Ex-NFL running back says Fields is problem, not receivers originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The consensus blame surrounding the Bears‘ offensive problems this season has pointed to the offense’s supporting cast.
The wide receivers and offensive line have been major problems to the Bears’ offensive production this season, in the eyes of most outsiders and pundits.
But, to one ex-NFL running back, the blame shouldn’t rest upon the supporting cast. To him, the blame should go to Fields.
“Everybody says ‘Oh man, get him [Fields] some weapons,'” LeSean McCoy said on Fox Sports. “But I’m thinking as a wide receiver – if I’m [Darnell] Mooney, or I’m [Chase] Claypool, I’m like ‘What about us?’ Why can’t they say ‘Get us a quarterback!’?”
Certainly, this contention is a bit backward.
Fields has been the offensive catalyst for the Bears in the past four weeks. On the ground, he’s been one of the NFL’s largest threats. He’s on pace to defeat Lamar Jackson’s single-season rush record.
Through the air, he’s improved greatly. At the beginning of the season, he started off with record-low passing attempt/completion numbers. Now, he’s generated success through the air with minuscule mishaps. He has an average passer rating of 108.7 over the past three weeks.
If anything, most of the blame goes to the receivers. Through one month in the season, the wide receiver core recorded the lowest separation rate from their defenders. The pass-catchers couldn’t get open, and the offensive line couldn’t keep the pressure off Fields. It led to the most unproductive passing offense in the league.
It took Cole Kmet six games to reach double-digit receptions this season. For Mooney, it took five weeks to capture the same mark.
For McCoy, however, he’s not seeing enough from Fields.
“It’s like, well ‘We can catch. We can run routes.’ He can’t throw! Get us a quarterback!” McCoy said.
RELATED: Claypool’s integration, Pringle over Harry, and other WR questions
Circling back to his point about Mooney and Claypool, it’s unfair to bring Claypool into the conversation. He’s been quiet due to his recent arrival in Chicago. He has yet to grasp the playbook in full, and on Sunday he played in 19 total snaps (31 percent of snaps).
Certainly, the personnel around Fields is a bigger issue than the quarterback. That’s a given.
But, to McCoy, he doesn’t foresee any blue chip receiver having the desire to play with Fields in the future.
“What wide receiver would want to go play with Justin Fields? You would have to pay him like every dollar you have in the whole franchise,” McCoy said.
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