Where the fuck are you guys? The Bears trade up for Fields and it's fucking crickets around here. So I will admit I was wrong, a trade up to #11 for the 3rd/4th best QB. Look at this fucking guy: So it seems like you were high on him pat, what do you think? I'm cautiously optimistic, but they really still need to shore up the line and have the kid sit. I kind of hope they redshirt him next year and reload in two years, but per my other prediction, if Dalton/Foles suck ass through 3 games, we'll see this kid hit the field. Mitch Trubisky-style.
Fields and Lance were the only QB's worth a first round pick, besides Lawrence. I didn't think the Bears would have a shot at one. I was sitting in my car in the driveway listening to the radio during the pick. My wife kept asking when I was gonna come in, and I kept telling her, "Pace is gonna trade up any minute, don't worry. And if it's for Mac Jones, I won't be coming in any time soon". As soon as the trade up was announced, you knew it had to be for Fields. I mean, you had to fucking hope... Good news: Fields is a legit prospect. I agree with Pat's assessment. His breakdown was basically what I would've said. He could genuinely be the Bears' guy - and unlike Mitch, there's actual tape to support that idea, and not just Ryan Pace's "secret" erection. Bad news: This buys Ryan Pace a few more years. And he's going to keep f***ing up the roster regardless. Remember, we lost Kyle Fuller for nothing because Pace wanted both Andy Dalton AND Nick Foles, neither of whom are better than the kid we just drafted. Plus, Pace gave away three picks, including next year's first. What did the Jets give up to trade up the same amount of spots only three picks later? Two thirds, and they got a fourth back. Fuck you, Pace. Fuck you. We also still have Nagy. We also passed on legit OT talent, and have none on the roster, so... better hope Pace gets lucky again tomorrow night. All in all - I'm excited about Fields. But that's only a momentary reprieve from the depression caused by this front office... I'll cautiously look forward to seeing Fields play, for sure.
It was inevitable that he would trade up, we all knew it. Any talk of ownership not letting Pace blow future valuable picks was hilariously fanciful because ownership doesnt have a clue whats going on anyway. And given the desperation of both GM & HC it was always the case that Pace's trade boner was gonna be like Emperor Palpatine when he blasted Mace Windu into oblivion - UNNNNLIMITED POWERRRRR!!!! When i saw that the Bears had got Fields without breaking the top10 i was cautiously optimistic. This was around the best case scenario in terms of damage limitation. This couldnt have been too expensive, right? WRONG! My God, the word on Pace is beyond out in this league isnt it. Once again, you got fucking FLEECED!! You trade up outside the top10 to take the 4th QB in the draft and you have to give up 3 picks including next years 1st??? You total BITCH, Pace. Just for some context here, according to the draft trade value chart, the diff between the 11th spot & the 20th is an even 400points. 400points equates to just a mid 2nd rounder!! As dline says, look at how well the Jets negotiated(both their move and Darnold btw), its just jaw droppingly bad. And all this when its been widely reported that teams are valuing next years draft capitol like gold dust haha. You couldn't write it. Yet another shining example of what i have spoken on many times; the importance of being able to negotiate well. Negotiate badly enough often enough and all you will ever guarantee yourself in the future is bad deals. Fields? Shit....im not the college football guy here but from what i've been able to see and FWIW i don't really understand how Trey Lance can go 3rd and Fields 11th. It always seemed bizarre to me the notion of Mac Jones going before Fields. I like Fields actually, with the right support around him he could actually succeed. Thats the good news. The bad news is he's just come to a team with a below average O-Line, who's #1 WR will be gone a year from now and will be coached by a guy who went on record last season to say its not his job to develop QBs and who is so bad at his job that he literally puts the offensive in "offensive guru". Oh and McMahon was right, QBs do come here to die. The Bears have murdered so many QB careers over the years if it was a movie it would be American Psycho and the team would be Patrick Bateman. If Fields overcomes all that he will have my eternal respect. This was so well put it had to be quoted.
