One of my favorite throwaway lines in a song is one from the late Mac Miller on the song Suplexes Inside of Complexes and Duplexes. It goes “Do what you do best, I mean, that’s what you do best.”
By no means am I going to claim that this line is some stroke of brilliance. It’s about as simple a line as it gets, but I think there can be beauty in simplicity. While the meaning of that line within the larger song is a bit greater, I think Miller hits on an important idea here in these lines: Just do the thing you’re good at.
In new [New York Jets](https://www.ganggreennation.com/) quarterback Justin Fields’ case, there’s a lesson to be learned here: “Do what you do best.” For Fields, I would argue that’s using his athleticism and speed to stretch a defense. By all means he’s a certified super athlete.
This is something that he used to great success in 2022 when he ran the ball 10.7 times per game on average and added about 70 yards per game on the ground. Of note, he posted his highest QBR (56.3) in that season, which likely isn’t a coincidence given that QBR factors that in and would’ve had to give major credit rushes like the plays shown in the below clip.
Since then though, Fields has taken his foot off the gas as a runner. In 2023, he ran only 9.5 times per game. In 2024, he ran even less with an average of 6.2 attempts per game. If I had to guess, this reduction in scrambling was a result of his very high sack total in 2022. Admittedly, sacks are by no means desirable, but if focusing on sack avoidance means that Field’s greatest strength is neutralized then is it really worth it for that specific player?
To me, I’d rather see Fields do what he does best. Don’t try to hit a square peg into a round hole. Just let him be him and let him “do what he does best, I mean, it’s what he does best.”