The First Franchise QB

The beginning of the 2022 NFL for Chicago Bears fans was one where expectations were kept in check. It was about two things; first, seeing what the new regime in charge of the football product could do after starting a tear down that continued into the season. Second, was about Justin Fields and who he was. News flash, Fields is THAT GUY!

My family features a Chicago cynic who made sure to never let me forget new general manager Ryan Poles did not do enough to surround Fields with talent in a season where everyone is hoping for a step forward. Now, let's be honest, he is totally in the right with a wide receiver room that started a season with Darnell Mooney, Dante Pettis, Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown and old rookie Velus Jones. The front office added, to this point, draft bust N'Keal Harry. Mooney is an NFL receiver, while the rest are trying to prove they're more than depth players. That includes the rookie Jones, while a rookie, who at 25 has a much shorter leash, and not being able to get on the field in this WR room is a disappointment thus far.

As a fan, an optimist, I maintained it wasn't about winning as much as it was about seeing good traits from the QB. To start the season it was ugly, scoring 15.5 points per game with wins over the 49ers and Texans. While the team could run the ball, Fields was on a record pace for sacks taken and the passing game was ugly. Fields was making some bad reads but was also getting little help from WR room.

Ahead of a Monday night game in Foxborough, against a tough Patriots defense, everyone was counting on another loss and poor offensive showing on the way to the impending high draft pick with questions about the future of the quarterback position. Then, head coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy unleashed Justin Fields. Against a Pats' defense that nearly beat the Packers in Lambeau with a third string QB, shut out the Lions, dismantled the Jets and just embarrassed a bad Colts team, Fields had a coming out party.

Starting with the Patriots the Bears offense has averaged 31.3 points and Fields has accounted for 453 passing yards, 320 rushing yards and 9 total scores with just 1 interception. While the passing numbers haven't been anything special, cue the weak WR room, Fields has protected the ball while being allowed to be a play maker. This is a team still devoid of talent but it isn't limiting the explosiveness of Fields who is showing that he's THE guy. It's a testament to his abilities but also the coaching staff doing what they should do, adjusting to the talent they have and letting them perform in the best situations for themselves.

While I think Poles deserves just criticism for the lack of talent put around Fields, they showed their confidence in this performance by their QB by making the move to trade for Chase Claypool. Claypool is immensely talented, and has had his share of knucklehead plays, but Poles got Fields a legitimate weapon to continue this streak of outstanding performances. Credit the gamesmanship of Poles for grabbing Claypool when the Packers were sniffing around and keeping your rival from improving themselves. More importantly, it's a sign of adjustment from the GM to recognize a mistake he made and not stick to the plan simply for ego. I see it as a sign of what's to come this off season for the Bears' roster and Fields' array of weapons.

While Chicago has gone 1-2 in these three games, losing to solid Cowboys and Dolphins teams, there is no question he is elevating poor talent around him. Just looking in the NFC North the Green Bay Packers were just limited nine points against the Lions on their way to their fifth straight loss. Tom Brady and the Bucs, Matthew Stafford and the Rams are also examples of quarterbacks struggling to elevate their teams. For the Bucs and Rams it centers around offensive line issues, are the Bears really better? For Green Bay we can't stop hearing about the young pass catching room, but do you think they're less talented than the Bears? Hall of Fame quarterbacks aren't performing as well as Chicago's second year players.

For clarity's sake, of course Justin Fields possesses an athletic skill set none of the three mentioned have ever come remotely close to, but in terms of a QB how are you ranking their skills? The bottom line is Fields is playing better than those three with substantially less talent and has assured Chicago Bears' management and fans that they finally have their first franchise QB. He's not a guy who is polarizing and plays well enough, like Jim McMahon or is a talented enigma like Jay Cutler that still didn't take you anywhere, Fields is the QB that can elevate the talent around him and has the potential to go far as long as he gets the support he needs.