Several Chicago Bears fans still believe the team made the wrong decision at quarterback. While they may have opted to go with Caleb Williams for financial reasons, they believe Justin Fields was finally reaching a point of improvement as a passer that justified more time. GM Ryan Poles didn’t agree. He acknowledged Fields’ talent and called him a quarterback the Bears could win with. However, he felt Williams could become that quarterback they win because of. This was always the problem with Fields. He never demonstrated an ability to pull the Bears out of the fire himself.
One person who has grown tired of the narrative around Fields is Ryan Michael. He is a writer and statistician for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Some people believe Fields isn’t far off from Jacksonville Jaguars starter Trevor Lawrence. It is merely a case of one ended up in a worse situation than the other. Michael took exception and fired back with stats to prove it isn’t even remotely the case. From his view, both are exactly where they belong. Lawrence is a high-paid starter. Fields is a backup.
If nothing else, this further validates the Justin Fields decision by Chicago.
Working for the Hall of Fame tells you the guy knows the game inside and out. If you want to go strictly by the numbers, Fields is one of the worst passers in the league. Even if the Bears can get to average on that front, there is every reason to believe they will have a better record this season. Williams doesn’t have to be elite. If he can manage 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns, that would far surpass anything Fields accomplished in Chicago. Is that harsh? Yeah, but it’s also true.
Statements like these from Michael are important to remember. The Bears moved on from Justin Fields for a reason. It wasn’t because they didn’t like him and wanted their own guy. It was a football decision. They didn’t feel the former 1st round pick had the necessary traits to win them a championship. Period. End of story. The lack of a trade market and his status as a backup in Pittsburgh only reinforces this. Maybe Williams won’t become the messiah the organization hoped for, but the decision to draft him was still the right one.
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@Bubba Ho-Tep, pretty well said but I do disagree with the point of both of them succeeding. If Fields recovers and impresses, it was still a logical move that needed to be done. As long as Caleb proves to be a great quarterback, it will be a great move just in the fact that it will be 3 more years on a rookie contract.
I agree that I think Caleb was the right choice for reasons I’ve discussed many times in the past, but with that being said, this doesn’t account for Justin as a Rusher. He’s the best rushing QB in the NFL which admittedly raises his value. Sadly I believe he’s always going to be a better runner than passer when it’s all said and done. Fields is a YouTube QB. When you look at his highlights you’d think he’s one of the best QBs in the NFL, which brings fans in. The problem was he didn’t make these plays enough and… Read more »
The Bears did almost nothing to develop Fields as an NFL passer as opposed to a college QB. Unless that changes with another team, Fields will end up as an option / wildcat type trick play second QB.
Fields has a lot of talent and good work habits. He was unpolished when he got here. He still is. Unless a team buys in, has good coaching, and a plan to develop him, it won’t work. The Bears weren’t that team, and Fields development hasn’t progressed fast enough without that support. It’s sad.
When after 3 seasons, JF still couldn’t just throw the ball unless it was a wr screen or the receiver was wide open, then it’s time to move on. He choked away at least 4 games last year. That was his chance. Completely sucking twice against GB sealed his fate. Other than his running, he was the worst starting QB in the league. Bar none. Anyone that thinks he will be any better anytime soon is dreaming.
Moving on from Fields can be the right decision without Caleb Williams being the answer at quarterback. Just sayin’… Right now Caleb appears to be worth the gamble of spending a #1 pick, but we will know for sure after a couple years. Time will tell. If Caleb is a bust then we are all going to wish the pick would have been traded for multiple future picks, or used on a different QB, and Ryan Poles will be given two strikes. So I guess logically speaking Williams has to do well and Fields has to do poorly to average… Read more »