Justin Fields enters Week 16 with seventh-most rushing yards in the NFL Justin Fields has turned heads across the league with his exceptional rushing abilities in 2022, though they haven’t necessarily translated to winning the Chicago Bears games to this point in the season. Entering Week 16, Fields is the NFL’s seventh-leading rusher by yardage with exactly 1000 yards under his belt on the ground this season. Prolific though he may be, Chicago’s fans are more concerned with the team’s ability to turn his raw production into marks in the win column. At 3-11, the Bears boast the NFL’s second-worst record and are in need of a big win against a top-tier opponent to get Chicago’s denizens back behind the team heading into the 2023 season. Fields has done his best, and nobody has ever doubted that he is making the most of the opportunity presented to him, but without wins to show for his efforts, thousand-yard seasons and potential only go so far. The Bears’ goal when they traded up to draft him was to secure themselves a franchise quarterback with which to compete for a Super Bowl championship and, to this point, it just hasn’t been in the cards for him to be able to meet that loftiest of expectations. As he continues to develop, the game-breaking plays that Fields makes with his feet will need to give way to more traditional traits that championship-caliber teams get from their quarterbacks; the ability to find receivers downfield with consistency, limit turnovers, keep defenses guessing, etc. For now, in a failed season where Chicago is likely in for a rebuild in the new year, Fields’ counting stats will have to suffice for a silver lining that fans can point to as an area of improvement this season. But soon, the most basic of stats, wins and losses, will come to define his legacy more than what he has accomplished with his legs in 2022. Story originally appeared on Bears Wire Take care!
I think most if not all of us are in favor of sitting Fields this week. But it doesn't appear that will happen. In that case I want to see nothing but quick/short passes all game. And one thing I've been wondering is given all of the obvious struggles of the o-line, why are we not executing more short passes in the 5-8 yard range? Quick hitches or slants, two to three step drop back and throw. Is it because Getsy just doesn't like those plays? is it because the coaches don't trust Fields to make those throws accurately? Or are those plays being called and the ball is not coming out fast enough? Basically the majority of the passing plays that we run seem to fall into the following two outcomes: 1) one or more o-lineman completely whiff allowing multiple rushers into the backfield almost instantly leaving Fields to make a super hero play or getting sacked 2) the line holding up pretty well but Fields holds onto the ball way too long, either resulting in a sack or Fields trying to pick up yards on the ground. To fix both of these, the solution seems obvious: quick short throws. So what's going on?
Did you guys hear the presser today of Eberflus explaining Fields won't be playing week 18. Pretty fucking funny. Just an outright bare faced lie fumbling around about a hip or something. Great stuff and all that, music to my ears, just blatantly made up. Im telling you the Bears HC, Mr Nice Guy, has never missed paying one cent of tax his whole life. Never been pulled for speeding either or if he did made a full confession on the spot with signed statement from a feather quill dipped in his own blood. Eberflus couldn't lie on a sunbed lol.
I did not see the presser, but I did see the CBS article on it: Bears' Justin Fields out for Week 18 vs. Vikings with hip injury; Nathan Peterman to start at QB That soreness has been there for weeks, and they only now take the MRI? Ok guys, sure. The only downside to this is Fields doesn't break the QB rushing record. Which I am more than ok with. Going to be a big Texans/Lovie fan this weekend, that first rounder is in sight! To the thread, you all can flame me for this, but I did think man, what if Stroud or Young end up being QB studs and Fields falters down the line with his passing. Pretty unfortunate for the Bears to have their highest draft pick and not be at the right time where they would draft a QB.
Regardless of what anyone here would do, are we sure Poles is convinced Fields is the guy? The way I see it Poles will either take the massive gamble to draft Stroud/Young and move on from Fields, or trade down for a haul and build around Fields. I don't think he stays put at #1 or #2 and drafts defense. Either way, this draft will 100% determine his success or failure as a GM.
Come on Texans. help the Steelers get the 32nd pick. That sounds weird when you’re not winning a SB to get it.
