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Justin Fields is taking command and showing 'overall awareness' in the Bears' offense

Nicholas Moreano

August 24, 2023

Command. Control. Comfort.

All those are things that Justin Fields should be showing and feeling as he now operates Luke Getsy’s offense for a second-consecutive season.

Quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko, who is in his second season with the Bears, sees a player who is more confident in the offensive scheme.

“Oh yeah absolutely,” Janocko said. “I think you have seen him progress. You guys have been to practice every day, and I think you have seen a significant difference than where we were last year, and we just have to keep going and reaching for better every single day.”

Janocko has also seen a quarterback who has become more vocal — whether that’s when he communicates to his teammates or speaks out to his coaches about plays that he is or isn’t comfortable with.

“I think Justin and the guys, there’s been a lot of really good things going on,” Getsy said. “The meeting room conversations have been great kind of building on what, I mean, we’ve talked about letting the players take it over. We’ve been trying to let that kind of happen now and so we’re in that phase. And I think we’re in a good place.”

All positive signs for a quarterback entering an all-important Year 3 in the league.

Last season, Fields wasn’t in a position to have the command, control and comfort he is now showing in Getsy’s offense. With limited playmakers and a revolving offensive line (which is repeating itself through the preseason with injuries), success was hard to achieve — unless it was with Fields’ running ability.

The addition of DJ Moore alone, though, has changed how Fields looks at attacking defenses. Fields and Moore have connected countless times on a variety of different throws throughout the summer.

“I think he has had just an impact on the organization,” Janocko said on Moore. “I mean when you bring a good player in and they make plays, that’s fun to watch. I mean that’s having confidence in somebody that goes out and makes plays for you and that you can trust where that guy is going to be where he needs to be. And even if that throw is a little bit off, he is going to help you. That’s huge.”

Janocko was also asked on Wednesday what he feels most confident in Fields after his third NFL training camp.

“I think just his overall awareness of what we are doing and what defenses are trying to do to him,” Janocko said. “I think he’s really dove into that aspect of the game of just creating that overall awareness of how to have success with what we do and what teams try to do to defend him.”

Another year in Getsy’s offense combined with playmakers like Moore, a healthy Darnell Mooney, a newly paid Cole Kmet and Chase Claypool who should be more comfortable in the offense are valid reasons to be optimistic about what Fields can accomplish this season.

Maybe it’s a bit drastic, but Fields has been a popular candidate to win the MVP in 2023, which is noteworthy for someone who still has a lot to show as a player.

“I mean he’s an exciting player, right?” Getsy said. “And he got to prove a little bit of that last year. So from our perspective, a preseason situation like that isn’t very important. But if we’re talking like this in December and January? Now we’re probably exceeding expectations of people, right? But the most important thing for us is that Justin continues to grow. And not just Justin but everybody in this offense. We have to continue to get better each and every day. And like I’ve always said in here, we have a certain play style that we want to play and that we want everyone to feel. And we have to make sure that when it comes to Sept. 10, we’re making sure that that is the biggest priority for us.”