One misconception should be cleared up right now. Matt Eberflus may have created the now trending “H.I.T.S” philosophy from his time in Indianapolis. An acronym that stands for hustle, intensity, takeaways, and smarts. Those were the four demands he placed on his defensive players. If any of them weren’t met during games, it would earn a player a “loaf.” As in, they didn’t do their job well enough. Yet this system has roots going many years further back with coaches like Rod Marinelli, Lovie Smith, and Tony Dungy. Another thing to keep in mind? It’s not just for defensive players too. Justin Fields is about to find that out.
H.I.T.S can easily be modified to apply to offensive players too. Quarterbacks are treated the same way as anyone else. They are held to the same standard. It is just a matter of figuring out how to grade them compared to other positions. Dungy went into detail on this during his interview with Adam Jahns of The Athletic.
“You get the same thing,” he said. “It’s not always hustle with the quarterback. But did you get us in the right play? First of all, did you execute the game plan? Did you carry out your fake? Did you execute the throw? Whatever the categories are, did you get a plus in that situation?
“You might have done things right, you might have executed the throw, but we had planned to go to this play if we saw this defense. So you get a plus for the great throw, but you get a minus for getting us in the wrong play.”
No preferential treatment for anybody.
It is crazy to think Dungy did that with Peyton Manning for so many years in Indianapolis. Nobody can say it doesn’t work either. Excluding his rookie season, Manning had an 89.9 passer rating in three years without Dungy from 1999 to 2001. In their seven seasons together from 2002 to 2008, that rating jumped to 100.5. The standard was raised for Manning when Dungy arrived, and he had no choice but to meet it.
The same will be true of Fields. There is no question the Bears are making him their priority moving forward. He is the unquestioned starter. GM Ryan Poles plans to invest more resources in his protection and his weaponry this offseason. That said, the young quarterback won’t get babied. When he makes mistakes, Eberflus is going to let him know. Not because it’s fun to do but because eliminating mistakes is how you get better.
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Justin Fields must seize control of his career
Good coaching always helps, but great quarterbacks tend to be the types that work tirelessly at honing their craft. Almost to an obsession. Manning was like that. Tom Brady was like that. Joe Montana was like that. If Fields aims to be the best, he must do everything in his power to master the details of his position. The coaches’ job is to put him in the best possible situations to do that.
That means crafting an offense that fits his strengths and putting him in good situations. Two things Matt Nagy and his staff rarely did last season. Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy hope to reverse the damage done from that fiasco. The plan ahead is simple. Find out what Justin Fields can do and likes to do. Then do that. At the same time, they’ll also figure out what he can’t do and work with him until he can.
This is the ultimate goal of the H.I.T.S philosophy.
To help players become the absolute best versions of themselves. If the Bears can do that with Fields, they will win a lot of football games for years to come.
