Justin Fields isn’t having an easy start to 2022. Everybody can see that. He’s on pace to finish with the lowest number of passing attempts by a starting quarterback in 40 years, with 45 total in three games. He’s thrown only two touchdowns to four interceptions. What is most alarming is how indecisive he’s seemed on several dropbacks. He is the only quarterback that hasn’t thrown a single pass into a “tight window” this season. Is he too hesitant for his own good? Luke Getsy doesn’t think so.
The Chicago Bears offensive coordinator got plenty of questions about his struggling quarterback on Wednesday. His overall message in reply was simple. Fields is essentially a rookie. He has been re-learning the position from the ground up in this new offense. Growing pains were always expected. As for the hesitance concerns, he doesn’t think that’s the case. Getsy has seen multiple instances of Fields making quick adjustments before and after the snap. Courtney Cronin of ESPN explained one such moment that unfortunately ended with an interception.
It’s a fair point. Fields did everything right on that play. He read the coverage and got the ball out on time. The throw just wasn’t on target. He claims the ball came out of his hand wrong. It would explain why it got so far ahead of Cole Kmet, who was wide open.
Luke Getsy knows his problems are experience-related.
Many of his bad throws can be chalked up less to bad decisions and more to bad timing and miscommunications. That Kmet play was only one example. Such problems are typical in the first year of a new offense. That is why Getsy called him a rookie. This is a process. The goal for himself and the coaches is to work the quarterback through the struggles until he begins mastering the system’s intricacies. Once that happens, better execution almost always follows.
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The hard part is being patient. Bears fans have been asked that for many years about previous quarterbacks. Every single time they were burned in the end. Hearing the same request again is hard to stomach. Still, Luke Getsy is right. Fields needs time to figure this out. He needs to keep playing and keep learning. Nothing teaches a quarterback more about the NFL than game reps. There are 14 games left. The Bears need to see the entire picture before making rash judgments about their young quarterback.
