It is easy to understand why trusting Justin Fields against the Green Bay Packers is difficult. He’s 0-4 against them since 2021 with a 70.7 passer rating. Yes, he has the best array of weapons he’s had since joining the Chicago Bears, but that isn’t enough for some. Green Bay still has a formidable defense. They were sixth in the NFL last year against the pass. Fields was intercepted twice in their previous meeting. Feeling confident going into the opener isn’t natural. So, leave it to Luke Getsy to offer some additional information.
Lost in the madness of the off-season was a significant coaching change to the Packers’ defensive staff. The Bears offensive coordinator mentioned it during his latest presser, and Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune brought it up again.
Getsy pointed out the Packers had a veteran defensive backs coach last season in Jerry Gray who believed in keeping everything in front of the defense. He was replaced by Ryan Downard, potentially affecting their strategy.
“Sometimes you get lucky and you pinpoint exactly who they are going to be,” Getsy said of the scouting and game-plan process. “But that’s not usually how it goes. Usually you get them probably half the time and then you need your players to make plays the other half of the time. Hopefully we can lean on that a little bit more this year.”
That might seem trivial until you understand who Gray is. The man has been a defensive backs coach since 1999 and is one of the best. The Packers had the 14th-ranked pass defense in 2019. After his arrival the following year, they ranked 7th, 10th, and 6th.
Luke Getsy knows how big of a loss Gray is.
Part of it is working with him for two years in Green Bay. Another part is having coached against him when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. Gray was their defensive backs coach from 2014 through 2019. In that time, their pass defense ranked:
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- 7th
- 12th
- 3rd
- 2nd
- 3rd
- 15th
Maybe Ryan Downard is as gifted as Gray was, but the odds of that are unlikely. It’s clear the Packers’ secondary was extremely well-coached with him on the staff. Now he’s gone, having headed to Atlanta. Luke Getsy knows the strategies might change, and the discipline might not quite be there. It is a perfect opportunity for Justin Fields to make a statement. If that weren’t enough, two key contributors from their recent success aren’t on the field. Safety Adrian Amos signed elsewhere as a free agent. Cornerback Eric Stokes is on the PUP list with an injury.
If the offensive line can keep the Packers pass rush from going crazy, Fields could have one of his best performances through the air to date. Getsy knows Green Bay no longer has its ace-in-the-hole to prevent it.
Observation of second half 1. Packers completely took away the running game from Bears. Running was tantamount to their success and it didn’t get done. 2. Packers took away the deep passing game from Fields creating 1 pick and a fumble by making Fields play to his weakness (processing defenses) 3. Fields was unable to convert on 3rd down stalling momentum on every drive. 4. Bears defense got burned by a couple big plays but for the most part looked capable. Pass rush was GARBAGE. Run defense was STOUT AF. 5. Is punting an issue?? 6. We need LESS Fields… Read more »
New season. New Sunday… saaaaaaaaaame old Bears Packers game. Bears still have the worst D in the division, worst QB in the division and worst Oline in the division. Hard to watch this team. It’s only week 1, but looks just like the 2022 team.
Observations after 1/2 of Bears football.
1. The book on Fields is out. Take away the deep looks and force him to make reads in zone/man coverages.
2. The Bears defense while not getting lots of sacks is keeping the Bears offense in the game.
3. Where is the running game?
4. The O- line looks sturdy enough.
The only way the Bears win this game is if they follow the template the 49ers just used against Pittsburgh. Running the ball hard while using quick throws. 2-3 seconds on each read. That last part is where Fields suffers badly. He doesn’t get rid of the ball. Say what you want about the line but many of his sacks were due to holding onto the ball too long. If the Bears run and use the pass in the 20-25 attempts range a stat line like 18-25 215yds 1TD/1int and 2-3 sacks would suffice if the Bears get about 200… Read more »
Fields and dicing up a defenses secondary has never gone together. Let’s hope this is a new start and we see Fields light them up. Time to get back to these games being competitive and being hopeful that Chicago can actually win. It’s hard to even call this a rival in recent times because the Bears have basically been GreenBays practice squad. But I think it’s coming and it starts today. LETS GO BEARS!!!!