Matt Eberflus Unfazed By Justin Fields’ Early Struggles
On Thursday, the Chicago Bears media had the unenviable task of reporting what they saw from the final day of voluntary minicamps. What they saw was a disjointed offense, particularly regarding quarterback Justin Fields. While the second-year passer had some nice moments, he was bedeviled by inconsistency, including an interception. Not something fans want to hear after what they were forced to witness last season. Plenty of people are already panicking. Matt Eberflus was not one of them.
The new Bears head coach is in unfamiliar territory. He’s spent the past 30 years of his life coaching the defensive side of the football exclusively. Now he’s required to worry about an entire team. That includes the quarterback, which he knows as well as anybody, is the most important position in the sport. One would think he’d be at least a little frustrated by Fields’ up and down start to the offseason.
That is not the case.
During his Thursday press conference, Eberflus was immediately asked about what happened on the field and if he was worried. The coach didn’t even blink, saying it was a non-issue to him. If anything, he welcomed the players making those mistakes. Not because mistakes are good but because they offer golden learning opportunities. He’d much rather have those errors happen now with time to correct them rather than during a season.
This is an excellent perspective to have. Eberflus knows his job is to correct mistakes, but he also wants his players to have a mentality of self-correction too. He is putting them all into a mindset of constant evaluation after every rep will spur them into working harder on refining their game. This is a tactic Chuck Noll made famous with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1970s. He always told his players that he’d fire them if they needed him to motivate them. He wanted players that were self-motivated and interested in finding ways to get better.
Matt Eberflus also knows the challenge this offense presents.
There is a reason he brought in Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator. He wants the Shanahan-style system in Chicago. Anybody who does research on the scheme will hear the same thing repeatedly. It is a hard system to learn. The level of details involved, especially for the offensive line, is far beyond other systems. It is why the Bears sought out several assistant coaches that have taught it before. They know how difficult it can be.
So for Fields to struggle to grasp the new terminology, fundamentals, and other aspects weren’t surprising to Matt Eberflus. It was probably expected—one part of a process that has only just begun. The goal is to keep grinding. Keep correcting those mistakes as they happen. The results should show up with time with enough hard work and repetition.
Bears fans must adjust their expectations accordingly.
Things might not go smoothly at the start. Matt Ryan had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2015 during his first year in this system. Then he won MVP in 2016. The same goes for Matt Schaub in 2008. Then he set Houston Texans passing records in 2009. Fields can flourish in this offense. It is a question of whether people will give him the necessary time to master it.