campaign centers around his inconsistencies as a passer. He threw for just 2,242 yards, completing just over 60% of his attempts. But what most critics ignore is that Justin Fields was playing in a brand-new offense with wide receivers he’s never thrown to.

The Bears fired Matt Nagy at the end of Fields’ rookie year and hired Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator. He brought a Green Bay Packers-like system to Chicago, forcing Fields to be like a rookie again.

That won’t be the case in 2023, and improvement is expected. Getsy is back, and Fields will have a full offseason to work with him and key Chicago Bears pass catchers like Chase Claypool.

“It’s going to make a big difference,” Fields said of Year 2 with Getsy. “Just the fact that last offseason, I had to work on changing my footwork while not really knowing the routes we were going to throw and not really knowing anything in the offense. Now, I’ve got a good idea of what we’re going to run, the route concepts we’re going to run, and the different actions that we’re going to run.”

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Experience matters for quarterbacks. And it’s not just learning to adjust to the speed and physicality of the pro game. It’s also about getting reps in a complicated playbook so the processing time speeds up. Fields got those reps in 2022, setting up 2023 to potentially be a special season.

“The game really slowed down,” Fields said. “I think I was able to be calm in chaotic situations. I think once you get the hang of playing and the more reps you get in a game, you just get used to that speed out there. I think that’s the big thing, for sure.”

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