Luke Getsy Wasn’t Afraid To Criticize Fields After Lions Klunker
Justin Fields hasn’t had it easy for the past month. As he’s continued battling to keep the Chicago Bears afloat, the entire offense around him has disintegrated due to injuries. Darnell Mooney is out for the year. Chase Claypool missed multiple weeks with a knee issue. Teven Jenkins and Michael Schofield just went on IR. Equanimeous St. Brown has battled a concussion. It’s hard for a quarterback to play well when he has no help. That didn’t stop Luke Getsy from criticizing his young quarterback following the loss in Detroit.
The Bears offensive coordinator has remained supportive of Fields all year, preaching patience as he continued developing. However, the job of a coach is also to give tough love when it’s warranted. Fields himself has openly said he doesn’t want special treatment. He wants to be coached hard. So it wasn’t a huge shock when Getsy said the young quarterback struggled after the first few drives against the Lions. While the same was true for everybody else on the offense, that doesn’t make it excusable.
Luke Getsy must unlock Fields as a passer.
There is no question the quarterback is one of the most dangerous runners in the NFL, but that isn’t sustainable in the long term. If Chicago wants to take on the rest of the NFC, they have to be able to throw it. Fields went 7-of-21 for 75 yards, one TD, and one interception against the 30th-ranked pass defense in the entire league. There is no finessing that reality. It is bad. That doesn’t erase the good things Fields has done in recent months as a passer, but it also reinforces how far he still has to go.
His processing speed is faster but not fast enough. He’s too reluctant to pull the trigger at times, leading to unnecessary sacks. He must develop a habit of giving his receivers opportunities to make plays. Of course, it would help if he had receivers he could trust to actually catch the ball. Chicago has 20 dropped passes this year. GM Ryan Poles will look to help by upgrading the offensive line and receiving corps. Luke Getsy will also do his part by continuing to evolve the scheme to help his quarterback grow.