NEWSLETTER
In the thread below (and I’ll link it here for good measure), you’ll find a good callout from Robert Schmitz, who has identified a literal gaping hole in the middle of Justin Fields’ game. This is a troubling set of charts for the Chicago Bears’ starting quarterback:
There is no need to go too deep in the weeds here. Two of the three interceptions Fields has thrown this year have come in that middle area. That isn’t a coincidence. Mostly because it was a problem last year, too.
This graphic from NextGen Stats breaking down Fields’ numbers throwing across the middle from last year are painting a picture that hasn’t changed since flipping the calendar to 2023:
While Justin Fields made all sorts of strides as a passer last year after Bears coaches began tailoring the offense to his strengths, there was still one area of concern: Fields struggled over the middle last year and is doing so again early this season.
We knew teams would try to take away Fields’ strengths as a passer (most notably, throwing outside and deep) and force him to beat them through the air where he’s at his weakest — across the middle. And while Fields isn’t attacking the middle of the defense with gusto, that he seems to be avoiding it raises some concerns. Sure, it looks like there is a good reason Fields is steering clear from that part of the gridiron. But it is coming at a cost.
My read on this situation is that Fields’ issues over the middle are playing a role in limiting the Bears’ offense. And that he hasn’t improved in that area from last year is putting a cap on what he can do as a passer. Don’t get me wrong. Luke Getsy’s play-calling is still problematic and predictable. HOWEVER, Fields being unable to clear the hurdle of throwing to the middle of the field is one reason Chicago’s offense is predictable.
Slowing down someone like Fields gets easier when you don’t have to have to account for large swaths of field turf. Last season, Bears opponents had to defend every blade of grass on the gridiron. But between Fields being averse to (and bad at) throwing across the middle and the Bears’ insistence on scaling back on designed runs, there are fewer things for opposing defensive coordinators to worry about. Fields pops off for an improvisational big play here and there. But those are blips on the radar. And if teams can limit those, it makes Fields (and Chicago’s offense as a whole) easier to stop.
How can Justin Fields get better over the middle?
This is where I want to write something about Getsy needing to scheme easy throws for Fields across the middle. But he has done that in some instances. Including in this very viral clip:
And, yes, Getsy isn’t scheming things up in the passing game to our liking. But that makes it that much more important to see those open receivers and hit those throws when they are called. There is no excuse for D.J. Moore to be so wide open over the middle that he is clapping as he clamors for the ball:
If Fields makes that throw on time, there are a billion tweets that would’ve been fired out saying something along the lines of “that’s why you trade for D.J. Moore!” Instead, it feels like we’re re-visiting a screenshot sequence like it is 2018 all over again. (Sidenote: I’ll die on the hill that Mitch gets picked if he tries to throw that pass because I didn’t believe in his arm strength to zip it in there to make it a touchdown. And there hasn’t been a throw he has made since then that would make me feel differently.)
But seriously, throw it to D.J. Moore across the middle more because it can look like this more often than not:
If Justin Fields can make the throw above with any sort of consistency, then we’ll start having different conversations regarding his future and the direction of the Bears. But until he does, we’re seeing a pile of evidence mounting against Fields as a long-term solution at a position this franchise has failed to identify and/or develop for as long as I’ve been alive.
