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Former NFL QB Jim Miller appeared on the Jets official podcast at couple of weeks ago.
Miller, a former NFL QB, is now a host on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
Aside from working at SiriusXM, he is been an analyst on the Chicago Bears postgame show for many years, making the trip from Detroit to Chicago every weekend during the NFL season.
So Miller covered every snap of Justin Fields three years with the Chicago Bears.
Miller said something during his long interview with the Jets’ website that kind of flew under the radar, but was kind of newsy.
“I do question his preparation,” Miller said. “I think he needs to prepare much better.”
To some, it might be a little surprising that this quote was left on the team’s podcast, and in the article written on the team’s website.
In the past, sometimes controversial comments about players and coaches were not included on the website, especially videos.
Last year, when Aaron Rodgers was critical of Woody Johnson’s ownership style during a press conference in the Jets locker room, the comments were cut out of the video that appeared on the team’s website.
Also, when I pressed Haason Reddick about why he held out, with several repeated questions, after he said he wouldn’t talk about the holdout, that exchange did not appear on the website. It was cut out.
Look, I’m not being critical of the Jets for cutting certain things out. If that is what they want to do, to protect the organization, that is their right. A lot of teams do that.
Just saying it was a little surprising that they included a quote about their recently signed new quarterback saying, “I do question his preparation. I think he needs to prepare much better.”
It’s refreshing they left it in, and maybe a sign of the new culture being installed by new Jets coach Aaron Glenn.
Glenn, a Bill Parcells and Sean Payton disciple, doesn’t believe in sugarcoating things.
We all know Fields is supremely talented with a howitzer arm and world-class speed. He is a rare natural talent at the QB position.
But over his four years in the NFL, after entering the league as a 2021 first-round pick of the Bears, he clearly hasn’t realized his full potential. That isn’t a shot at him, just the reality of the situation.
Hey, the Jets know that. A narrative you hear from their new brass is that they believe Fields’s “best football is in front of him.”
There are two ways of looking at that quote. It’s a quote that can get Jets fans excited because of the perception that the player is still ascending. But it’s also an admission that some of his play in the past wasn’t his “best.”
And, hey, a quote like this from Miller, a highly reputable source, who played the position, and is now one of the top NFL analysts around, can help Fields, as a message to the extremely talented young player that he needs to take his work ethic to another level. It’s not that hasn’t worked hard, but he can work even harder.
How many times have we heard about so many of the great NFL QBs that they “open and close the training complex” with their hours?
That is what the Jets need for Fields.
Hat-tip to the Jets website and Glenn for allowing that quote to remain in place.
April 17, 2025
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