The Chicago Bears offense has experienced a lot of struggles in 2021. One of the most glaring is the lack of chemistry between rookie quarterback Justin Fields and No. 1 receiver Allen Robinson.
The two never seem on the same page with how a route is expected to unfold, their downfield bond is lacking, and there is almost no chemistry in the scramble drills.
Fields has thrown three of his six INTs targeting Robinson. The duo has connected on just 17 of 29 pass attempts for 205 yards, no TDs and three INTs. Fields’ passer rating sits at 40.8 when targeting Robinson.
The star receiver told reporters Tuesday that the lack of chemistry is due to the lack of offseason reps.
“That’s something that we’re continuing to build on, continuing to get reps in practice,” Robinson said, via Bears Wire. “There weren’t any snaps that we kind of took in training camp. A lot of these things, we’re trying to build on.”
Without mentioning his name, Robinson placed part of the blame on coach Matt Nagy.
The Bears coach insisted on giving Andy Dalton the majority of the first-team reps during camp with designs on the veteran starting and playing at least the first quarter of the season. When Dalton went down due to injury, that escalated the timetable for Fields.
The young QB has shown flashes of playmaking ability, but his processing needs to speed up, particularly behind an offensive line that can’t block a pillowcase. The entire operation is an indictment on Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. Their disastrous offensive line plan was only outdone by weekly game-planning ineptitude that puts a young signal-caller in harm’s way every time he drops back.
Fields has to take ownership of his struggles, including the cavalcade of fumbles. And it is evident why Nagy was hesitant, given the surroundings, to put the rookie in the lineup so soon. But since he was handed the reins, the staff has done little to help him develop.
As for Robinson, he’s playing out the string on one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Playing on the franchise tag, the 28-year-old will likely be looking elsewhere for his next big contract. The Bears could consider trading the wideout ahead of the Nov. 2 deadline, but few teams could take on the rest of his $17.8 million contract. And doing so would also make Fields’ surroundings even worse.
Perhaps the narrative would be different, and Fields would be further along in his development, if the rookie had gotten more first-team reps sooner.