Luke Getsy has work to do before he gets this offense where he wants it to be. He kept calling it a process, and that wasn’t hyperbole. True mastery of a system takes time. That is especially true for Justin Fields. People wanted to see him come out like Tom Brady in the preseason opener. That was never reasonable. He looked more like what he is, a young QB that made strides but is trying to overcome his weaknesses from last year. There were some brilliant moments and some teaching ones.
It falls on Getsy to find every way possible to help Fields. His efforts include a heavy emphasis on footwork, shortening his throwing motion, and learning to throw with timing and rhythm. There were signs of it against the Chiefs. It seems that isn’t all the offensive coordinator is doing. Nate Tice of The Athletic picked up on another little adjustment implemented at practice. Something that can help mitigate the Bears’ biggest weakness.
Fields is already putting it to good use.
“While a quarterback’s cadence might not seem like a huge deal, Bears coaches’ heavy emphasis on varying up cadence makes sense given Getsy’s history with Aaron Rodgers, who has weaponized cadence better than any quarterback ever.
Starting at ground zero with Bears players on the variations of cadence has led to some moments of rough play at practices so far, such as false starts and early snaps. But when I visited Chicago, there were moments when the attention to detail started to bear fruit, including Justin Fields deep shots on free plays after he drew a defender offsides.
It takes investment and consistency from Bears coaches and players to perfect using different cadences and keeping defenders from pinning their ears back, but a unit with a potentially leaky offensive line should take any advantage it can get.”
Luke Getsy is doing his job.
That is to give Fields every possible advantage he can. Even small things like a varying cadence can go a long way. Blocking pass rushers is hard enough in the NFL. By forcing them to play cautiously for fear of jumping offsides, it can give a QB that precious extra split second to get the ball out. This is another example of Getsy’s attention to detail, which colleagues mentioned was his great strength. Nothing gets overlooked.
Little things like that tend to pay big dividends down the line. It won’t show at first. Fields is too early in the process. Come November, when he’s played several games in the new system, don’t be surprised if he’s utilized this new trick successfully a few times. Luke Getsy has a plan. His goal is to execute it step by step. If things stay on course, he’s confident his young quarterback will improve sooner rather than later.
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