Bear Downed

Rookie quarterback Justin Fields got his first start Sunday against the Cleveland Browns in

Cleveland. The Ohio State product was doomed from the beginning. An elite pass rusher in

Myles Garrett on the opposite side of the ball, combined with the Bears offensive line, which is

below average at best, he was sure to have a long day. That is exactly what happened. The

Browns as a team sacked Fields 9 times. Yes, you read that correctly, 9 times. With Garrett

getting half of those with 4.5 sacks. Which now brings the total to 11 sacks in the last 2 games

for Fields. Many Bears fans have been clamoring since the 2021 NFL Draft for Justin Fields to

start over free agent signing Andy Dalton. What these fans don’t realize is that no matter the

quarterback behind center, they will have to overcome 2 things in order to succeed. 1 being a

bottom 5 offensive line. The other being bad coaching / play calling. The 2 most important

things a team needs in order to have success on the offensive side of the ball. When you are the

Bears and have neither, well you see what is happening to the team so far this season.

Matt Nagy was hired as head coach in 2018 from being the Kansas City Chiefs offensive

coordinator in 2018 to help with the progression of Mitchell Trubisky and the Bears offense.

Initially that’s what Nagy did. The Bears 26.3 points per game in 2018 was a big boost from their

16.5 points per game in 2017. Bears were 9th in the entire league in ppg in 2018. It may seem

like this was a solid year offensively for Matt Nagy’s play calling. That would be an illusion since

the Bears defense with the newly acquired Khalil Mack, were so dominant they gave up 14.2

points a game on defense. Surely an offense will succeed when you have the best defense in

the league giving you the ball in good field position and keeping opponents out of the endzone.

Since that 12-4 2018 season, the Bears offense has scored 18 ppg, including this year. This year

the Bears offense has scored, 14 points, 13 points, and 6 points. Okay, enough with the

numbers. I think you get the picture I am painting. Matt Nagy’s head coaching seat is the

hottest in the NFL. I predict the Bears will fire Nagy by week 8. If I am the front office, I put all

my chips on the table and go for Eric Bieniemy or Brian Daboll. This way Fields will then have 1

of those 2 things needed to succeed.

Next, I would fire GM Ryan Pace. Who clearly has been trying to retool and fix the wrong side of

the ball. This offensive line has been dreadful the past few years. Not drafting or going out to

sign a proven guy, this line has been beat up. As seen on Sunday, not being able to give Fields

any time to throw downfield. Even though Fields is quick with his legs, he still couldn’t break

free. Spending a second-round pick on one of my “steals” of the draft on Teven Jenkins, was a

smart move. But the rookie had to have back surgery and will miss half the season if not, all of

it. Some bad luck for the Bears as their backups were getting hurt on the line. I expect Fields to

look like he did Sunday for the remainder of the year. The schedule does not favor the Bears as

far as going up against bad pass rushing defenses. They still have to face some of these

defensive fronts: Las Vegas, who has looked good thus far, Green Bay, Tampa Bay, San

Francisco, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Arizona. It will be no picnic for the Chicago Bears as a

whole, and Justin Fields.

All in all, the point I am trying to make is that if you are a Bears fan, don’t jump ship on Justin

Fields this year. It is going to get a lot uglier before it gets pretty. This year is all about getting

him reps against NFL defenses. I don’t expect a Rookie of the Year run from Fields. The odds are

stacked against him. Look for the little things when watching him play. Can he make the throws

into tight windows? Can he make the wide-open throws with ease? Does he go through his

progressions, if he has time? I am still sure Fields will be the franchise guy from years to come.

When he does prove himself, he will put to bed the curse of Ohio State quarterbacks to be

drafted and not make it in the league. As well as the curse of the Chicago Bears always drafting

the wrong quarterback. It all depends on if the right decisions are made in house to get this ship

steady and on the right path.