Randy Mueller, the 2000 NFL Executive of the Year, brings over 30 years of experience in the football business, including stints as the general manager of Seattle Seahawks, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins. With Heavy, Mueller breaks down the NFL from a front office perspective. You can follow Randy on Twitter @RandyMueller_
Chicago Finally Got a Glimpse of What Justin Fields Is All About
It took a year and six games along with a second coaching staff to bring out the strengths of Chicago Bears QB Justin Fields as a player. On Monday night in Week 7, we saw for the first time in his career an offensive game plan that used him on RPOs, play-action passes and quarterback-designed runs. The result of this has to excite you if you are a Bears fan going forward. It sounds obvious and some of us have been saying it for a long time, but this scheme gave the New England Patriots fits all night. You could see the confidence of Fields growing in front of our eyes.
By predetermining his targets in the passing game and using him on the move, the Bears also protected him from getting pounded in the pocket (the O-line is suspect). His game at this point should include very few drop-back passes where he must hold the ball and process to determine where and when to deliver the ball.
It happens to the best QBs in the league as they adjust to playing at the NFL level. It’s a process. He will get to that point of handling those tasks, but only after the Bears front office continues to upgrade the group they surround Fields with.
These adjustments are sometimes hard for coaching staffs who have come up through the ranks running a certain style or scheme of offense or defense. The Bears should look no further than what the Philadelphia Eagles are doing with Jalen Hurts or even what the New York Giants are doing with the skill set of Daniel Jones. Situations where the QBs had been questioned until the right scheme fit together with their skill sets.
Making a quarterback feel comfortable goes a long way toward building their confidence as a player. They need to have success to fall back on. The body language that Fields showed in Week 7 told you all you need to know. He was engaged and had confidence in what they were asking him to do, maybe for the first time ever at the NFL level.
Cowboys’ Win May Have Been Ugly, But the Blueprint Is There
The Detroit Lions hung around against the Dallas Cowboys longer than most of us expected in Week 7. Eventually, Dallas made enough plays to pull away in the second half. I was most pleased with the fact that offensive coordinator Kellen Moore stuck to the script that had been working in the absence of franchise QB Dak Prescott.
We are all aware of what backup QB Cooper Rush accomplished during Prescott’s absence, but it was the style and identity that Moore established by running the ball, taking the conservative approach in the passing game and leaning on the defense to carry them that made me feel best about the Cowboys’ chances going forward.
Rush took very few chances in Prescott’s absence and Moore called games in an effort to win the game more so than to compile stats or score tons of points. The latter comes with risks that the Cowboys have struggled to manage until Rush took over. We even saw Prescott attempt to take some chances in Week 7 on throws that were risky and questionable versus the Lions.
Prescott really has to work at playing within the system, making the right reads of coverage and must minimize his propensity to make big plays. He must throw the ball away at times and take the check down when in doubt in order to fight another day.
He was not 100% in his return from a thumb injury so, in my opinion, the Cowboys offense needs to keep the same approach that it developed when Prescott was out. Slow and steady and run the two running backs who are the strength of this offense. Don’t attempt risky plays and stay ahead of the sticks.
Packers Problems Are Stacking Up
Where should we start with the Green Bay Packers?
- The standby narrative that the wide receivers are a work in progress.
- The offensive line can’t protect Aaron Rodgers or produce a sustainable run game.
- The newfound and empowered team spokesman, now armed with a $50 million per year contract, has his own ideas that he shares every week on the Pat McAfee show every Tuesday.
- An underachieving defense.
- A special teams group that is still struggling to come together under the leadership of new coach Rich Bisaccia.
Plenty to chew on here but I don’t think they have a choice but to make a deal — or two — for a veteran wide receiver upgrade before the NFL’s November 1 trade deadline. It’s easy to see that second-round pick Christian Watson has missed enough time due to injury that his rookie season cannot be counted on to be productive. Romeo Doubs, another WR who they selected in the fourth round has proved to be a very inconsistent catcher of the football, to say the least. Hard to count on that kind of play.
My concern, if I’m Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, is that I have to show the locker room that we are doing everything we can to fix the problem. By standing pat, the QB gets even saltier and you risk a rift that the players don’t think the front office cares.
Rodgers has talked publically about players not producing losing reps. Players know players. They know who they can count on and who they can’t. It doesn’t mean those young receivers won’t be players someday. I actually agree with Rodgers’ thoughts, but I would take it a step further. I’d look outside the team to upgrade and the sooner the better.
I actually think the Packers should go against their philosophy and mortgage some future picks to upgrade the WR room and maybe add an offensive guard who has leadership ability and some skins on the wall. They are not getting good play at that spot either. That will help sell the message that we want to win right now. I think the risk is, if you don’t make a deal, you might lose the locker room. The front office has got to make a difference.
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GM Notebook: Bears Finally Give Fans Something to Be Excited About