The Chicago Bears bucked popular opinion this off-season. Despite calls from many unemployed former NFL coaches and execs to abandon Justin Fields for a new quarterback, GM Ryan Poles elected to invest in him. He added explosive new weapons like D.J. Moore and Tyler Scott. Then he fortified the offensive line with veteran guard Nate Davis and 1st round tackle Darnell Wright. This regime believes Fields made substantial strides last season despite difficult circumstances. Bad quarterbacks wouldn’t do that. What he needs is help, not a replacement.
Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what everybody thinks they saw last season. The most common criticism of Fields was his low passing numbers. He managed just 149 yards per game. It is why many consider him nothing more than a running back taking snaps. He doesn’t know how to read the field. Two top analysts, Joe Marino and Kyle Crabbs, didn’t see that upon reviewing Fields’ tape. Crabbs came away with a far different opinion.
He explained this on the Locked On NFL Scouting podcast.
“Did you notice on drop-back game that his footwork…it was clean but it was very casual. When you’re in drop-back game, and if you’re not getting to the top of the drop with urgency, I think there were times where that impacted the potential timing of some of Chicago’s passing concepts. He’s at the top of his drop and it’s he’s probably missed the first window for a throw. Then he kind of has to work off-schedule where as I think him coming out of snaps, receiving the snap and getting back onto his platform quicker will allow him and the offense to be more in rhythm with consistency. I don’t think it’s necessarily a reading-of-the-field issue. I think it’s by the time he gets back there and set up to throw, there’s not the proper cadence in his drops to go with some of the route concepts.”
Marino saw the same thing. He believes it stems from Fields thinking too much and looking for something pre-snap. That search for indicators of what the defense would do led him to slower drops. By the time he was set, his first read was likely gone. This can often be a symptom of a young quarterback in a new offense. Marino went on to shoot down another persistent knock on Fields.
The idea he had issues with timing and rhythm passes. He wasn’t the problem.
“I wish he had different players to throw the ball to. Like, I’m watching him dump it off to Chase Claypool and I’m like, ‘Man, if that was D.J. Moore-‘, and it’s going to be, I like this a whole lot more.”
Justin Fields won’t be thinking as much this year.
Part of it is the newfound help he has on offense. Moore will give him far more clean looks on first reads while the line provides at least more adequate protection. Even more important is the fact he enters the second year in the same offense. Fields now should have a firmer grasp of the terminology in Luke Getsy’s system. He knows every check, every read, and every route concept for his receivers. When a quarterback doesn’t have to think about that as much, he plays much faster.
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From what Crabbs and Marino are saying, the criticisms of Justin Fields are overblown. While he did make mistakes, many of them were classic issues a young quarterback encounters when he’s in a new offense with little help around him. Both of those problems should get smoothed over this season. That is why it’s not unreasonable to expect he will be far better as a passer this season. Maybe not quite where Jalen Hurts was in 2022, but a big step in the right direction.
