The Chicago Bears offensive philosophy has not been the most aggressive this season. They are throwing the football at the lowest clip in the NFL. Beyond that, when they are throwing the football it appears as though the message is being beaten into the head of Justin Fields not to be aggressive.
Chicago Bears must let Justin Fields be more aggressive
NextGenStats tracks aggressive throws, which are throws into tight windows. So far this season Justin Fields is last in the NFL in aggressive throw rate at 4.5%. While that is not necessarily bad and shows that he is not forcing things that are not there, the quarterback has to be able to fit in some tight window throws to win a game, and nothing will always be easy.
For example, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson are all at 11% on aggressive throws, nearly three times as many as Justin Fields. Jameis Winston and Mitch Trubisky are at 25% and 23%, which is too high, but there is a spot where Fields can be more aggressive and not too aggressive.
In 2021 Justin Fields had a 17% aggressive throw, which may have been leaning too high. So, to see him down at 4% shows that this is something that the coaching staff is harping on. They saw Fields as overly aggressive and are having him bowl with the bumpers on now so that he does not get too close to the gutter.
This can speak to why Fields is holding the football for too long, and not being as confident with letting the ball go when analysts can see players running open. It appears as though Fields is taking the extra half second to make sure that there is nothing that can go wrong, and it is costing him a bit too much.
The Chicago Bears coaching staff wanted to reel in a passer who was leaning too aggressively last season, but now he is playing a bit too conservatively. It is good to see that Fields was able to take what the coaching staff wanted him to do, and push it to the extreme, but now the team needs to find a happy medium.
The Chicago Bears need to take the aggressive nature that he had last season and combine it with the conservative principles that they instilled in him so far this season. If that can happen, you could see him thoughtfully aggressive, which is what leads to the big plays, and the chain movers.