Early on in the Chicago Bears offseason work, we are already learning about how second-year quarterback Justin Fields is furthering his development.
Last year, under former head coach Matt Nagy, Fields didn’t receive a whole lot of genuine help or development. In fact, early in the regular season, Nagy was obliterated by Bears fans after referring to his backup quarterback as a “chess piece” within the offense, while Andy Dalton kept the starting gig.
Nagy was stuck in his ways. He and Ryan Pace both wanted Dalton, therefore Fields never received the correct amount of practice reps and went through a tumultuous rookie season.
This year, though, is different.
Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is already helping Justin Fields further develop his fundamentals.
Bears QB Justin Fields says OC Luke Getsy has already been working on his fundamentals. A small tweak: changing his dropback so he’s got his left foot forward when he gets back there. Should speed things up and help with timing.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) April 19, 2022
Luke Getsy took over as the Bears’ offensive coordinator earlier this offseason and comes from a system that runs a Shanahan style of offense. That, in and of itself, is encouraging. But, the fact that Getsy is already noticing mechanical and fundamental areas worthy of change is a huge positive.
Last year, one of the only times you heard a Bears coach go more in-depth when it comes to Fields’ mechanics and fundamentals was in late December. Quarterbacks coach John DeFlippo talked about Fields’ movement in the pocket and his decision-making.
But, we hardly heard anything from Nagy about Fields’ fundamentals. We hardly ever heard anything from Nagy about Fields’ development.
It’s even more apparent, now, that Nagy was ill-equipped to be a head coach for a team that’s trying to develop a franchise quarterback. Fans probably remember Nagy putting blame squarely on his rookie quarterback at times, too, instead of owning his quarterback’s lack of development.
With Getsy’s fresh approach and his keen eye for some of the little things, Bears fans can rest assured knowing their quarterback is getting the proper training and coaching.
Per Chicago Sun-Times beat writer Jason Lieser, Fields said today that he’s learned a whole lot in just a year, which is also a great sign. When asked how much better he understands playing the quarterback position in the NFL, Fields responded:
