Improvising with QB a Bears Receiver Key
A key swing play in Sunday's loss to the Green Bay Packers needs to be perfected by the Bears if they want to prevent future errors of the same sort.
It's the price you pay with a mobile quarterback like Justin Fields because he's going to move around and throw on occasion.
This play was a long pass into the end zone and was picked off by Green Bay, but it wasn't the pass with the offsides penalty the Packers should have had that resulted in a momentum-killing interception by Darnell Savage. Instead it was an incompletion before halftime because Green Bay's Adrian Amos caught the ball with a foot out of the back of the end zone.
The scramble play was going on and Fields was trying to make something happen but no receiver was home when the ball was caught by Amos
"That's all, I think, stuff that we're, going to, these wide receivers, tight ends, us as coaches, Justin as a quarterback, we're all going to grow through these experiences and learn 'OK now this is what we need to do,' " Nagy said.
The scramble drill needs to be worked out because Fields gives them the opportunity to do something they've seen from quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers over the years -- a quarterback buying time with his feet until receivers come open after they've run out their routes and improvise. Then they make a quick strike and big gainer.
"Yeah, I mean when you have a person like him, it definitely plays a part in having to fine-tune moreso scramble drill kind of stuff, rather than normal (offense)," Allen Robinson said. "Definitely, definitely I would say that's a little bit different.
"That's something that we're still (learning) because it's tough to get those looks in practice sometimes maybe, because a play might be blown dead (by coaches) or throughout training camp guys are laying off the quarterback."
Robinson said the plays may go on for another five, six or seven seconds after they normally end because Fields' mobility.
"I would say that's still somewhat of a work in progress," Robinson said. "Stuff like that, it's hard to script it because everything is kind of so different. So it's hard to script stuff like that in the course of a week, or even in actual practice reps."
Some of it can be rehearsed. The Packers have done it for years with Rodgers.
"You can kinda do some practice stuff with that, but I think it's more so just communication," Robinson said.
By that, he means every one knowing the plan ahead of time in the eventuality it happens.
"Just communication and being decisive with whatever is going on, more so than having set rules or it being practiced," he said.
This can make it difficult for receivers accustomed to simply running routes and getting the ball thrown their way. Now they need to do extra work.
"You can get a lot of big plays like that," Robinson said. "You saw that across the league, just in general from a lot of different teams. Being able to get some (extended) plays and some explosive plays from when the pocket breaks down or it just being a five- six-second play."
Robinson said he has no problem getting receptions this way.
"Again, just trying to capitalize on the opportunities that I do have," he said. "And whenever they come, just trying to make the play. Just trying to go out there and do what I need to do, to do what I’ve set out to do."
Even if it isn't the way they set out to do it.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
