LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Justin Fields didn’t want to talk to the media Sunday night after the Bears’ 27-10 loss to the PackersGreen Bay
You can’t blame him.
Wednesday was a different day for him, however, from the moment that he sat in the media room at Halas Hall.
Fields wanted to hear.
The Bears’ starting quarterback waited for a question about something he said in defeat at Lambeau Field — something that went semi-viral but shouldn’t have — but when it didn’t come, he interjected.
Fields was asked what he does Mondays and Tuesdays to correct mistakes in games, but not allow it to linger.
“Yeah, I was mad after the game,” he said. “I’d like to address this now to get everything cleared up. There was a thing that I said on Sunday after the game where I said the fans don’t put in work. First, I was frustrated by the game. I was frustrated after the game. 1, I didn’t want to talk to you guys. I wasn’t in the mood to come and talk to you guys.”
The media room was able to understand his point and laughed. But he kept going.
“So, I should’ve done a better job of explaining what I meant by that,” Fields said. “But what I meant by that is I’m talking about work regarding the game on Sunday — winning the game. I don’t know any fans. I don’t know what they’re doing in their personal lives. Every fan we have is a friend to me. I’m glad that we have fans. I would never disrespect anybody (for) what they do or what they love to do. It came off like that. And of course, social media outlets, they quoted my quote and they got a big buzz out of it. So, of course, they did a great job doing that. And of course social media is going to do that. But I just wanted to clear that up. And now back to the question. I’m sorry. I just wanted to clear that up.”
.@justnfields: “I respect every fan that we have. It is a great thing that we have so many fans. I would never belittle anyone for doing what they love. pic.twitter.com/hpzFVoo6yT
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 21, 2022
More laughter followed, and Fields smiled — a weight lifted off his shoulders.
Fields intentionally showed a different side to himself. Fields displayed more of his personality, and more of the fire within him than his teammates. He was more open to answering questions than he was before calling out Barstool Sports.
Similar Bears quarterbacks have been there before. They’re celebrities in one of the NFL’s premier markets. What they say or don’t can fuel as much discussion locally and nationally as what they do or don’t do well during games.
Mitch Trubisky’s tongue-in-cheek comment about turning off the TVs at Halas Hall went viral. Famously, he once referred to a Bears communications team member when asked about his Packers experience. Jay Cutler’s body language was critiqued more than his words, especially early in his tenure. Cutler’s story didn’t change until later. Cutler was married to reality star Kristin Cavallari and became a father. “The Jay Cutler Show” on ESPN 1000 flourished.
Can you imagine Cutler’s life if Twitter were a thing back when he joined the Bears first time?
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Fields seems to have reached the point where he could control his words faster than Cutler or Trubisky when he started for the Bears. His Wednesday effort to share more about himself was not only concerted, but it also felt real.
“I am just kind of testing the waters a little bit,” he said. “But I want to show you guys more personality. I don’t want to be a robot up here. At the same time, I just have to be more descriptive of my words and really just describe what I’m trying to say rather than … be like, ‘Yes, we’re going to do this and that’ and just be a robot. But I try to show my personality to the world, try to show my personality to you guys, to show that I am a real person and, yes, I do make mistakes.”
There are many examples of the Packers’ loss. Fields should show patience as he adjusts to Luke Getsy’s new offense. He is also calling plays for only the second time in his NFL career.
Fields seems to have no tolerance for misinterpretation of his words.
“I talked to my dad about it, and as long as I’m going to be in this position, there’s always going to be stuff like that that pops up,” Fields said. “So (it’s) just knowing that as long as I’m in this profession that it’s really never going to go away. So either I just got to be really clear to everything that I say, be really descriptive of what I really mean or just really not say anything at all.”
Fields had hoped for a better performance Sunday night. Now he’s looking for ways to get more work in. He has made a change in his routine.
This week, he’s waking up around 5:40-6 a.m. instead of his usual 6:45-7.
“I just hate the feeling of losing,” Fields said. “Sunday, it hit different. It hit different than all of the losses last year.”
It’s different because he’s been the Bears’ starter since Day 1. It’s his team. He wants his team to be recognized for their hard work on game day. He believes this.
“The emotional investment that you put in every day, just everything — it just sucks losing,” Fields said. “I mean, I’ve never liked losing. As a kid, I remember my dad playing basketball in our backyard with me, and I used, like, to cry when I lost. So, it’s just like … I don’t like losing at all. It just doesn’t sit right with me.”
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Use the Texans.
Compared with the Packers, it’s an inferior opponent, but one with a capable defense that plays a similar style as coach Matt Eberflus’ unit under former Bears coach Lovie Smith.
“Their defense and our defense kind of come from the same family branch, a lot of the same stuff,” Fields said. “They play hard. I don’t think they have one, so to say what everybody would, a star player on that team. But I’ll give them credit: They play hard, they play fast, they play similar to us. So it’s going to be a hard fight all day.”
Fields will be there for you, win or lose. It’s part of his job — his life — at the moment. He gets it.
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
