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New Bears OC Shane Waldron will not change team’s evaluation of Justin Fields originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
INDIANAPOLIS – When the Bears hired Shane Waldron to take over as the team’s next offensive coordinator, people immediately asked what it meant for Justin Fields. Waldron was the OC in Seattle who not only helped the Seahawks make the decision to go with Geno Smith over Drew Lock, but also helped Smith transform from a big draft bust to a legit NFL starter. If Waldron was able to revitalize Smith’s career, could he jumpstart Fields’? Would Waldron see something in Fields’ game that the Bears had missed?
Ultimately, would having Waldron in the building change the team’s evaluation of Fields?
On the Tuesday before the NFL Combine, head coach Matt Eberflus put that question to rest.
“No, it doesn’t,” Eberflus said. “It’s the same evaluation that I talked about at the end of the season at length.”
Overall, that evaluation was positive. Here’s what Eberflus said about Fields at the end of the regular season.
“We love where Justin is right now. He’s done a good job growing in the interceptions, keeping those down, the sack totals, he’s doing a good job with that, having his eyes down the field, he’s done a wonderful job with that, of being able to deliver some strikes down there and he’ll continue to grow as we grow as a football team.”
But it did not come without critiques. In the same end-of-year press conference, GM Ryan Poles shared where the Bears wanted to see improvements from Fields.
“Growth in the two-minute part,” Poles said. “That’s a critical part that we’ve got to continue to get better at because that’s where you win games and more games, close games and a lot of times when you look at the playoffs and championships, that’s where you close it out. That’s one big part.”
Flash forward back to the Combine, and consider this answer from Eberflus when asked what he’s looking for in a QB. He…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bears-oc-shane-waldron-not-202110017.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-02-27 20:21:10
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