I think he was on the fence through the Patriots game, and the Claypool trade was his "I believe in Justin" moment. I think trade down is guaranteed if we go #1. At #2, I think he listens to offers, but unless there's something major, he grabs either Carter or Anderson. I don't think, especially with how the fans in Chicago like Justin, that he decides to pull the trigger on another QB. But I've been wrong before.
It's quite possible, but I also seem to think he could have thought, okay we can get an experienced (tongue in cheek) WR in here right now and won't have to spend a lot of time developing him like he was a can't miss prospect. I agree 100%, let's see if he is still committed to this Braxton Jones experiment moving forward, that one move, or rather lack of a move will tell me all I need to know about his evaluation process.
Just as a heads up, I watched a video the Bears put out where they were walking kids through their scout rooms, etc. They showed that, per their analytics, Fields, Claypool, and Velus Jones graded out as top 3 (in that order) as the best athletic profiles on the roster. Draw your own conclusions on Poles' decision making process from that. There were also a few mentions of Fields being the guy to build around, in so many words.
I found that video you spoke about dline, dont get me wrong the nosey parker in me was interested to watch it but every other part thought what the hell are the Bears doing putting this out there??? What is there to gain from showing the world your teams inner draft workings? It wasn't just the athletic profiles they showed(Fields was graded #1 on the team by a comfortable margin), they also showed their key criteria(3 for O & 4 for D weirdly) for every position grouping on the team! And i've gotta say, i found some of them head scratchers, at least in their priority level. For instance, POA Power came in at only 3 for a DT? The #1 trait a CB should have is ball skills, really? The funniest by far was at OT tho......where the #1 skill to have was Pass Pro Ability..........BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Well i sure as shit hope someone's getting fired then!! 1 final one i wanted to ask you guys about was WR. Now i would've thought if you were ranking the importance of skills to playing WR you'd say route running & catching ability/ball skills are top. 1A & 1B to me in whichever order. The Bears seem to believe that Release is more important than either of those two things. Not that release isn't important, but how in the F can it be more important than route running and catching??? Bizarre. Chicago Bears Reveal Amazing Details On 2023 Draft Scouting Process
I guess it explains why our WRs can't catch, when it's not the number 1 thing, heh. I agree with you Ev, route running (ability to get open) and catching should be tops, switching depending on which WR we're talking about. I'd be really curious to see Pat's take on draft choices based on what they rank here. Does it give an edge to Anderson or Carter for instance? Assuming of course we don't get the #1, which at this point seems likely. Lovie always wants to win, he played our starters multiple times in meaningless games, and the Colts also benefit from a loss, so it'll be interesting to see. To the thread of Fields, Jahns had some stats on Fields, from week 7-16 or something like that, Fields had a 67% completion percentage, which he was saying lined up with the changes to the gameplan to utilize Justin's legs more. Both Hoge, Jahns and that idiot Fishbain were all in agreement that Fields second year was a success for him. He definitely had moments where the passing game was starting to come together, in addition to his running ability. My needle is pointed up on him at the moment, but I don't forget exactly how bad he looked early on.
Let's be honest. If the bears took Young or Stroud in some shocking move nobody sees coming, they'd be roadkill just the same. We as fans have to stop the absurdity that 'OMG, Patrick Mahomes (or insert name of good QB here) looks amazing in KC, we really missed that opportunity!!!' It's horseshit. KC and every other team with a good QB you can line up in your head takes care of and builds their offense, and especially doesn't ignore the OL. Look at what Baltimore did for Lamar Jackson. Would I kill for someone half as good as Ronnie Stanley at LT? Goddamn right. Get the OL part right and you won't have to swoon or wonder 'what if' with other QBs who are good for other franchises.. I hope the bears don't draft Carter. I get calling him a 'blue chip' after his amazing 2021 entering 2022. But he's been hurt and now he's perfectly healthy and he was invisible in a game he needed to show he could dominate. Ohio State had one of, if not the best OL in the NCAA and 4/5 of their guys are going to be drafted (the 5th starter was the only sophmore), and you didn't see him make plays and he got stuffed by OSU's interior (which co-incidentally the OSU center Wyper impressed me so much I wouldn't mind seeing him replace Sam Mustipher). And outside of a handful of plays against Tennessee, which you saw the talent, I'll grant him that--he hasn't shown he's a top 5 pick. I fully understand it would also be quintessentially 'bears' to draft a guy who had a bad year because of a knee injury then came back and didn't wreck or disrupt anything. He pulled a Matt Barkley. He had a phenomenal year the way Barkley did at USC, could have came out in the draft but stayed because he turned 20, and the year he stayed for he sucked/got hurt. I don't think Carter will free fall to the 4th round like Barkley did because DT after him is kind of thinner at the top (there would be 1 other 1st rounder and 2-3 guys I'd target round 2/3), and I fully accept there will be meetings/interviews fans/pundits alike in draft time wont be privy to, and like Zach Wilson--maybe this dude has a silver tongue--so I'll own being wrong if I am. But top 5? Based on what--His production two years ago? Does his bad/invisible play this year just get swept under the rug? Are we chalking it up to him being injured? Somebody help me see what I obviously cant.
