Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields had a rocky rookie season, for a variety of reasons. The coaching was bad, there wasn't enough talent on offense and the quarterback himself just wasn't good enough, even if he showed some tantalizing flashes of his massive potential. The Bears haven't really addressed the talent problem on offense, but they're still hoping for big things out of Fields in Year 2 simply based on his own development.

While Fields admitted earlier this summer that there's a lot of work to be done for this offense to truly be ready for the 2022 season, his Bears teammates are seeing some noticeable changes that should serve him well. Tight end Cole Kmet is one of those teammates, per ESPN's Courtney Cronin:

“You just feel him in the huddle,” Kmet said. “He's not just repeating the play, he's telling you the play, and there's a difference in that. That gives me confidence as a player out in the field. He's talking to each guy. It's not just a repeat-a-play, he's telling us a play, which is a difference.”

New defensive tackle Justin Jones also highlighted Fields' “commanding leadership” as “a legit field general.” Wide receiver Darnell Mooney says Fields “wants to take over the league.”

Some of this could just be offseason bluster, and Fields will have to prove it on the field in Chicago. The Bears infamously have an atrocious track record when it comes to quarterbacks, so Fields is fighting against history and some other factors. The hope is a new coaching staff will help, but it's true that the offense doesn't have many proven weapons right now.

Fields understands there will be growing pains and plenty of mistakes, but he'll do his best to correct them and not consistently make the same ones over and over. That was a problem as a rookie at times when he would hold the ball too long and turn the ball over, so we'll see if he's able to fully take the reins in Year 2 and become one of the better young quarterbacks in the league.

At the very least, his teammates are getting on board the hype train.