Staley Da Bear
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- Mar 16, 2019
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(2) Fields met some of his new Bears teammates Friday at Halas Hall.
"Actually walking around in the facility today, I met a few guys," he said. "I met Tarik Cohen. I actually met Andy Dalton out in California before my pro day. He's a great guy. My plan in getting to know my teammates is literally just be myself. It's definitely an easy job for me. I just can't wait to meet all of them and get to work with them."
(3) Fields appreciates the Bears' rich history and enjoyed seeing the memorabilia that's displayed throughout Halas Hall.
"Just the tradition here, the history here, the pride here in Chicago, it's just unmatched," Fields said. "I just love the energy already. I'm just glad to be a Bear and glad to be a part of this great city and great organization. I'm excited."
(4) Fields has been impressed with the strong support he's received from Bears fans since being drafted.
His No. 1 Bears jersey was reportedly Fanatics' second-best selling jersey on the first night of the draft, topped only by the No. 16 that No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence will wear with the Jaguars.
"These Bears fans from these first 18 hours or so, they've been great," Fields said. "They've shown nothing but support and I can just tell they're all excited. I'm excited, too, so I just can't wait for the future and can't wait to be able to spend moments with them and also with my teammates."
(5) Fields isn't intimidated by how starved the Bears and their fans are for an elite quarterback.
"I don't think there's pressure at all on me because I expect myself to be a franchise quarterback," Fields said. "There's really no added pressure. I came from a big program like Ohio State where the fan base is very passionate about their sports. So there's definitely no added pressure on me in terms of that. I expect myself to be a franchise quarterback and one day, hopefully, a top five quarterback in this league.
"That's what I'm going out to do. I'm going to work every day to reach my goal and to reach new heights."
(6) As an eighth- and ninth-grader, Fields emulated quarterback Cam Newton. But in recent years, he has patterned his game primarily after Seahawks star quarterback Russell Wilson.
"I've watched a lot of film on him," Fields said. "I've watched a lot of highlights on him, so I think the things that we can do on the field with both of those quarterbacks, I think we have a lot of similarities between extending plays with our legs and also having the arm talent. So I think those are a couple of guys that I kind of emulate my game after."
Fields is impressed with several aspects of Wilson's game.
"His deep ball is one—just off the top of my head—the way he puts a lot of arc on it, his accuracy, of course, and just how he carries himself as a leader, as a teammate," Fields said. "I like his game because he's an accurate quarterback. He also uses his legs. So just stuff like that. I think those are some similarities that we have."
(7) Fields agrees with what his college coach, Ohio State's Ryan Day, told the media Friday about how the quarterback "burns hot on the inside" but rarely shows that emotion.
"Coach Day, he's one of the coaches that knows me best, so he's definitely right about that one," Fields said. "I think the even keeled-ness comes from just me being in so many experiences involving sports situations in my life. I've played up to four sports growing up.
"So just failing at different sports, I've always tried to stay even-keeled, tried to keep my body language neutral. So I think that's just where that comes from. My dad has harped on it from when I was a little kid, just to make sure I have good body language. No matter how I'm feeling, just try not to let others see it."
(8) Fields concedes that his most difficult game last year served as a learning experience. In a 42-35 win over Indiana, he threw three interceptions—matching his total from the entire 2019 season.
"I think there were a few plays in that game where I was just trying to be Superman," Fields said. "I was trying to do too much; throw the ball with guys on my back. I was trying to take back it to, I guess, middle school days.
"I definitely learned a lot from that game; keeping my team in the best position to win and, of course, not putting my team at risk to turn the ball over. But I think that game was definitely a game that I'll remember for the rest of my life in terms of what I need to do to help put my team in the best position to win and to be successful. I usually learn from my mistakes, and I'm just going to learn from those ones."
(9) Fields has known that he has epilepsy since he was a high school freshman, but it has never affected his football career.
"I got diagnosed with it in ninth grade," he said. "Basically, I had a seizure in school. It was crazy because I just woke up in an ambulance. It was definitely a crazy story for me. But regarding football and 'Has it had an effect on football?' It has had zero effect on football. I haven't missed any practices or any games because of it.
"It's pretty simple for me to manage it. I just have to take three or four pills a night every night. So it's nothing crazy. It's kind of a thing that's been there for seven or eight or so years. I'm used to it and I'm just going to continue to deal with it and continue to play the game I love."