After a Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers, even more narratives are being written about the Chicago Bears and their belief, or unbelief, in quarterback Justin Fields.
Whether it’s the national media beating up on Fields, questioning whether the Bears are all-in on him or a mixture of both, the madness never ends.
The biggest storyline seen around social media and talked about on a bigger stage is that the Bears may not be sold on Fields for the long-term. This is leading to plenty of fans buying into that narrative, and to be transparent, Bears fans have become soft.
Does Fields need to improve? Absolutely. He holds the ball too long and his mental clock is still slow. He needs to be a whole lot more decisive with the football. That, for one, his is biggest weakness at the moment.
But, to say the Bears don’t believe in him is absolutely crazy to me. There has been much said about Fields’ lack of pass attempts through two games, and most of it is extremely misguided. Let’s not forget that Ryan Poles has yet to fully surround his quarterback with enough talent. The blame goes all around.
To say the Chicago Bears are not all-in on quarterback Justin Fields would be way too early, and quite frankly, a foolish thing to assume.
First of all, the Bears only succeeded in obtaining 11 first downs against the Packers, which was the second-fewest in the NFL in Week 2. Therefore, their drives stalled far more often than not. The overall lack of plays run made it difficult on the offense to get anything going. Credit the Packers defense for a lot of it, but also know that Luke Getsy and Fields have to be better.
“But, Fields only threw 11 passes! How is he supposed to succeed if he doesn’t get enough called pass plays?”
The lack of pass attempts from Fields was not a reflection on Getsy and the Bears not believing in him.
Getsy called 22 pass plays during this game, but Fields only threw 11 passes. He rushed on eight of those called passes and was sacked another three times.
So, no, Fields did not get 11 called pass plays like many are assuming just based on his simple stat line.
Let’s set the record straight: Getsy called 22 pass plays versus 27 rushes against Green Bay.
To further the argument, the Bears ran for 180 yards on those 27 rush attempts — do you believe Getsy should stop calling what’s working?
To an extent, yes, the Bears must pass the football, especially if they are down in a game. But, the offense hardly had an opportunity to do so because they could not extend drives — and a lot of that is on the shoulders of Fields.
To say Fields needs to improve is an accurate statement. But, to say the Bears do not believe in or support Fields is completely misguided and inaccurate.
Now, if you want to say that the Bears didn’t do enough to surround him with talent this past offseason, then you would be correct. However, once again, you’d be missing the point.
Ryan Poles has a mobile quarterback on a rookie contract. He is not about to give up on a that guy after his first year with Fields. The 2022 offseason was all about setting the table for a successful future amidst a rebuild.
In 2023, the Bears have draft capital as well as over $100 million in cap space. If you think Poles is about to give up on a guy with as much potential as Fields before giving his young quarterback enough weapons and protection, then you don’t know football.
Next year was always the plan. The 2022 season is not going to be pretty, but the national media has to get paid. There has to be a narrative written — multiple narratives, in fact. It is up to you whether or not you buy into those narratives or if you see the bigger picture. I encourage you all to take a step back, breathe, and view it from afar. Let’s wait until after the 2023 offseason to make a real judgment.
