Bears Giving More Clarity on QB Mistakes

It's quite possible an age of more open discussion about Justin Fields' play has begun at Halas Hall.

Maybe Fields struggling against Green Bay and then saying the game plan called for him to throw it short struck a chord, or maybe the Bears see it's simply time to invite honest criticism and discussion.

Whatever the reason, Bears coach Matt Eberflus and even Fields himself have been very open about specific issues the quarterback had in the 38-20 loss to Green Bay.

In the past, inquiries of this type usually wound up with someone referring everyone to his footwork or some innoquous aspect of passing technique. This time, it was decision making and even his one great strength -- his legs -- that were being put out for all to scrutinize. It sounded different. It sounded like complete honesty, which is what is required when:

It's a quarterback's third year and the fifth-year contract option is due.

The team owns two first-round draft picks and quarterbacks like Caleb Williams are available in the draft.

The team has lost 11 straight games with the quarterback playing.

Fields told everyone he shouldn't have been so conservative with his throws, which was a good confession.

However, when coach Matt Eberflus had some specifics then it truly was a sign of more transparency in the QB's developmental process.

Fields had a nice roll, then scramble and throw to Darnell Mooney for 23 yards in the first half but then did almost no scrambling before throwing. He ran, but the scramble drill wasn't allowed to set up and Eberflus didn't mind pointing out how this needs to work. It could come in the form of a roll to the sideline and throw or letting fly with a 50-50 ball. After all, both DJ Moore and the much-criticized Chase Claypool are excellent choices for jump ball plays and Darnell Mooney last year proved he can do it, as well. Also tight end Cole Kmet is 6-foot-6 and pulled off a few of these last year.

"There was a couple opportunities there that we had what we coulda done that," Eberflus said. "We all looked at the time. That's always going to be the case. We're always gonna have opportunities down the field. We're going to take our peek down there and if it's there we're going to take the opportunity."

Eberflus even suggested they work on this in practice to get better at it but it comes down to recognition by the passer.

"I would just say opportunity—you gotta look for the opportunity, and then if it's not there then you go (run)," Eberflus said. "If it is there, then you take your shot. That's really it. When do you do that in practice? You do it when it's there. You can certainly do drills for that, but the best thing to do is when it's there in team (practice) periods. We've done it a couple times in seven on seven; that's been pretty helpful to do that as well. We'll continue to work on that."

Beyond buying time with his feet to throw, the 50-50 ball decision is related but also a different category. It's once again a decision Fields must make and he didn't see it. Criticism of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy for calling too many short passes doesn't apply.

"I don't think it's a schematic thing," Eberflus said. "When you're taking your shot down the field on a 50-50 ball, you've gotta let it ride. If the (defensive) guy's really high on top of the (receiver), which I think was the case a couple times, then it's just the discernment of the quarterback. If he's real high on him, then you just go ahead and go to your next read.

"But we certainly. Have some guys that can get some 50-50 balls. If you feel good about where the location is of the corner(back), we're gonna go send it up."

Yet, Fields didn't in some cases, as Eberflus pointed out. And it's not necessarily a case where coaches are telling him to be conservative, don't risk the turnover.

"That's just all part of the read," Eberflus said. "When we're talking about taking shots down the field, that's just how you read it. We're always coaching that."

The old anticipation thing—throwing to areas where the receiver will be and not where he's standing—and timing of the passing game was also in play.

"Rhythm and timing of the passing game is what we're searching for," Eberflus said. "It's the receivers, the quarterback, the line and protection to be able to have that rhythm and timing in the passing game. So it's all involved.”

Fields' decision making on one play in particular had been scrutinized heavily on Monday but Eberflus went into it further. It was the play Lukas Van Ness sacked Fields on, when the Bears QB admitted he should have simply thrown away the ball.

"That was an option to hand it off or pull it and then have that read on the outside, and then once we're in that situation where he did pull it and (if) the read on the outside is covered, you've just got to throw it out," Eberflus said. "He knows that. We've talked about that."

He didn't have an entirely terrible game. He got the ball out in 2.95 seconds per pass according to NextGen Stats, and that's a huge improvement over his 3.12 seconds of last year. However, too many of his throws were the quick screens to wideouts requiring on a second or two to make and that brought down the average. His inability to buy time with his feet if that wasn't open and then throw downfield also brought down his time to throw.

Fields is not simply up at Halas Hall being told "all is well." He's being coached and criticized. This is an important year in his development. This is not new.

"He's got a really good understanding of what's going on around him," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. "He's getting better and better at that. But you're still gonna have some times where you look back and reflect and say, 'dang, I wish I woulda did this or did that.' We're gonna have those as we continue to grow. That's part of his youth and part of his experience we're getting.

"There was a ton of evidence on film that that's there. We just gotta get it more consistently."

The open, more detailed discussion of what's going wrong with Fields' play is new and definitely appreciated.

The need for improvement is there for all to see and, as Getsy said, consistency is needed.

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