(670 The Score) Hall of Fame quarterback and NFL on FOX analyst Terry Bradshaw loves what he has seen from Bears quarterback Justin Fields this season, but he also harbors significant concern about Fields getting injured because of Chicago's offensive style.
With that in mind, Bradshaw believes it’s imperative that the Bears surround the 23-year-old Fields with a better offensive line and more position player talent as soon as possible so as to take the playmaking burden off of him. Fields has completed 61.7% of his passes for 1,896 yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 12 games while adding 905 yards and eight scores on the ground. He missed one game due to a left shoulder injury this season.
“What they’re doing now, for his development, this is what he does best,” Bradshaw said on the Parkins & Spiegel Show on Thursday afternoon. “And I think a good coaching staff adjusts an offense to their personnel. You have to. (The Bears) started out not doing so well. They started getting him outside, had read, the run-pass option RPO and what he has basically done, kind of like at Ohio State, fake, ride in, read the linebacker and the end coming down or going up and then pull back and throw it or give it off or run with it. It’s been successful.
“In time, though, as he adjusts to the NFL coverages and his reads, it’s important that he gets comfortable from the pocket and then uses his great athletic talent that he has to escape and then make plays outside. I fear for players that run this offense. I fear that you’re going to get hurt. You’re just going to get hurt. There’s no way around it. You’re going to get hurt. And when you’re outside running, these guys have the opportunity to put a hit on you. And that’s fine now. He’s a young guy, he’s already hurt with the left shoulder. It’s not going to get easier, but it’s fun to watch. He’s so good at it. He throws a beautiful ball. His deep passes, he’s very good at throwing the deep passes. Once they put more talent around him, a better offensive line, give him some weapons on the outside and I think his development will go faster. If that’s not the case, they’re going to have to run this offense that they’re running right now. And while it’s fun, when you run your quarterbacks and he gets hurt, you lose not only your running game but you lose your passing. If you lose a running back, you bring in another running back but you always have your field general at quarterback.
“In time, I assume that’s what they’re going to try to do.
“It’s fun to watch him. He’s as fast as anybody when he gets going, and he throws a beautiful deep ball. He just has to learn how to do it better from the pocket. That will come with better protection, and that will come with him developing his reads downfield.”
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