4th and Goal(s): First Things First With Justin Fields
Long awaited debut start of Bears' savior could be hijacked by hungry Browns defense
By Ryan Bukowiecki
The Chicago Bears’ checklist for a successful 2021 season is down one big task with the team tallying its first win of the season last Sunday against Cincinnati.
Now its about moving on to face the Cleveland Browns on the road this Sunday, a game that is now infused with a difficult task for sure, though one that most of the Bears’ fans and followers have anticipated greatly.
The Browns have quite the collection of talent on both sides of the ball and will easily be the favorite over our beloved squad. Yet even with the odds stacked against the Bears, hope springs eternal as rookie quarterback Justin Fields makes his first NFL start.
Its always hard to make expectations for a rookie quarterback, but this could be the official start of the Fields era. So many who #BEARDOWN hope the new savior makes that an obvious fact Sunday instead of just a popular belief.
So lets take a look at what the Bears need to do to make this first Fields start a good one, and the first of many in a row.
Start with a good game plan – Okay, this goal is not something that is to be done just on Sunday, it actually should have been in process for days now at this point. Game-planning is an all-week affair with the final execution needed on Sunday.
Head coach Matt Nagy and the offensive staff better have a game plan that works with where Fields is at mentally and physically. Playing super efficient three step drops, read it, and when the back foot hits on the third step throw it works for quarterback Andy Dalton but most likely isn’t a strength of Fields as of now.
Therefore, it is so critical that the Bears try running plays and concepts that utilize Fields strengths like running with the ball or throwing on the run with half field reads.
Make life easier – Kudos to Nagy and his offensive plan of getting running back David Montgomery 20 carries. And here is to hoping that the plan of 20+ carries continues.
Its pretty simple, the quarterbacks may have improved this year compared to a year ago but the offense is still unable to push the ball downfield. Perhaps the downfield passing comes with Fields at quarterback but primarily the offense has been about staying ahead of the chains and efficiency versus being aggressive downfield. Continue that game plan Nagy as long as it features a lot of Montgomery who is the Bears best offensive player right now.
An additional bonus for Montgomery is that with the threat of Fields ability to run, it should open up even more holes in the run game for the star running back to stampede through. Once again the key to offensive success for the Bears is having Fields threatening the edges with his speed and using bootlegs or designed pocket roll-outs.
Taking on a tough front – One thing the Browns will for sure look to do is establish the run with their awesome running backs Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb. Those two backs are game-wreckers with two distinct running styles that compliment each other. To make matters worse the Browns compliment their running attack with a very good offensive line.
Some good news for the Bears is the addition of defensive lineman Mario Edwards Jr. and most likely Eddie Goldman. Both of those defensive lineman would be huge in the Bears effort to control the line of scrimmage. Stopping the run is very important against the Browns because it will force quarterback Baker Mayfield to make the plays and that’s when the takeaway possibilities will significantly increase.
Ready to take right chances – Imagine the last game for the Bears without all the created takeaways against the Bengals (4 to be exact). That game may have likely turned to the favor of the Bengals.
Thankfully, the Chicago defense was able to create and execute some takeaway opportunities which led to points or shorter fields for the Bears offense — a very familiar formula to what the Bears used to great success in 2018.
Since the Bears offense still is a question mark in terms of point production it will need all the takeaways or big plays the Bears defense can muster up to make life easier on the Bears offense.
Ryan Bukowiecki covers the Chicago Bears and professional football for WARR