So, one facet of separation not being talked about--because people are looking at WR profiles and their abilities is the goddamn OL. I think its frivolous to expect any WR to get absurd separation (maybe Davonte Adams is the exception to the rule right now) when 2/5 OL lose their battles in pass blocking almost immediately. Now--for individual WR talent talking guys in the 1st round for now--I believe Jordan Addison from Pitt/USC is the safe bet for best separation, the only thing is, he's "6'0" with some people suggesting that's a generous given height, still top half of the 1st round. Jaxon Smith-Njigba from OSU has the speed and the twitch that makes you fall in love quickly, but the dude cant stay on the field. He's never healthy--which is why he's hard to project. Quentin Johnston I think is beyond slow, granted I've only seen him late season and his big fans swear he's playing the year on a bum ankle which is why he looks like 4.7 or slower 40 time speed. Johnston is also hard to project because I've seen him be graded top 5 and I've seen him be graded 2nd rounder. A couple 2nd/3rd round targets I like are Tennessee's Cedric Tillman, not Jaylin Hyatt. Hyatt, like Velus Jones is a track star athlete first and a football player second and a WR 3rd. Tillman's cons are that people feel he is limited because Tennessee used him exclusively as a tall target/50/50 ball guy with his size, and with his size (6'3) he's also fast and shifty. Look at some highlights and you'll see him make guys miss in the open field as opposed to running them over. He's also one of the best blocking WRs in college, so I think Tillman is a guy Poles will have in his top 5 or so when it comes time for 2nd round pick. Cons are that Tenn's never sent him in motion, used him for misdirection--that's been Jones and now Hyatt the past 2 years--so pundits are guessing his route tree is limited. I also like Wake Forest's AT Perry--who is taller than Tillman at 6'5, just not as quick-twitched, also he's not as good as a run blocker and he comes from an air raid college offense so he'd need some polishing and adjusting for routes. He has a crazy jump ball win rate this past year though, he's got dependable hands, has an absurdly difficult to cover catch radius, uses his 6'5 frame very well when defenses put a 5'10 DB on him (he bullies small DBs), and is very wise/mature in hand-fighting/the kind of shit CBs/WRs do to get an advantage on the other that the refs cant see (most importantly, he knows when to stop/let go)--which I get is a double-edged sword, as his detractors think he should have had a lot more OPI called on him. I'm skeptical about Zay Flowers, but I wouldn't mind him. He's got speed/quickness to be a threat short, medium, and long--but he's taken a lot of hits for a college kid playing on a 170lb frame. He and his QB Phil Jurcovich from Boston College also probably stayed a year later than they should have. Rashee Rice from SMU will be a hot name. He's got very questionable hands and a limited route tree/like AT Perry, comes from a college air-raid offense. Hes fast, but scouts don't think he's fast/physical enough to expose a DB over the top/scouts think he lets DBs stick to him like glue too much. Josh Downs from UNC is a slot-only quick AF WR, but several teams schemed him out of UNC's offense in some games because he's a slot-only quick WR.
