Matt Eberflus knew he had to find somebody that could fix the Chicago Bears‘ eternal woes on offense. His choice was a bold one. Luke Getsy was the Green Bay Packers passing game coordinator from 2019 through 2021. He’d only been an offensive coordinator for one year, and that was in college. At 37 years old, people weren’t sure what to make of him. Players loved him as a teacher, and many around the league believe he is a rising star.
Then again, many similar things were said about Matt Nagy when he arrived from Kansas City. That didn’t work out well. So it was difficult for Bears fans to trust whether Getsy knew what he was doing. They needed to see him in game situations calling plays. Following the preseason opener against the Chiefs, there are reasons for optimism.
The Bears racked up a respectable 285 total yards, didn’t turn the ball over, and had only a few penalties. They also controlled the time of possession. What stood out the most was how good the young coordinator was at calling situational football.
Luke Getsy had no issues helping his offense find opportunities.
Example #1: Trestan Ebner TD
First NFL TD for the rook, @TrestanEbner!
📺: #KCvsCHI on Fox32 & @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/pscohkXNGX
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 13, 2022
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This is a great play design. The wide receiver runs an out route while the tight end clears space up the field. It leaves Chiefs safety Deon Bush (#26) in no-mans-land, having to cover Ebner one-on-one in the open field. The running back’s speed and quickness make that an easy mismatch. Siemian finds him late over the middle for the score.
Example #2: TD pass to Dazz Newsome
Trevor Siemian drops it right in the bucket to Dazz Newsome for the TD! 🎯 #DaBears
📺: #KCvsCHI on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/3mvoWh7UD3 pic.twitter.com/QRDiATYgWp— NFL (@NFL) August 13, 2022
Luke Getsy uses a bunch formation to the right. At the snap, #10 Nsimba Webster breaks in, picking off the linebacker and carrying one cornerback with him. Dante Pettis (#86) leaks out to the sideline, forcing another corner to go with him. That frees up Dazz Newsome against the safety on a corner route. He gets easy separation, and Siemian finds him for the open touchdown.
Example #3: 4th down conversion to Dante Pettis
Dime dropped to Dante Pettis 🪙pic.twitter.com/0iYxQBR3b7
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) August 13, 2022
This is less about design and more about just being good about finding the right matchup. Getsy spreads it out on 4th down. He has Pettis in the slot, one of their better route runners, going against Dicaprio Bootle. Kansas City only has one safety over the top, so help won’t be able to get there in time. Pettis wins off the line of scrimmage and pops wide open on the post route for a big gain. Creating advantageous matchups like that was few and far between last year.
I want to see the running game come together. But, so far he is moving the ball a lot and using end arounds and bootlegs to keep a defense honest. Screen game needs improvement. Solid B for first preseason game.
It looks very promising.
If Getsy is as clever and successful during the regular season, he may be a head coach someplace next season. Sad, but a fact of life in today’s NFL. That’s why I was very concerned with who would be the QB coach. Flus, unlike Fox, with Adam Gase, has a solid succession plan even for that possible outcome, with Janoko waiting in the wings to keep the system in place.
So how did the offense look? I saw we were down 14-0 at half. I did listen to most of 2nd half since i drove over 600 miles today..
Those are all plays done in GB that have worked against da Bears over the last few years. It’s great to have the scheme that can incorporate plays like these that fit in a coherent system. Find the players, then build the system, then dominate. Keep Getsy for at least 3-4 years to get the team to the big dance before he goes on to be a HC.