So, legit a couple of weeks back I thought about posting this on the 'offseason thread' for discussion where: The bears went incognito to Fields' pro day. Except Ohio State PR people/interns photographed Nagy next to Shanahan (and Mike Vrabel?) in the top left of the 4 picks. As noted--the bears weren't on the 'official list of teams.' To be frank, I thought Ryan Pace wasn't going to try the subterfuge due to 'smoke and mirrors' season but I stand corrected. I love and hate the move. For obvious reasons--if the kid pans out--2 firsts, a 4 and a 5 are nothing. Of all his tape, his game against my NCAA team Northwestern this past fall sold me on Fields. It was a very 'young Erin Rodgers' versus Lovie (before the defense fell apart) where for the 1st half--the QB was flustered, hurried, and not making big throws--then when he did his guys couldn't hold onto them. Then the 2nd half a switch flipped and Fields made a few sharp throws (that don't really move the needle on the stat sheet) and let the RB gut a top 5 NCAA defense (that tackled like Eddie Jackson) and picked them apart like Erin throwing a quick slant Lovie couldn't figure out. Fields is tested, he's played and beaten exceptional competition, and I can't say that about Lance or WIlson. The hate? We know. Trading up boner strikes again. Fuck. If everything collapses this year--NYG could have a top 10 pick. I didn't know Justin Fields has epilepsy either so hopefully the medicals are clear there. As suggested, Pace and Nagy are safe--but drafting talent is part of the equation. The other half is putting the kid in a position to succeed. Meaning a left and right tackle. You have neither, and it seems like this is the kinda half-assed move to get fans engaged before trying again with the same shitty OLine before week 13-14 where backups look decent against banged-up competition/other teams' back ups. People talk about Mahomes and the situation KC put him in. An established coach/playbook for continuity, an already rock solid OL (complete with a stud LT Eric FIsher and stud RT who then was a stud LT when Fisher was hurt in Mitchell Schwartz). It's crazy that successful offenses seem to value the offensive line, not 2 really good interior guards/center. Tennessee, Baltimore, KC, Green Bay--yeah--they have working bits of the offense (sometimes QB, sometimes not) but they protect and create large running lanes for a semi-truck running back in Derrick Henry.) I'll be open-minded about the weekend because Pace has been known to find talents at every position except one. Nonetheless, get a fucking tackle you clowns, and not undrafted or 7th round nobodys (I'm still trying to figure out what an Arlington Hambright is). Y'all may want to buy lottery tickets or start praying, but after 83, the bears wont have a pick till 204. Trade down and get another pick or two. This is the perfect year to have mid round picks--because Covid, good/great values will be found all over the place that wont next year because of restrictions traveling and via the virus that really didn't get cleaned up with vaccinations until a couple weeks back. Detroit and Minnesota both took bookend LTs--I love their picks. I have no clue what the fuck the Packers are doing, and I'm here for Erin Rodgers wanting out of town. Taking a CB when they don't need one because they have two solid ones on the outside? Are they like the bears/Phil Emery a decade ago taking Shame when they knew the packers needed an edge rusher some picks later? Packers take a corner because the bears, Minny, and Detroit need one?
Sorry to be my usual wet blanket but none of what happened last night changes my outlook for the team for 2021 or beyond. We still suck and will for years to come. And we knew this when Georgie gave Pace an endorsement in January. We knew he trusted Pace to mortgage the farm again to fix the QB situation. We also knew that when Dalton was labeled "QB1" by Bears social media that his tenure was essentially over before it started. As said by you guys already, we still don't have OTs, Pace's neglect of the position is historic in the annals of player personnel management. Little draft capital. We still have Nagy calling plays. We are ranked 32nd when it comes to available cap space. Foles is untradeable. I watched Fields 3 times last year, thought he played very well in the playoffs, but looked very human against Northwestern and Indiana. Poor guy comes into a situation with enormous pressure and everything stacked against him as far as the team/coaches surrounding him. He's set up to fail in Chicago, though any of the other QBs would have been as well. 100%. Could've had Dalton for a couple million last year and avoided trading for + overpaying for Foles altogether. Instead we have both and we overpaid again for Dalton, all while losing our best CB.
This would be Pace's idea to come full circle and retain the services his Boy Wonder on the cheap without picking up his option.
