Getty Bears QB Justin Fields revealed he and the team's WRs are going to be putting in extra work.
Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears wide receivers are taking matters into their own hands.
Seven games into the regular season, and the 3-4 Bears are last in the NFL in passing, averaging an anemic 124.4 yards through the air per game. Fields has made some rookie mistakes (misreading blitzes, trying to do too much), but he has also shown flashes and been extremely accurate at times, displaying an arm talent that cannot be taught.
But Fields got very few reps with the first team offense during training camp, and his chemistry with his receiving corps has suffered as a result. Wideout Allen Robinson said on October 26 that he and Fields were still trying to build a good rapport, and he noted lack of reps leading up to the regular season as a reason .
“That’s something that we’re continuing to build on, continuing to get reps in practice,” Robinson said, about developing a connection with Fields. “There weren’t any snaps that we kind of took in training camp. A lot of these things, we’re trying to build on.”
Now, the rookie signal-caller and his receivers are about to put in extra work — and potentially make some key changes — in an effort to right the ship.
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Fields on Robinson: ‘We Have Solid Chemistry’
The rookie QB talked about the benefits of getting reps with the team’s starters as opposed to the backup role head coach Matt Nagy was originally placing him in.
“Of course. The more reps you get with your receivers, the better chemistry you have. I mean, it’s that simple, really,” Fields said. “You can learn from the side, but it’s better if you are actually in the game and in practice getting those reps and learning that way. I think me just going through it full speed with the receivers, I think that’s the best way to do it.”
Fields also noted he felt he and A-Rob had solid chemistry, they just needed to tweak some things. In an effort to get better, Fields says he and the team’s receivers will be meeting on Zoom to talk about what works, what doesn’t and why.
“We have solid chemistry,” Fields said about Robinson. “We, of course, just need to get better. It’s not the best in the country, of course, but we’re growing each and every day. Me, him and some other receivers are going to start meeting on Zoom by ourselves and kind of start getting our own thing together.”
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Fields Reveals He & WRs May Change Some Routes
How often will the rookie QB be meeting with his wide receivers?
“As much as we need to,” Fields said. “We just talked about it collectively, … just as much as we need to.”
The young QB also said something very interesting: He and the wideouts may alter some of the routes in the route tree if they don’t like them. “Maybe change the routes on certain plays and stuff like that, as much as needed,” he said.
Whether these Zoom meetings and potential route changes help the Bears’ offense remains to be seen, but they sure can’t hurt. Matt Nagy’s offense has yet to become a formidable one in Year 4, and if the team’s QB and receivers can get on the same page, it would certainly help Fields.
“It means a lot,” receiver Darnell Mooney said about the team’s WRs meeting with Fields. “Obviously [Fields] wants to win. We want to win as well. So I mean, chemistry takes a long time to build up. But we’re trying to speed up the process, get it to where we need it to be right now. That’s the thing we’re working on.”
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