Chicago Bears fans aren’t sure what to expect from Justin Fields this year. They know he should remain one of the most lethal rushing threats in the NFL. However, they aren’t naive. This fanbase understands that for a quarterback to become one of the league’s best, he must prove he can beat teams through the air. Fields didn’t do that often in 2022, averaging 149 yards per game. Many argued the lack of support held him back, which is fair. That is why GM Ryan Poles dedicated this past off-season to correcting the problem.
Proven pass catchers D.J. Moore and Robert Tonyan arrived from Carolina and Green Bay. Nate Davis signed to bolster the team at guard, while right tackle Darnell Wright became their 1st round pick. Nobody can say the Bears haven’t invested resources to help their quarterback. However, another part of the puzzle isn’t discussed enough going into 2023.
System continuity.
This will mark Fields’ second season playing the same offense for the first time since his final year of college. That may not sound important to the uneducated, but it’s huge for such an information-heavy position like quarterback.
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Justin Fields finally has the measure of his playbook.
People don’t understand how massive and detailed modern NFL playbooks are. Some of them can run up to well over 100 pages long. The Mike Shanahan offense, which runs the wide-zone scheme Luke Getsy utilizes in Chicago, ran in excess of 120 pages. It is a difficult system to learn. Most quarterbacks struggle in it during their first year. John Elway did. Matt Ryan did. Kirk Cousins did. Yet the constant in each of those situations is that they all played some of their best football by the second year in the system.
System continuity matters. Even Bears history proves this. The two highest passing seasons the franchise has ever had were Erik Kramer in 1995 and Jay Cutler in 2014. Kramer was in his second year under offensive coordinator Ron Turner. Cutler was in his second year under Marc Trestman. When Rex Grossman helped the Bears reach the Super Bowl in 2006, that was his second year under Turner. Jim Harbaugh’s best season in Chicago came in 1990, his second season under coordinator Greg Landry.
The proof is there. If Justin Fields stays healthy, his new supporting cast and increasing mastery of the system will result in far greater production through the air this season. If you don’t trust the projections, then trust the history.
