We are entering Marc Trestman territory. Matt Eberflus was never close to being a top coaching prospect for me, but I tried to buy in. I tried to buy into the H.I.T.S. principle thinking that his hard-nosed coaching style could help after watching Matt Nagy try to be buddy-buddy with everyone instead. I don't know what the coaching answer is, but watching this roller coaster play out over and over again is frustrating as a Chicago Bears fan. We haven't seen a truly good head coach since Lovie Smith and even then the offense couldn't do enough consistently. Why? Defensive-minded coach.
That's just one of the overall problems though. The franchise as a whole was supposed to be turning a corner and I'm not ready to say that can't or won't still happen. I loved the Kevin Warren hiring to replace Ted Phillips. I loved the Ryan Poles signing as the new general manager to replace Ryan Pace. I absolutely despised the Matt Eberflus signing and I can't help but think that even though we were told otherwise, Eberflus was somewhat forced upon Poles.
Who is to blame for the Justin Fields issues?
Let's back up for a bit though. Let's go back to the 2021 NFL Draft when Justin Fields fell into the Chicago Bears' lap. All it took was moving up to 11 and sending some high-priced draft capital to the Giants. That feeling when he became available was one I'd never felt on draft day before. I was like a kid on Christmas morning — full of hope and excitement. Now, after watching him the last two games, those gifts I opened two years ago don't seem as glamorous.
The Chicago Bears have ruined the natural instincts of Justin Fields
Justin Fields is broken. He is like a broken toy that you hope that your parents can somehow fix because you love it so much. However, it won't be easy. Your parents are not equipped as toy-makers to fix anything and everything. You are upset. Your hope is dwindling, and you start to realize that your toy may never be the same again. Again, Fields is like that toy — broken.
The key difference is that your parents didn't break your toy. They just aren't the right people to fix it. In this case, Matt Eberflus and Luke Getsy are the ones who broke Justin Fields. Yet, they are still not the people who have the ability to fix him. In his first season under Getsy and Eberflus, the team decided to change the foot he first drops back with. Originally, he had his left foot back and his first step would be with his right. Getsy changed it to be the opposite as he said it would help with timing.
That doesn't seem to be working. His drop-back now looks choppy and lackadaisical. It's almost as though he cannot maintain the muscle memory needed and he's thinking too much. This could be due to the fact he has used his other foot his entire life. His entire life!
I used to be a very good bowler. I competed in State Championships when I was in high school and maintained between a 190 and 220 average. I have a four-step approach that starts with my right foot and ends with my left. One year I had a coach try and change my approach to a five-step approach that started with my left and ended with my left. He told me it would help my timing. I could never do it. My average dropped 30 to 40 points while attempting to make this change and eventually, I went back to my original way of doing things. Justin Fields needs to do this as soon as possible too.
Justin Fields has been over-coached by the Chicago Bears
The problem is, I don't think making that change to his footwork is enough. He now seems gun-shy. That too seems like over-coaching to me. In his rookie season, Fields ripped the ball consistently. He made mistakes of course, but he didn't seem to hesitate when making a decision. Now, he seems to be unwilling to make the big mistake and he holds the ball instead of taking chances. I'd much rather see him trying to make some big throws and turning it over than overthinking and still making mistakes while forcing checkdowns.
We know that Matt Eberflus prefers a conservative game that involves ball control. He doesn't want turnovers and wants to see the clock run out while his defense keeps the score relatively close. That's not it ladies and gentlemen. That type of NFL game has been retired for quite some time now. This Lovie Smith type of team isn't going to work in today's NFL. Ryan Poles made a mistake in hiring Matt Eberflus as his head coach. If he was forced into it, we will never know. However, I hope that he gets an opportunity to rectify that problem and hire someone who focuses on scoring.
For now, my hope is that Luke Getsy is removed from his position and Andrew Janocko takes over. We have seen situations like this happen before and I wonder if it could happen again. Dan Campbell didn't hesitate to strip his offensive coordinator from his play-calling duties and Matt Eberflus should consider doing the same. Justin Fields isn't blameless. He has things he needs to improve on and I thought this season we'd see that. However, he's not getting help with the playbook and someone needs to find a way to reset him before he's to the point where he's not only broken but also unrepairable.