There was a noticeable glint in Justin Fields’ eyes late Saturday night time, a honest perception that the Chicago Bears’ 21-20 preseason defeat of the Cleveland Browns carried significance. After all, Fields and the first-unit offense discovered a groove within the first half at FirstEnergy Stadium. Then they stayed there. In a span of 4 possessions, Fields led scoring drives of 80, 52 and 62 yards, ending every sequence with a landing cross to a unique receiver.
This was simple manufacturing to validate the previous month of the coaching camp grind.
“I just think we’re continually getting better,” Fields stated postgame. “Each and every day, we’re building off the previous day.”
The quarterback’s upbeat enthusiasm spoke volumes. This was progress. This was momentum for a still-jelling offense to hold into the common season.
This was one thing.
“Definitely a turning point,” Fields added a pair minutes later. “We’ll just build on this.”
Given an opportunity to make use of the preseason finale to achieve expertise and construct confidence, Fields took full benefit of Saturday’s alternative. He ran 29 performs within the first half and accomplished all however two of his 16 passes, throwing for 156 yards and posting a passer score of 146.9.
Fields additionally gave Bears followers a brand new transient montage of TD highlights as a attainable trailer for the following four-and-a-half months.
Fields’ first-half hat trick — 22 yards to Ryan Griffin, 12 yards to Dante Pettis, 24 yards to Cole Kmet — appeared to unlock the doorways of creativeness in Chicago, even when it was merely an exhibition sport on an August Saturday in Cleveland.
“It was just execution by all parties,” Fields stated. “The O-line did a great job protecting today. I told them that multiple times. The receivers did a great job running the right routes at the right depths.”
Added guard Cody Whitehair: “This is good momentum heading into the season.”
Listen, everyone seems to be entitled to react to Saturday’s first-half fireworks present nevertheless they really feel applicable. If your intestine tells you that this was solely the preseason and that standout Browns cross rushers Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney didn’t play, that’s utterly truthful. The Bears will face a lot greater assessments in each sport they play. Thus it’s justifiable to query whether or not Saturday’s offensive manufacturing could have a lot, if any, carryover into the common season.
It’s additionally acceptable for individuals who need to wrap their arms across the optimistic power that bubbled up and provides these intoxicating feelings an enormous squeeze. That was, in any case, a Bears offense that performed with apparent objective, that was environment friendly, that dropped the highest down then put its foot on the gasoline within the specific lane for an hour or so.
The trip felt refreshing and considerably exhilarating. And in Chicago, optimism and encouragement are at all times welcome guests at this level of the summer season.
Still, what issues most, is how the Bears themselves will course of their offensive success.
Coach Matt Eberflus? He preferred the general operation and the steadiness between the operating sport and the passing sport.
“I thought our play-action was nice,” Eberflus stated. “The boots and the waggles were good. We took the completions that were there. … I think (our offensive guys) feel positive about the performance.”
Whitehair has six seasons of expertise to assist him keep away from exaggerating the which means of an effort like Saturday’s. Still, he felt happy.
“It’s just the fact that we played so well together,” Whitehair stated. “It really felt like we were clicking on all cylinders. I felt like our continuity was good, our communication was good. And this was a good way for us to head into the season.”
Kmet, in the meantime, can really feel the little enhancements of the offense starting to stack.
“This is us showing a progression,” he stated. “We’ve talked about this and said it. Now you’re starting to see it. And we’re starting to feel it a little bit more. We’re just going to keep running with it.”
The exterior world can select no matter body they care to push Saturday’s efficiency into. Two months from now, we’ll have a a lot clearer understanding of whether or not this was a fortuitous foreshadowing or merely a hole tease.
But what Fields confirmed was the command he’s able to when he’s feeling snug and assured. What his teammates supplied was the right help by crisp execution and targeted resilience to pump added perception into the Bears’ gas tank.
Griffin, for instance, made his landing catch simply three snaps after his holding penalty on a 24-yard David Montgomery run pushed the Bears again right into a suboptimal first-and-20 scenario close to midfield.
How uncommon it was to see a possible drive-killing error like that finally trumped by a number of sensible performs and finally a landing.
“Usually those things set you back,” Eberflus stated.
Added Fields: “Before the game, we know we’re going to run into adversity (at some point). I just thought it was really good by the guys — the O-line, the receivers, the running backs — just to show that we can past that fairly easily and keep a drive going”
The landing cross to Pettis? That appeared schoolyard-simple, a breezy pitch and catch in opposition to a good defensive look. That play turned a Bears interception into factors.
“Pretty much a one-on-one matchup,” Fields stated. “The corner had a little bit of inside leverage. So (Dante) stayed patient on his route and of course ran a good route. He’s a great route runner.”
The exclamation level on the primary half got here on the strike to Kmet on a play-action rollout with the Bears that includes fullback Khari Blasingame, Griffin and Kmet and receiver Isaiah Coulter as attainable targets. Earlier within the half, Fields had used the identical idea to hit Blasingame within the flat for a 6-yard achieve. This time, although, with a Browns cornerback blanketing the flat, two different defensive backs carrying Coulter into the top zone and a pair different defenders converging on Griffin close to the appropriate hash, Fields used his eyes as visitors management whereas Kmet slipped uncovered down the sideline.
All Fields and Kmet needed to do was not screw the darn factor up. They didn’t.
Fields’ cross looped throughout the objective line into Kmet’s mitts. And that was the first-unit offense’s last play of the preseason, a landing that offered a 21-0 second quarter lead and an apparent surge of adrenaline.
“This was a good step forward,” Eberflus stated.
That a lot appears irrefutable. It’s as much as Fields and the Bears now to verify they proceed transferring in that path.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com