Luke Getsy Made Another Smart Adjustment To Help Justin Fields
Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy knew he had a ton of work to do if he was going to help Justin Fields ascend as a quarterback. Already through their first few months working together, it’s apparent the young coach knows what he’s doing. His first order of business was changing Fields’ footwork, learning how to take his drops and shuffle inside the pocket properly. Then he moved to the throwing motion, teaching the QB how to speed up the process until he could get the ball out fast enough to avoid pass rushers.
Now it appears the Bears coaching staff is moving to more comprehensive methods. That was evident during Friday’s training camp practice. The defense wore scout team jerseys, meaning they were operating out of specific looks that the Bears expect to see from their opponents this year. To do this less than two weeks into camp is unusual. Beat writers Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic admitted it’s by far the earliest they’ve ever seen it happen. Getsy explained during his presser why it was done.
This is a minor comment but carries significant weight.
It shows that the Bears coaching staff is already looking far ahead to what’s coming this season. Most important of all is how seriously they’re taking the NFC North games. They know the division determines the success or failure of a regular season more than anything in the NFL. The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, their two biggest rivals, both run a 3-4 defense. It makes perfect sense for the offense to practice against those looks as often as possible.
Other opponents like the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and Atlanta Falcons will also run it. That is seven games the Bears will likely see a 3-4 alignment. Seven games can change the course of a season, especially if a team goes into them unprepared.
Luke Getsy has a plan for Fields, and it’s slowly unfolding.
That might sound unusual to outsiders. Of course he has a plan. He’s a coach. That is what they’re supposed to have. They don’t understand. They didn’t live through the past four years of Matt Nagy. It became evident so many times during that period the former head coach had no real plan for his quarterbacks. The lack of preparation during those years was appalling and a big reason why the offense consistently ranked among the NFL’s worst.
It is already apparent Luke Getsy is far better prepared for this job than Nagy was. Having extensive experience in several different offenses plays a big part in this. He’s seen how other coaching staffs go about cultivating the quarterback position. Now he is applying those lessons to Fields, and the early signs are positive.
The young QB already looks sharper and more efficient.
There will be bumps in the road to come. Learning a new offense takes time. Mistakes happen. The goal is to steadily limit them until the good far outweighs the bad. Getsy is on top of everything, which is something to get excited about.