On Wednesday, Justin Fields opened up about his struggles early in the season, in part saying that coaching was hurting him so far this year.
“They’re doing their job when they’re giving me what to look at, stuff like that,” Fields said. “But at the end of the day, I can’t be thinking about that when the game comes.”
While fans and analysts took those quotes as Fields blaming the coaching, at least in part, for him not playing up to standard, the Bears don’t seem to agree. General manager Ryan Poles explained that the team doesn’t view Fields as one to put blame elsewhere.
“No one in our entire building, none of our coaches see Justin as a finger-pointer,” Poles said, via Dan Wiederer. “The kid has always taken ownership of anything that has happened on the field. He takes it head on. He grinds. He works [with all] to find solutions.”
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Fields did walk back his comments later in the day, accusing the media of taking the quotes out of context and denying that he would ever blame others for his problems.
Poles added that last year, Fields carried the team offensively because the Bears needed him to do so. Now, after adding more talent around Fields, the quarterback has to balance when to lean on others vs. when to take more control.
“That is sometimes a gray place to live in,” Poles said. “That takes time and time on task for him to take that next step. And everyone is on board helping him get into that place to be successful.”