With the proviso that no move is too dumb for Ryan Pace and therefore nothing can truly be discounted..... Having committed himself to the big move like he did last night, i have to feel that surely the only way for Pace to go in this draft now is Offense heavy. As it is the odds of Fields succeeding in Chicago are stacked against him, so Pace has to give him more help on the field. Pace has two bullets left that are worth a shit(2nd & 3rd round picks), surely both of those now have to go on OT & WR. Obviously i would say the Tackle has to be taken first. By nature i am usually a trade down guy but in this case i would be saying try to throw a 4th or 4th & 6th to get up another 10ish spots if a guy like Jenkins or Randunz has fallen a bit. But thats all moot i guess because A- They dont have the ammo and B- Pace patently doesnt understand the value of OL. So i guess the best i can hope for is WR first and OT second. Locking in on two specific positions with your next 2 picks is really not a good way to let a draft play out in order to get yourself the best talent, but this is the corner Pace has painted himself into. CB remains a need as well for sure. But surely the only chance this has of not being a disaster is for Pace to try and get Fields more help, both in terms of blocking and another weapon in the passing game.
You know, we said at the time Mitch was drafted that he was going all in, and if Mitch failed, that was it. Instead, he failed and Pace got another chance. Given this, and the evasion during the post season presser, I'm a little onboard with the conspiracy theory that Pace was extended at some point without it being public. I don't see how you let him pick another franchise QB and cut ties before you can even know if he will pan out. While he obviously gave up a lot.....if Fields pans out, it would be 100% worth it. Just like it would have been for Mitch when we traded there. To be a little fair to Pace, there was supposedly a bidding war between a few teams looking to snag Fields so the price was going to be a little higher than the numbers say. I'm a little surprised some of the teams above didn't bite, I'd find it hard to believe Pace saw him drop below 10 and only at that point started making calls. This was in the cards the whole way. The Fuller bit kills me, because when search for what people thought about Field, Pat had said mid season to trade Fuller and you maybe get a first. There's no doubt if they traded him mid season they'd have gotten *something* rather than the nothing they did. Do we even get a comp pick down the road for losing him? I agree 100% that a QB was the only way to get the fans back engaged. And look at Reddit or Twitter, the fans are BLOWING UP with hard ons for this move. The meatballs see this kid as the next coming and that sure as fuck wasn't the case w/ Trubs. But the truth of the matter is he does need some time (which makes sense to have him sit behind TWO backups who can start) and the line is still the #1 concern. Maybe someone slides to us in the second like Jenkins but we are SO FAR down in the order thanks to those meaningless wins to get us the curb stomping by the Saints. Fields and Jenkins in this draft and I might have to change my avatar. This is all true, and anyone coming here would be in a similar boat. I'd much rather they have taken some good protection, but I'm not down on this move at all especially since I figured for sure it would be Mac Jones rather than Fields. This move alone changes nothing really, but there is that glimmer of hope. It's what the Bears do best, dangling that spark of hope in front of us.
The lack of chatter here just shows the current state of the franchise and how fed up the fans are. Last night was a shot in the arm though. I both love and hate the move. Things I love This move gives fans much needed hope. Fields is a legit prospect from a legit school. Elite athletic ability. He can fit a ball in tight windows and make every throw. His style of play fits what the Bears offense should be. Things I hate We signed Dalton for 10 mil and released Fuller. Just seems even more stupid now. And I get they needed a fallback plan....but Dalton? For 10 million? Fuck you. This is a move that probably saves Nagy for a little bit. Might make Pace a hero if it pans out. And both of those guys remain on my suck my balls list. Fields seems to have some issues with pressure and the blitz. So all eyes on Pace on how he addresses pass protection now. I hate the teams leadership. And this move doesn’t change that. Exciting player though. This could be really fun. I’m currently hiking without much of a cell phone signal....will post more when I get back home Sunday.
(Rubs her eyes) What the hell? You're still alive? Stupid bears, totally good eating and they ignore you.
This is what @Tim said when I asked him about Justin Fields. Pros: He's better than any quarterback currently on the Bears roster. Cons: He's never taken an NFL snap. That would be about the short of it. lol
Ugh. I’m fine with the pick. More than fine. He’ll be really good. But fuck man. Forever giving up the farm.
Jesus christ. So I guess Leno is still our LT. And CB won't be fixed either. The fact is more of his trade ups, starting with Floyd, have busted, even those in the later rounds.
