Luke Getsy, what a year of ups and downs for the young Bears OC. First of all, if you didn’t know, Getsy was in Green Bay for seven seasons as the QB’s coach and the passing game coordinator. He was a logical hire for the Bears OC job, after Rodgers and Getsy terrorized the Bears for years. With Eberflus being a defensive guy, and Nagy leaving little trace of success, Getsy was somewhat on his own to develop this offense. He struggled schematically in the opening weeks of the year, but found his stride as he adjusted to the strengths of this team. Going from a QB coach to running the offense is a big jump. Let’s look at how Getsy did it, and what this young, talented OC has coming in the future.
Week’s one through six. When we look at this opening third of the year, it was a tough run for Chicago’s offense. The offense had very little rhythm, an awful air attack, and a struggling offensive line. However, the run game showed signs of promise. In fact, the Bears rushing attack neared the best in the league in these weeks. What might be clear to some, it was quite observable that Justin Fields looked uncomfortable in the pocket and in the pass game in general. I think it was becoming clear to Getsy that Justin was not Rodgers, he was not going to be able to play like Rodgers, or run the same offense as Rodgers. However, Fields had his own unique skill set that only a couple other guys in the league have. In these opening weeks we saw a good run game, flashes of greatness from Justin, and some explosiveness in the pass game. It was clear though, this offense was running schemes and plays that they weren’t built for.
Using Justin Fields unique skill set was something that took time for Getsy to figure out. Fields was not going to be able to sit back and pick apart zone defenses, and on top of that, there is certainly no Davante Adams in Chicago. As Bears fans, we really wanted to see Fields make some underneath throws, take the easy stuff, and chip away at defensive. I am sure this is what Getsy wanted to see as well. Clearly, Justin was not about that play style though. Maybe that is something he can add to his arsenal as he grows. But Getsy had to work away from that all together, and design something that lets Fields do his thing. That is something he was able to accomplish by the midway point of the year. In this offense, we saw Herbert and Montgomery thriving, we saw Kmet breakout into the player we all knew he could be. We also saw great things from Mooney, St. Brown, and small samples of what Claypool can do. Oh yeah, and Justin Fields set records, that’s right, NFL records with this newly designed offense. He was able to play within himself, and looked much more comfortable.
I am very happy and impressed with the job Getsy has done. The new offensive scheme is something to be very excited for and Getsy has done a great job. However, it is important that he doesn’t abandon what he learned in Green Bay. Like we referred to earlier, Justin is not Rodgers, but as he matures he could start to play into a role where he picks apart defenses with checkdowns and short throws. Don’t misunderstand me here, I am ecstatic about Justin’s skill set and love the way he plays. I can’t wait to see how Getsy and Fields continue to work together in the future for this franchise. Luke Getsy is no offensive mastermind like Andy Ried or Kyle Shanahan, but he is a smart football mind willing to learn and adjust. With the right formula from Getsy, Fields staying healthy, this insanely good run game, and developing pass catchers, I really think we could see Chicago making runs into the playoffs in the near future.
