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More talk about Justin Fields personality on Wednesday.
Question: “[Fields] seems like a pretty quiet, chill guy. What kind of a leader is he?”
Glenn: “Yes, he is a quiet voice, but that quiet voice doesn’t mean that people don’t
what you say, and I like that about him because he is himself and he’s authentic, and he’s not going to change for nobody. I’d rather have that than somebody that’s fake. I like that about him because he is himself and he’s authentic, and he’s not going to change for nobody. I’d rather have that than somebody that’s fake.”
Some perceived that as a shot at somebody else, but that is jumping to conclusions and there is no way to prove it.
“He is authentic and he’s himself,” Glenn continued. “It’s one thing that players can pick out is someone that’s fake, and there’s nothing about him that’s fake. So, I love everything about the player, I love everything about the way he carries himself, and I’m looking forward to him as he goes through this process during these OTA’s.”
Look, I’m not going to go after Glenn about this obsession with Fields’ persona, because he’s just answering questions, and clearly some are more interested in the QB’s personality and leadership than his progression scans, safety eye manipulation, anticipatory throws and hot reads, and that is their right.
Once again, yes, a quarterback’s leadership ability and demeanor are important, but I just think people are way too focused on that stuff with Fields right now, perhaps subconsciously trying to juxtapose him next to some other QB who was here.
Look, it’s great that Fields has a likable personality, but man, there is so much more to having success at the position than that.
So can we stop with the personality questions for a minute, and focus more on execution?
Look, this signing could turn out great for the Jets. I have no idea. Perhaps you load up on read-options, bootlegs, play-action passes, and a lot of designed QB runs, like Washington did last year with Jayden Daniels, and let the chips fall where they may.
Daniels ran 148 times for the Commanders last year, and I were the Jets, I would look for a similar number from Fields. Use his sub-4.5 speed as a runner as much as you can. Don’t worry about him getting hurt. Roll with his superpower.
That could work in some games. I say “some games” because what happens with this formula in some games is teams shut down the running game, and the running QB has to put the team on his back and win from the pocket, throwing a ton as a pocket passer, this sometimes becomes problematic.
So let’s see if Fields improves in the pocket from his first four years in the league, where this aspect of his game was a little up and down.
Let’s see if he can go through his progressions better, throw with more anticipation and become more of a full-field reader under the guidance of Jets OC Tanner Engstrand, QB coach Charles London and passing game coordinator Scott Turner.
It’s been established that he has a cool personality and underrated leadership skills. Now let’s focus on on-field execution.
May 22, 2025
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