How Luke Getsy has shown 'great feel' for playcalling originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bears recent offensive resurgence is no fluke. Justin Fields has played spectacular football. New additions like N’Keal Harry and Chase Claypool have contributed. The offensive line has protected better up front. And the coaches have tweaked the scheme to put everyone in a position to succeed more often.
Over the course of the year Luke Getsy has shown a knack for creating a good mix of runs, passes, and tricky misdirection plays to keep defense on their heels. His plays have been well-designed to help guys get open, too. On the field, the players have noticed.
“I think he’s got a really good feel,” said Cole Kmet. “Sometimes, you’re in the huddle and you’re like, ‘Oh, hell yeah. That’s a great time to call this.’ Things like that. He’s got a great feel for all that and all the players are really believing in that.”
The key seems to be a more concerted effort to get Fields on the move. Since the team’s mini bye week, we’ve seen more designed runs, moving pockets and play-action rollouts, which all play to the team’s strengths and help them cover up some of their weaknesses. It also makes things harder on the defense.
“You don’t know when the guy goes in motion, is he gonna accept the jet sweep or is he simply gonna go in motion, or is it going to be a jet motion and a handoff?” said Matt Eberflus, who has a long history as a defensive coach. “I think those creative ways are really good at stretching the width of the field, certainly on those plays, and those things open up things on the inside, too, in the play-action pass game. I think those are all really good things.”
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It’s not just the scheme that helps the players. It’s also how the coaches teach the concepts, and their demeanor with the team. Both Eberflus and Getsy stay calm no matter the circumstances. They don’t get too high with their successes, and they don’t get too low with their failures. That’s helped the Bears keep their eyes forward, as Eberflus likes to say, to stay focused on incremental improvement on a week-to-week basis. During games, it’s helped the players when they’ve fallen behind early in the first half.
“When you have guys like that who are staying calm, staying calm in the moment, it gives a lot of confidence to guys on the field,” said Kmet.
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Over the past three weeks, the Bears have averaged over 31 points per game. They’ve done that going up against the Patriots’ No. 2 scoring defense in the AFC, and the Cowboys No. 1 scoring defense in the NFC. None of that means the Bears have arrived as a surefire offensive powerhouse. The league will find a way to challenge the Bears, and Getsy will need to respond. But so far Getsy has shown the makings of a great leader, teacher, play designer and play caller and Bears fans should be encouraged by what they’ve seen.
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