Bears Film Study: Bigger picture shows Fields (the robot?) is on the right track
Film Study was given a mandate this week: Determine whether quarterback Justin Fields is too robotic, being held back by his coaches or is just another bad Bears QB. The short answer is none of the above.
First of all, keep in mind Fields has been conditioned to have no trust whatsoever in his pass protection and he also knows he's capable of pulling off 70-yard touchdown runs. So it's understandable why he's quick to start running, but opponents now game-plan for this.
Overall, Fields played a decent game, more good plays than bad. There were a couple of head-scratchers, which have been mocked on Twitter all week, so let's break those down plays.
The Bears' second drive was maybe the pivotal point of the Tampa Bay game. They pulled off a ridiculously easy TD march on their opening possession, blocked a field goal and took over at midfield with a chance to build on the 7-3 lead.
On third down after the field-goal block, Fields committed Viral Action No. 1. He missed a ridiculously wide-open D.J. Moore on his left. The passing lane was open, the cornerback was 5 yards off, but for whatever reason, Fields kept looking to his right. Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet were covered. Chase Claypool went deep, but the safety was moving over so that was a bad idea and, of course, why look at Claypool in the first place? Fields was sacked for an 11-yard loss, the Bears punted, Baker Mayfield hit Mike Evans for a 70 yard-gain and the Bucs instantly flipped momentum.
Let's back up, though. On first down, the Bears called a pass play and rookie right tackle Darnell Wright was beaten immediately by Shaq Barrett. Fields thought he might have room to run, but Barrett got there too fast.
There was something strange about this play. Kmet was lined up just to the right of Wright, with Barrett directly in front of him. Great situation for a chip block, so Barrett can't get momentum, right? Well, Kmet ignored Barrett, slid behind Wright - and probably impeded Wright's path to Barrett a little bit - did a quick chip on DT Greg Gaines, who was totally under control by Ja'Tyre Carter and no threat, then drifted out for pass. Meanwhile, Barrett flew in for the sack. It made no sense.
On second down, the Bears tried a jet sweep to Velus Jones and lost 3 yards. Kmet and Robert Tonyan were the lead blockers, but got blown up. I'll say it again, tight end blocking is a concern for this team.
So the possession got off to a terrible start. On third-and-13, Fields had plenty of time (4.55 seconds from snap to initial contact), but for some reason wasn't focused on Moore, who was given a huge cushion by the Bucs CB. That's the sort of thing to identify before the snap.
Tampa Bay did create some additional confusion on this play. Six players crowded the line of scrimmage before the snap, making it look like a blitz. But the Bucs rushed just three, two linebackers held back as spies and a third followed RB Khalil Herbert on a pass pattern.
Gadget gaffe:
The second head-scratcher happened two drives later with the Bears trailing 10-7. Just before this happened, Fields had a nice three-play sequence. He scrambled to his right and threw a perfect pass on the run to Kmet, but it was broken up by the safety. Fields then hit Kmet twice in a row for 11-yard gains, scrambling to buy time on one.
So now it's first down at the Tampa 24 and the Bears ran an odd play. WR Trent Taylor went in motion, then at the snap Taylor, Kmet and Roschon Johnson all ran to the right, parallel to line of scrimmage. It looked like the play was to throw short to Taylor, with Kmet and Johnson blocking in front of him. It wasn't, though. Both potential blockers kept running. The Tampa defense seemed to be caught flat-footed, because Johnson, Kmet and WR Tyler Scott all popped open.
But Fields looked at Taylor, cocked the ball, then seemed to realize his receiver would get hammered if he threw it. With Fields focused on Taylor, he didn't see the open receivers over the middle and was sacked. Was everyone on the same page there? Didn't look like it, but Cairo Santos kicked a long field goal to tie the score.
Another thought: Maybe run the ball with a first down at the 24-yard line.
Coverage issues:
Bears rookie corner Tyrique Stevenson had a rough day. Some have argued the 70-yard catch and run by Evans in the first half should have been offensive pass interference, but Stevenson could have deflected the pass with a better angle or timing.
When targeted by Mayfield, Stevenson's receivers were 5 of 7 for 140 yards. The 32-yard TD to Evans on third-and-14 in the third quarter was a particularly tough one, with the ball sailing over the Bear defender's head.
Through two weeks, Stevenson isn't the worst cornerback in the NFL. He's fourth-worst, based on targeted QB rating from pro-football-reference.com. The worst? That would be Tampa Bay's Jamel Dean, the guy lining up in super soft coverage against D.J. Moore on Sunday.
The good news:
The pick here for Sunday's best Bears player is DE Rasheem Green, a low-hype free-agent addition. He blocked the field goal and wasn't credited with any tackles, but was in on plenty of plays. Nose guard Andrew Billings has been another solid free-agent addition.
Why have those guys stood out more than Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker, who are being paid a combined $17 million? Let's save that for another time and give Ngakoue a few more weeks to get in game shape.
Best play:
Let's go with the 29-yard run by Roschon Johnson in the second quarter. FB Khari Blasingame threw probably the best block of the day when he sealed Tampa LB Lavonte David to open the left side. Going back to last year, the power run game might be what the Bears do best. They're one of the few teams in football that need to run more on first down.
Twitter: @McGrawDHSports