5 adjustments the Chicago Bears need to make right now
By Todd Welter
Stop game-planning so conservative on offense.
The offensive line is still bad, so trying to be the Kansas City Chiefs is not a great idea. At the same time, calling all those horizontal passes is not going to win a lot of games.
Luke Getsy had his worst game as a playcaller. Whether he was calling a conservative game because he did not trust the line or Justin Fields is still unknown.
The short passing game is not going to get it done in a world where defenses are going to do everything they can to not lose track of Fields. It is time to get more aggressive with throwing the ball down the field.
You can always max protect and see if Moore, Darnell Mooney, or Chase Claypool can win their route. It is time to start calling more anticipatory throws. We need to find if Justin Fields can throw his receiver open. It is time to let Justin cook.
The best play of the game was when Fields found Mooney for a 23-yard touchdown pass.
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1701002994240966684?s=20
Instead, it has been horizontal passing and running the ball with no intention to run play-action.
The Chicago Bears have a good group of running backs, so abandoning the run is not a good idea. You still need to have some designed runs for Justin Fields to take advantage of his legs.
Move the pocket more to also keep Fields moving. Coaches are not thrilled to cut the field in half, but Fields operates more confidently when the pocket moves.
Getsy has to keep coaching Fields to rip the ball. If he throws a pick, so be it. Let’s focus on the process instead of the result. We need to find out if he can consistently process the field.
On Sunday, there was one designed run for Fields, and it was a draw up the middle where center Lucas Patrick was getting beat badly. There was no real attempt at using play-action to drive the ball down the field.
Heck, there were no designed slant routes to get the ball into Moore and Mooney’s hands in space. We saw that conservative type of play calling to start last season and the results were not that great.
It feels like this coaching staff is afraid of taking risks. It is time to start driving the ball down the field without fear of failure. It is time to stop playing scared.