Justin Fields would be the first to tell you he wasn’t satisfied with his 2022 season. It has nothing to do with his stats, mind you. It’s because the Chicago Bears didn’t win enough games. All he cares about is winning. However, he knows a big part of that comes from his personal performance. While he was happy with how he did as a runner, the opposite was true of his passing. Fields didn’t blame anybody for his struggles throwing the ball at times, only insisting he has to keep working and getting better.
Since then, offensive coordinator Luke Getsy revealed that his quarterback is far ahead of where he was at this time last year. People will talk about his mechanics, his footwork, and his processing. That isn’t where Fields sees the biggest improvement. Albert Breer of The MMQB revealed his confidence has grown the most in understanding the offense as a whole. Part of the problem for much of last year came from not understanding the intricacies of the scheme. That is no longer a concern.
Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Monday that QB Justin Fields is “light-years ahead” of where he was a year ago, so I went looking for a little context on where Fields has taken those big steps. Tangibly, it should show up with the mental work he’s done to improve his command at the line of scrimmage—in changing protections and making adjustments within the offense. He’s made the comment to the coaches over the last couple of weeks that he could never have had the conversations with them last year that he’s having now, which is a great sign for where they are collectively.
Justin Fields won’t have to think so much anymore.
Mastering an offensive system is very difficult. Jay Cutler said it takes three years to do so. There should be a noticeable improvement from the first season to the second one. Josh Allen is a perfect example of this. He had a rough first year in Buffalo, improved considerably in year two, and then made his first Pro Bowl in year three. Jalen Hurts saw his passer rating of 87.2 in year one under Nick Sirianni jump to 101.5 in year two. Understanding of the system coupled with added help around him should lead to better results for Fields.
The Bears solidified their offensive line with veteran guard Nate Davis and 1st round tackle Darnell Wright. D.J. Moore joins Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool to form a dynamic trio at wide receiver. The running game is still plenty potent with Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman, and Roschon Johnson. For the first time, it feels like Justin Fields has help. If he’s right and his knowledge of the offense has reached a much higher level, this could be the breakout year fans have waited for.
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