Justin Fields

[FantasyFreak]

I never understood the Fields hype. That class is looking really weak, compared to what people thought it was going to be. Mac is OK, but low ceiling, system QB. Zach Wilson isn't looking very good, and by all accounts, the training camp wasn't going that well. Lance has had all kinds of issues, and now the injury and another year of not getting reps for a QB starved for them, and Fields hasn't looked good either.

Lawrence is clearly the pick of the litter, always was for most obviously, and he's showing that he could shake off the debacle that was Urban Meyer and display a very noticeable leap in year 2. It's crazy to say it, but the Jags, with that D (looks like they got the 1.01 pick right so far) and a revamped offense could contend for this division as soon as this year, with the Colts and the corpse of Matt Ryan faltering, and the Titans also looking like they are needing a reboot.

[mild]

It's crazy to say it, but the Jags, with that D (looks like they got the 1.01 pick right so far)

Perhaps I'm sleeping on the Jags tape... I agree they didn't bottle it. But. I'm still taking Aidan Hutchinson 100 out of 100 times at the top of that draft, and he showed exactly why today.

[FantasyFreak]

It's crazy to say it, but the Jags, with that D (looks like they got the 1.01 pick right so far)

Perhaps I'm sleeping on the Jags tape... I agree they didn't bottle it. But. I'm still taking Aidan Hutchinson 100 out of 100 times at the top of that draft, and he showed exactly why today.

Walker's ceiling is definitely higher. That play he made last week, Aidan just wouldn't make, to paraphrase Sigmund Bloooooom. Both players look like quality pros.

[Jigga94]

I never understood the Fields hype. That class is looking really weak, compared to what people thought it was going to be. Mac is OK, but low ceiling, system QB. Zach Wilson isn't looking very good, and by all accounts, the training camp wasn't going that well. Lance has had all kinds of issues, and now the injury and another year of not getting reps for a QB starved for them, and Fields hasn't looked good either.

Lawrence is clearly the pick of the litter, always was for most obviously, and he's showing that he could shake off the debacle that was Urban Meyer and display a very noticeable leap in year 2. It's crazy to say it, but the Jags, with that D (looks like they got the 1.01 pick right so far) and a revamped offense could contend for this division as soon as this year, with the Colts and the corpse of Matt Ryan faltering, and the Titans also looking like they are needing a reboot.

Davis Mills still looking like the 2nd best QB in that class... but it's not like he's run away with that either, just stating how bad its been for the non Lawrence QBs

[Anteaters]

Both players look like quality pros.

++

[Anteaters]

Davis Mills still looking like the 2nd best QB in that class... but it's not like he's run away with that either, just stating how bad its been for the non Lawrence QBs

He really does look like the 2nd best QB in that class. In fact, he's starting to look like he could develop into the next Tua.

[Dynasty DeLorean]

Fields has all the talent in the world but his processing speed is slow. I think it can improve though.

[Cameron Giles]

I never understood why they didn't bring in any significant help to the offense through the draft or free agency. Fields himself hasn't looked good, but how is this offense set up for him to succeed? I just don't see it.

QBs always seem to be very organization-dependent, and the Bears historically are a team that is awful at developing QBs.

[Pullo Vision]

I never understood why they didn't bring in any significant help to the offense through the draft or free agency. Fields himself hasn't looked good, but how is this offense set up for him to succeed? I just don't see it.

QBs always seem to be very organization-dependent, and the Bears historically are a team that is awful at developing QBs.

Agreed, very odd. One of the reasons I'm cautiously optimistic about Fields is his constantly referenced exceptional work ethic. There may be things he needs to work on, but he has the mentality to improve it.

[murphysxm]

I came into this year anticipating Fields would not produce startable numbers, even for a SF. I'm not stressing this year for him. I question how much any stat reflects his development and skill, versus the development and skill of the rookie coaching staff. Lawrence had one more leg up on Fields- getting an established HC and QB whisperer.

I think what you are missing or not wanting to see is that the Bears seem to have identified Fields isn't the long term answer. If they thought he was they would have given him some weapons to validate their opinion. They didn't, they are looking to next year and the QB of their future. I am not a Fields guy and don't think he would have succeeded anywhere, but he was never given a chance in Chicago. To still hold out hope for him is borderline lunacy at this point. In a game against their biggest rivals where they lost by 17, he threw 11 passes.

[FantasyFreak]

I came into this year anticipating Fields would not produce startable numbers, even for a SF. I'm not stressing this year for him. I question how much any stat reflects his development and skill, versus the development and skill of the rookie coaching staff. Lawrence had one more leg up on Fields- getting an established HC and QB whisperer.

I think what you are missing or not wanting to see is that the Bears seem to have identified Fields isn't the long term answer. If they thought he was they would have given him some weapons to validate their opinion. They didn't, they are looking to next year and the QB of their future. I am not a Fields guy and don't think he would have succeeded anywhere, but he was never given a chance in Chicago. To still hold out hope for him is borderline lunacy at this point. In a game against their biggest rivals where they lost by 17, he threw 11 passes.

Yep. New GM and HC. Not tied to Fields at all. What still blows me away is the ownership. They were obviously close to firing Pace and Nagy, and yet they allowed Pace to move future draft capital in the draft to acquire Fields. They then fired both the next season. They should have told the guy he can't touch future draft capital that year.

