It was supposed to be better this year.
With Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in his second season with the team, quaterback Justin Fields more than a full year removed from the Matt Nagy nightmare, and the acquisition of top-tier receiver DJ Moore, this was when we were supposed to see what Fields, and this offense, could be.
So far, that’s been anything but the case. The Bears are 0-2, they haven’t won a game since Week 7 of the 2022 season, and Fields has regressed more than he’s progressed. He’s completed 40 of 66 passes for 427 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions, and a passer rating of 70.7, which is worse than the 73.2 he had in that nightmare rookie season of 2021 under Nagy. He has not been used well at all as a runner, and the cottage industry of people eager to blame Getsy for the whole debacle is growing exponentially.
When this many of the people I respect when it comes to schemes helping quarterbacks are absolutely apoplectic about this offense? Well, I pay attention.
(Note: There’s some NSFW language here, as there probably should be).
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky:
You guys try and go play QB in this
1) QB isn’t playing well
2) No one is.Incredibly frustrating and hard tape to watch for @ChicagoBears pic.twitter.com/PUmpcdzOLV
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 18, 2023
J.T. O’Sullivan of the mandatory “QB School” videos:
WTF ARE WE DOING?
Hard to play QB like this.
Can't take sack.
Who knows wtf this is?
What is this?
85?
Disaster.#DaBears
Full video: https://t.co/oGkwkwR8BV pic.twitter.com/cPX7WQbCtS— The QB School (@theqbschool) September 13, 2023
A buddy of mine with NFL experience who knows a LOT:
The Bears are trying to squeeze players into a specific scheme instead of building a scheme around what your players do best. Justin Fields should not be operating under center as a +1 QB. It’s a complete waste of a great asset that gives you a big advantage.
— Honest NFL (@TheHonestNFL) October 14, 2022
So, how can the Bears fix this? There isn’t much time for an answer, as Chicago has the Chiefs, Broncos, Commanders, and Vikings — four tough defenses — in their next four games. If Getsy doesn’t get this under control, and if Fields doesn’t reverse that regression, the 2023 season could be over before it barely begins.
First, let’s look at where it’s all gone wrong, with the focus on Sunday’s 27-17 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The "designed runs" have architectural flaws.
Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, Fields gained 470 yards and scored five touchdowns on 73 designed quarterback runs; only Jalen Hurts had more designed runs in the 2022 season. And while the run concepts weren’t otherworldly, Getsy seemed to have a clue when it came to maximizing Fields’ talents as a runner — which are, at this point in his career, top of the list when it comes to his overall skill set.
Getsy should be approximating the ridiculous stuff Shane Steichen did for Hurts last season, and what he’s doing now for Anthony Richardson as the Colts’ head coach. Because stuff like this is pretty tough to stop.
At times, Fields at least benefited from some motion and misdirection, as was the case on this touchdown run against the Patriots in Week 7.
This season so far? Getsy has barely called any designed runs for Fields, and the designs when they are called are rudimentary at best. Why you would not put a large part of your offense behind Fields as a runner in a complex ground game is beyond me. It’s mostly simple read/keeper stuff, and when the Bears try to make it more interesting, the execution has failed. If center Lucas Patrick could get the ball to fields on time and on target, it would help.
The look on Fields’ one-yard touchdown run against the Buccaneers provides some room for encouragement — a counter look with run fakes? More of that would be nice.
Getsy really needs to diversify his sequencing.
It’s not often that you see an offense at any level of football run the same concept three times in a row, but the Bears did late in the Buccaneers game, and in the end, they paid for it. The concept was a little release screen pass to running back Khalil Herbert in all three cases, starting with 2:24 left in the game, and the Bears at their own seven-yard line, down 20-17.
The first time, the play was a disaster because edge-rusher Shaquil Barrett was obviously offside.
Then, the pass to Herbert, which was negated by offensive pass interference. Here, you can see that Barrett is all over the look.
Then, Barrett’s game-clinching pick-six, because of course.
Linebacker Lavonte David’s postgame comments wouldn’t be as big a deal in another context — teams have tendencies on other teams and are able to sniff things out more than people think. But the extent to which Getsy helped Tampa Bay’s defense was… not optimal.
More locker room video from Sunday: Lavonte David says “everybody knew what was coming” from Bears on Shaq Barrett’s game-clinching pick-six: pic.twitter.com/F3tdDsjGy4
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) September 18, 2023
Fields needs more designed easy openers.
If you’re an offensive play-designer at any level of football, it’s not good enough to get things schemed open for your quarterback once in a while — especially if your quarterback is young and still getting reps together, you must make him feel comfortable in the rhythm of the offense.
Right now, it’s hard to find any rhythm in what Getsy is calling, and what the Bears are running. Fields’ first two passing attempts against the Bucs were explosive completions based on backside stack releases against zone coverage. There was this 33-yarder to DJ Moore with both Moore and Darnell Mooney showing vertical releases before Moore kicked inside…
…and this quick out to Moore out of a switch release with tight end Cole Kmet.
Problem was, you didn’t see a lot of those concepts later in the game, where one receiver magnifies the efforts of another. One exception was Fields’ 20-yard touchdown pass to receiver Chase Claypool with 6:23 left in the game. This was a nice structure against a single-high safety look (Cover-3 in this case), because the dual verticals at the numbers run to either side by Claypool and receiver Velus Jones Jr. put safety Antoine Winfield Jr. in conflict, and cornerback Jamel Dean stumbled as Claypool broke his route inside. Lavonte David couldn’t help to that side, because he had to take Kmet closer to the boundary.
Why don’t Fields’ coaches give him more of these ideas to work with? It’s clear that Fields can handle designed openings downfield.
The sacks tell the story of a quarterback who isn't seeing it and trusting it.
When you see a quarterback in relatively clean pockets refusing to turn the ball loose and taking sacks instead, there are usually one of two reasons for that — either the quarterback isn’t seeing what he needs to see, or he doesn’t trust what he’s seeing.
Fields’ sacks have shown both issues.
With 13:36 left in the second quarter, Fields had Moore open on a backside dig, Moore was exhorting Fields to throw the ball, and… nothing.
DJ Moore practically sending smoke signals to Fields wide open in the middle of the Field on 3rd and 13.
Fields instead chooses to stand there and get sacked.pic.twitter.com/NGAuGTOav9
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) September 18, 2023
And here, with 3:12 left in the first half, Fields had running back Roschon Johnson and receiver Tyler Scott wide open in the middle of the field against Tampa Bay’s Cover-3. I know that Getsy’s designs cause problems, but I have to put these plays more in Fields. It’s the quarterback’s responsibility to turn the ball loose when the openings are there.
How do the Bears fix this?
The good news is that the Bears don’t have to reinvent the wheel here, or do things they haven’t done before. Getsy did use Fields well as a runner last season; he just needs to expand those concepts. And there’s enough meat on the bone from a play-calling perspective to build on it, as long as the staff can throw the reductive, repetitive stuff in the dumpster where it belongs.
“We’re going through a storm right now,” Fields said after the Buccaneers loss, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “Like I said before, you can just be in the moment, just take it day by day and just be grateful for what we do, what I do, because shoot, I can look back to when I was a kid, I would never see myself in this position. I can be grateful for it and give my all each and every day.
“Each and every day I have the opportunity to do what I do and be the quarterback of this team, but, of course, it’s frustrating not winning. But I think at the same time, like I said, just take it day by day and not really worry about the past. … Can’t do anything about that. … You’ve got right now, and of course, you’ve got the future, so…”
That uncertain trail at the end of Fields’ quite perfectly reflects the state of the Chicago Bears’ offense.
