Did Aaron Rodgers hinder the Chicago Bears offense?

Can Justin Fields succeed in an Aaron Rodgers-like offense?

The success of the Green Bay Packers, and specifically Aaron Rodgers’ MVP-caliber play, may be unattainable with his former coordinator and position coach. This is certainly not the first time in NFL history that something like this has happened though.

After being a play caller with the Peyton Manning-led Broncos, Manning lobbied for his coordinator Adam Gase to get a head coaching job, which he received with the Miami Dolphins. This experiment was short-lived as it became apparent that Gase was significantly less successful if he didn’t have a Hall of Fame quarterback like Manning.

This might be what’s happening in Chicago and Denver. It is easy to look like an offensive genius when Rodgers can rely on Davante Adams with Matt Lafleur truly leading the offense. Both Nathaniel Hackett and Luke Getsy received their current jobs due to their success in Green Bay, but it almost seems that they would have needed to be extremely poor coaches for those Packers offenses to not work.

Neither Justin Fields nor Russell Wilson is on the same level as Aaron Rodgers, and the Chicago Bears specifically don’t even have the weapons to surround a quarterback successfully like many great offenses in the NFL. The roots of Fields’ struggles, as well as the Bears’ offense in general, are too diverse to pinpoint one or two specific things, and with Wilson and Rodgers both looking like shells of their former selves, it is clear that the break-up in the Packers’ offensive coaching staff is not beneficial for anyone.

For the Chicago Bears, it is essential to get Justin Fields into Aaron Rodgers-like situations. Fields should be on the (designed) move more, rolling out as a passer and having easy options to deliver a good pass. In the red zone specifically, the Bears’ offense needs to set up the second-year quarterback with better schemes and play calls. In recent years, the Packers have been a machine in the red zone, and a lot of touchdowns come down to quick-hitting plays that involve motion and movement to set up players wide-open in space.

Should the Chicago Bears start tanking right now?

Should the Chicago Bears start to tank for the 2023 NFL Draft? They might not have to with their schedule, but having a high draft pick could help.

This is in no way saying Luke Getsy shouldn’t be the offensive coordinator moving forward. It could be essential for Justin Fields’ development for him to learn secondarily how Aaron Rodgers maneuvers in certain situations. However, there also needs to be a more concerted effort at scheming up easier plays and accentuating that Fields is a truly talented runner with a big arm.