Justin Fields Has Telling Comments About Matt Nagy’s Play Calling

Justin Fields Matt Nagy play calling

Getty Head coach Matt Nagy of the Chicago Bears talks with Justin Fields during a game against the Detroit Lions.

It was a simple thing, but it made a world of difference for rookie quarterback Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears.

When the Bears’ offense took the field Week 4 against the Detroit Lions, it immediately looked and felt different. There were suddenly three tight end sets and I-formations and a relentless commitment to the run. What looked obvious from the get-go — that Bears head coach Matt Nagy had handed play-calling duties off to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor — was confirmed after Chicago’s 24-14 victory.

“In regards to the play calling, Bill did a great job,” Nagy said after the game.

As it turns out, Fields was a fan of Lazor’s play calling, too.

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Fields Praised Offensive ‘Balance’ vs Detroit

“I just felt like we had a good balance between run, play action, and just different stuff like that,” Fields said about the team’s play selection after the win. “It was just great play by the o-line … just a great balance between running and passing the ball.”

When asked if he feels a connection to Lazor as a play caller, the 22-year-old quarterback said this:

“After Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays, me, Flip (quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo), Coach Nagy and Bill, we all get together and pretty much just pick out my favorite plays, the plays I’m most comfortable with and just go through them like that. That way we’re all on the same page on what they’re thinking about calling in certain situations and certain down and distances and stuff like that.”

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Fields Notes Differences Between Nagy & Lazor

When discussing what it was like having Lazor’s voice in his ear calling the plays as opposed to Nagy’s, Fields had some revealing comments:

“He does good,” Fields said about Lazor. “You know, Bill, he’s up in the box, so his voice is always calm. That’s the one thing I like. Coach, (Nagy), it’s hard for him to be calm if he has to focus on the defense, focus on special teams. His (Lazor’s) voice is calm. He’s up there in the box seeing the field well and he did a great job calling plays today.”

Lazor’s calming presence was clearly a good thing for Fields, who had several excellent throws and a solid bounce-back game after a disastrous debut against the Browns.

“Whatever I need to do to try to be the best head coach for the Chicago Bears, whatever that is, I don’t care; I just want us to have the best opportunity to win,” Nagy said after the Bears’ win over the Lions. “And I feel like Bill did a great job today. Our players did a great job. Our coaching staff did a great job. And we played collectively together as a team. Not just players, not just coaches, everybody. And when you have that, it’s a good feeling.”

We’ll see how much longer Nagy is willing to step aside, but it’s clear that when he does, his team — and its future at quarterback — are better for it.

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