Justin Fields looked like a different quarterback on Saturday night, compared to how he looked the last time the Bears played the Browns. Obviously, the scheme was radically different, as was the personnel on the other side of the field, but still, the second-year quarterback put together arguably his best half of football in the NFL. Again, a lot of that had to do with Luke Getsy’s scheme. But a lot of Fields’ success can also be traced to the mechanical adjustments the Bears coaches made at the outset of this year’s offseason program.
“From then to now, it’s obviously tremendously improved,” Getsy said. “But nowhere near where it needs to be. He’s got a long way to go there. But he’s working his tail off. He reaped the reward of listening to his feet, and the timing and rhythm was good most of the night. We’ve talked a lot about pocket presence — that’s something that a young quarterback has to grow through. I thought that showed up and he did a nice job with that. He had the escape on third down, he knew time was up and he made the most of that play, too.”
Getsy was vague when discussing what he wants to see from Fields in the next few weeks leading up to Week 1. He pointed to the team’s plan for Fields, dating back to when they got together in April, and sticking to that plan. Getsy will continue to challenge Fields, and the entire offense, both mentally and physically to play the way he wants them to play. Without going into too much detail, Getsy did share a few things which give him confidence that Fields’ strong preseason play can carry over to the regular season.
“His leadership and the bringing that unit together has been really fun to see,” Getsy said. “Not just in preseason but throughout this whole thing. I think that when you’re able to go out in three preseason games and show these guys you’re ready to command the huddle, call the plays cleanly, go out and execute at a high level, I think all that stuff just gives people confidence.
“My favorite part about being a huddle team is that the quarterback gets to look 10 other people in the eyes and they get to feel what they feel from him, and there’s zero hesitation in him, so I think that’s good.”
We still haven’t seen the final iteration of the Bears offense. Like all other NFL teams, they’ve run a simple scheme so as not to give opponents any valuable tape for their own preparations. That’s about to change.
“It gets a little bit deeper now,” Getsy said. “And then how much you’re willing to do against, and show, now. The gloves are off now.”