[Pullo Vision]

I came into this year anticipating Fields would not produce startable numbers, even for a SF. I'm not stressing this year for him. I question how much any stat reflects his development and skill, versus the development and skill of the rookie coaching staff. Lawrence had one more leg up on Fields- getting an established HC and QB whisperer.

I think what you are missing or not wanting to see is that the Bears seem to have identified Fields isn't the long term answer. If they thought he was they would have given him some weapons to validate their opinion. They didn't, they are looking to next year and the QB of their future. I am not a Fields guy and don't think he would have succeeded anywhere, but he was never given a chance in Chicago. To still hold out hope for him is borderline lunacy at this point. In a game against their biggest rivals where they lost by 17, he threw 11 passes.

1- Yes, it was odd that they didn't stock up the WRs, and ESB and Pringle don't qualify.
2- Yes, the FO/CS are not tied to Fields.
3- No, these two points do not AUTOMATICALLY prove they have ALREADY decided he is not THEIR long term answer. Each of those caps is important.

He is not a dead man walking. This is his evaluation period. They identified areas for him to improve and have been working with him on that. They specifically picked this run scheme because of how it meshes with his talents and gives him the opportunity to show what he can do. Based on how he performs will determine next steps for the franchise.

The organization is exceptionally poor on talent. They would be a piss poor staff (FO and coach) to completely disregard a QB (of all positions) with his draft capital and potential. If he had the reported attitude of Jamarcus Russell or Josh Rosen, it'd be much easier to walk away. But everyone who talks about him loves his personality. He has the work ethic to want to improve- and he has various opportunities for improvement.

His 2022 is much like Davis Mills- evaluation period before team decides whether to sink significant capital into the position. In that sense, he's not far from where Hurts was in the community's mindset until recently. If he harnesses his athleticism and arm, and addresses his identified weaknesses, he can similarly rocket up. If I really wanted to trigger someone, I'd bring up Josh Allen comparables.

That bolded comment seems like you buried him before he stepped onto a PRACTICE field in the NFL. If that's how you do things, well you do you. I'd guess you buried Tua after his college injury, before he even joined an NFL team.

[halfbaked88]

If you are truly evaluating a QB you get him a true WR1. Not a pretend WR1 like Devonta Smith (or Darnell Mooney,) like an AJ Brown.

Dallas did the same thing with Dak by bringing in Amari Cooper when Romo want down. You don't truly know what you have at QB unless you put him in a position to succeed with some help. Especially a young QB. Otherwise the evaluation becomes "can he succeed running for his life with no one to throw to" versus "league average relatively normal settings" ... It's an abnormal testing environment that produces unreliable information.

Unless the Bears are actually planning on staying bad? Fields situation isn't like Mills or Hurts because they gave nothing for those guys. Chicago, whether they like it or not, has already invested significant capital into Fields: at the time, the 20th overall pick, and their next future 1st+4th+5th.

If I was a Bears fan I would not be happy with the way this team has mismanaged itself. For a long time now with Trubisky all the way through his contract and now onto Fields...... This is a mess

[Cameron Giles]

Is it possible the Bears coaching staff is partly to blame? Also the fact that this team hast produced a decent quarterback since Rex Grossman is indicative of a real problem with developing their players. They also seem to struggle to understand how to provide the talent around their highly drafted QBs for them to succeed.

Maybe he is terrible. But maybe none of these stats are very informative given the track record of the Bears.

I think it's 100% an organization issue. Fields is stuck between a front office transition, and they saddled him with a bad offensive line, poor skill position talent, and a new offense. Fields has already played in 2 different offenses and hasn't started 16 games yet in his career.

I don't know if I would sell, because the Bears will probably have a high draft pick next year and they have a ton of cash to spend in free agency. So, there's a path to correcting this. I just don't know what QB would excel in Fields situation unless they were an all-time great prospect.

[CubfanAA]

Is it possible the Bears coaching staff is partly to blame? Also the fact that this team hast produced a decent quarterback since Rex Grossman is indicative of a real problem with developing their players. They also seem to struggle to understand how to provide the talent around their highly drafted QBs for them to succeed.

Maybe he is terrible. But maybe none of these stats are very informative given the track record of the Bears.

I think it's 100% an organization issue. Fields is stuck between a front office transition, and they saddled him with a bad offensive line, poor skill position talent, and a new offense. Fields has already played in 2 different offenses and hasn't started 16 games yet in his career.

I don't know if I would sell, because the Bears will probably have a high draft pick next year and they have a ton of cash to spend in free agency. So, there's a path to correcting this. I just don't know what QB would excel in Fields situation unless they were an all-time great prospect.

I think this is exactly right. I actually think Fields will be a good buy very low at the end of this season. I'm not sold that the FO is ready to dump him. I think there is a very real possibility the Bears end up in position to draft Smith-Njigba, sign whoever the top FA WR is, and spend on the OL next year replacing whichever of their young OL prospects performs worst this year and suddenly Fields goes from a crappy OL and no receivers to a good OL and Mooney as his #3 option. It would be night and day for him especially going into the 2nd year of the same system. Bears will have good draft capital and tons of money to spend. It's probably almost all going to offense so it's gonna be different next year for sure.