It took a while before Justin Fields became the starter for the Chicago Bears.
While Andy Dalton was first on the depth chart, an injury opened up an opportunity for the former Ohio State standout.
The Bears hoped that his versatility would help them add more dimensions to their offense.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case during the Matt Nagy era, as shown by NFL film analyst Alex Rollins.
Matt Nagy running 5 verts from the 9 yard line? Matt Nagy running 5 verts from the 9 yard line. pic.twitter.com/geCtemUkiS
— Alex Rollins (@AlexRollinsNFL) June 6, 2022
The video showed the Bears running five vertical routes from the nine-yard line.
Verticals make more sense if there’s much ground to cover.
In this case, the players are restricted by the end zone.
As a result, the pass was incomplete despite having five receivers.
It’s this type of play-calling that did not maximize Fields’ potential.
Any variation on the routes could have given him an open space to dash into the end zone.
Instead, the Minnesota Vikings defense easily read the play, including the spy that kept an eye on Fields.
By the end of his rookie season, Fields completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 1,870 yards and seven touchdowns.
More imaginative play-calling could have helped improve his stats.
Will A Regime Change Help Fields?
Matt Eberflus took over for Nagy, who spent four seasons with the Bears.
While Nagy led the squad to two postseason appearances, they did not win any games.
However, Eberflus is a defensive-minded head coach and he might delegate play-calling on offense to Luke Getsy.
Getsy has been an offensive quality control coach, wide receivers coach, quarterbacks coach, and passing game coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
He has been a part of the potent offense led by reigning MVP Aaron Rodgers and former Packers offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett.
The Bears hope that he can help diagram better plays that Fields can run successfully.
A little variation with their routes and formations could help Fields get a better feel for the game.
NEXT: New Bears Regime Already Made A Crucial Mistake