The Chicago Bears are making a major mistake with Justin Fields and they need to correct it immediately
The Chicago Bears are making a major mistake with quarterback Justin Fields this season and they need to fix it before it's too late. In week four, Fields received a significant amount of criticism for missing a wide open Darnell Mooney on a play that likely would've resulted in a touchdown. Here's the play. As […]
The Chicago Bears are making a major mistake with quarterback Justin Fields this season and they need to fix it before it's too late.
In week four, Fields received a significant amount of criticism for missing a wide open Darnell Mooney on a play that likely would've resulted in a touchdown.
Here's the play.
As you can see, Mooney is running wide open down the seam.
After watching that play, it's understandable if the first reaction is that Fields just totally missed Mooney. You might even come to the conclusion that Fields simply doesn't have good field vision. That's certainly a reasonable reaction to watching Fields miss a wide-open receiver.
But that's not exactly what happened.
There's a reason that Fields didn't look down the field for Mooney. And it's because of the instructions he's received from the Bears' coaching staff.
After the game, Chicago head coach Matt Eberflus said that Fields probably had time to see Mooney (who actually didn't run the route as designed, but he still found the open spot on the field).
Eberflus then admitted that Fields did what the coaches have told him to do against that specific defensive look.
“He certainly had time and could’ve rode the pocket a little bit more,” said Eberflus after the Bears' loss to the New York Giants. “But he decided to take it because what we were telling him is to take the checkdown or run on that when they’re in that defense.”
That statement is a major problem. And I think it's part of why we haven't seen Fields break out yet this season.
Chicago is limiting what Fields can do when things go a little off script, which means they're taking away one of his best attributes.
The Bears are essentially trying to simplify things for Fields, which doesn't do him any favors when it comes to his development.
That throw to Mooney is one that maybe Fields makes if he hadn't been instructed by his coaches to immediately look to his check-downs or take off running when the defense is in a specific look. Chicago is making Fields too robotic by giving him those instructions.
This is a rebuilding year for the Bears. It's also a year where they want to see what they have in Fields. Well, if they continue to leave the training wheels on the offense, they're not going to have a clue what they have in Fields. It's time to let Fields play free. Let him make some mistakes and learn from those mistakes. If the Bears continue to limit what Fields can do, they'll stunt his growth forever. And that's the last thing anyone wants to see.
Featured image via Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
