The Chicago Bears know they’re on the clock when it comes to figuring out Justin Fields. His rookie year was wasted since Matt Nagy and his coaching staff were fired. That puts pressure on Matt Eberflus and his new staff to find out whether the young quarterback has the necessary capability to be a long-term NFL starter. To do that, they must install a cohesive offensive system and then surround him with capable talent.
That first part is something head coach Matt Eberflus is confident of. It was a big reason he hired Luke Getsy to become the new offensive coordinator. The Shanahan-style offense is notorious for being difficult to learn. Still, it’s also one of the most quarterback-friendly systems in the NFL due to its heavy emphasis on play action and the use of rhythm and timing. Quarterbacks have excelled in this offense many times in the past. That might be why, according to Eberflus during his appearance on the Cris Collinsworth podcast, indicated Fields is already a fan.
“It’s going to be very quarterback friendly for him.”
-Matt Eberflus on Justin Fields’ & Bears new offenseListen & download: https://t.co/rWXU45IeKE pic.twitter.com/WXZ30WDgf8
— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) April 14, 2022
All one has to do is look at prior QBs that have thrived in the offense to understand.
- Steve Young
- John Elway
- Jake Plummer
- Jay Cutler
- Kirk Cousins
- Matt Ryan
- Joe Flacco
- Aaron Rodgers
Some pretty impressive names on that list. Some of them had their career-best seasons in this system, like Young, Plummer, Cutler, Ryan, and Flacco. It often functions best when the QB has a big arm and has mobility. This makes them dangerous because they can strike deep off of play action or take off and run on designed bootlegs. Justin Fields checks both of those boxes in a big way.
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So yeah. It isn’t surprising he’d gravitate to this offense immediately. The tricky part will be how good Getsy is at calling plays and how long it will take Fields and other players to grasp the system. Cutler famously said it takes three years to fully master an offense. He spoke from experience, having not taken off in Shanahan’s system until his third year in 2008. Hopefully, Fields shows signs of progress at least. Enough to offer hope he is on the right track.
