BearFan PHX

and a lot of Fields' good stats werent attained while throwing in rhythm from the pocket, so i dont know how you can use any improvement in those stats to predict that he will learn how to do that. The only thing I have that says he even CAN is this past game. In my eyes, he long ago proved that hes an incredible running improvising QB. And he only just this week showed me any drops in tempo, and sustained quick reads from the pocket on time. Stats are just not gonna help me with this decision. Thankfully whatever I decide makes no friggin difference whatsoever LOL But for Poles and those guys, it almost has to be a gut decision on this one, because there are no metrics for whether what he did this past week is the new Justin, and what he will look like in camp next year in terms of tempo. Did he finally get the feel for it? Or was he under pressure for his job that will dissipate over the summer? Steadiness and lack of panic is an essential ingredient to being a great QB. I almost feel like Fields has too much of it. He feels detached sometimes, unhurried, unaffected and distant. I think thats why his drops have been slow. No moment is too big for him, but on the flip side he lacks urgency. Then again, i can say this. I've worked with a ton of celebrities in my career. Out of all of them the most boring person I ever met was Joe Montana. He was like mashed potatoes. I could imagine him in the huddle in that super bowl against Cincinnatti CALMLY BORINGLY calling that sprint right option play where the ball ends up in Clark's hands. Yeah. Yawn, You just go there and Ill throw it to ya. It's like 10 yards. no big deal. its just a throw and catch. So there is definitely something to be said for calm and unphased. Then again, the ball came out fast with Montana - he was a surgeon on the field making reads and moving safeties. Justin can keep mumbling and being low energy confident and unflappable as long as his drops are crisp like they were this past week, and he gets the ball out on schedule. Who will he be in July? That's the question.

Man that does sound like fun. I went to the draft a couple of years when it was a smaller deal in NYC. You had to bribe the security guard $20 to get into the gallery. It wasnt really a production for fans yet. Mel Kiper's helmet had no grey in it. If I lived there, Id go for sure. Have an amazing time, and tell us what you see? The numbers only tell some of the story.

yeah, if you believe in Fields, and you also believe in one or more of the rookie QBs, then it comes down to "which is better, a rookie on his rookie deal, or Fields and the first pick in the draft" I think most of us, myself included, have to say that if you believe in Fields, having Fields AND everything the first overall pick brings is better than the cap savings on having a rookie, and their developmental schedule. The question has always been do you believe in Fields, do you believe in any of the rookies. Until this last game, I did not believe in Fields. Now I see the possibility that he has it in him. I wish I had four more games to see it, but no one said this would be easy. But yes, he showed a sustained ability I hadn't seen from him before. Of course if you don't believe in Fields, the choice is easy. The choice is also easy if you don't believe in any of the rookies. It all comes down to making a bet on Justin's future. Gun to my head if I had to decide right now, Id keep Fields, and blow the first overall pick up into as much as I could get. MHJr or Odunze or Nabers wouldnt suck. Neither would a dominant Edge. and much more. But I wouldnt sign the 5th year option. I wouldnt want to make that bet to the point that I was hamstrung in 2025, espeically if we have two first rounders again. And If Im wrong, and Fields balls out, then Im signing him to a long term deal, and Ill miss out on the $15 Mil savings in 2025. Thats better than losing the bet and having $25Mil on your books for 2025 for a guy who isnt starting. And all of this, predicated on one game. Sheesh I hate that. I used to be able to say "he has never had a game where he did this consistently" and now he has. One game. At least I know he has it in him now i guess.

important question!

Yeah he is looking great - and he was such a different player in college, you really have to give Poles props for seeing it, and whoever has been working with him on the coaching staff. A real diamond in the rough, not so rough anymore.

The National Championship game is gonna be crazy.

Penix final stats: 29/38 (76%) for 430 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs compare to Penix season averages: 26/39 (66%) for 351 yards, 2.75 TDs and .75 INTs season stats: 307/466 (66%) for 4.218 yards, 33 TDs and 9 INTs career stats: 1011/1596 (63%) for 13.056 yards, 93 TDs and 32 INTs 6' 3" 214 lbs and a ridiculous arm. Negatives: Hes only 14 months younger than Fields, and has previous ACL injuries.

Penix is insane today. 10 min left in the 3rd quarter and Penix is 18-21 (86%) for 331 yards, 2 TD and no INTs He's found 7 different receivers. And everything has been a DOT with ridiculous velocity. Ball coming out fast. Very impressive.

yeah, for all practical purposes that counts. They were great. Id love to see us like that again. And you can bet Poles is gonna do something big to address that other WR position.

Damn Penix just launched a rocket, and dropped it right into the perfect place.

totally! Moore is the real deal!

nice! perfect placement!

surely possible, but not automatic by any means. multiple 1,300 yard receivers has happened 8 times in NFL History. Id love to be 9th. We'd be in this company: 84 Dolphins (Clayton & Duper) 95 Lions (Moore & Perriman) 00 Rams (Holt & Bruce) 00 Broncos (Smith & McCaffery) 02 Steelers (Ward & Burress) 05 Cardinals (Fitzgerald & Wayne) 06 Colts (Harrison & Wayne) 11 Patriots (Welker & Gronkowski) BUT Multiple 1,000 yard receivers is very possible. And if we got MHJr or Odunze on Nebors, it would be absolutely within reasonable reach.

I didnt think anyone meant that if we got another good receiver we'd have twice as many offensive plays. Anyway it doesnt matter, the math of it isnt whats important - whats important is that I agree with AZ54 that there is a huge need for another dominant WR in our offensive roster, and it would multiply the effectiveness of everyone else too. High functioning famous offenses always have had (at least) two great WRs. And of course we all agree on this. I think Poles will get us one in the offseason. I think we all expect that. QB(?), WR2, Edge2, OC, FS, TE2, 3T, LT, RG - in no particular order, and that's not too long of a grocery list that Poles cant fill a lot of it this offseason.

We can probably pick up Daniels a little lower than #1, get something for the trouble. But your point that you dont want Williams is sounding right to me right now. I can say this - assuming Williams doesnt end up a Bear, after all the things hes said and done, i will passionately root against him for his entire career.

This is the right kind of thinking.

no doubt adding another quality receiver will increase the passing output. First off it makes the guy that caught 1300 face fewer double teams. Im not sure you can just double 1,300 yards though. For example if Fields completion percentage is above 50%, then youd be attributing over 100% completions then. But that math nitpick aside, youre absolutely right that this offensive roster is begging for another impact receiver, and that would make everything better across the board. We need OL help too!

oh yeah, I'm not looking for blame - just more positive evidence that Fields has the skill set we need. I want to be sure I think keeping him is a good idea. Im trying to sell myself on it, but Im gonna be cynical of numbers because of his unorthodox style. Im not counting the times things went wrong, Im looking for evidence of him doing the pocket passer in rhythm after the first 15 plays thing more. Plays where he completes a ball from the pocket - especially not to the sideline, less than 3 seconds after the snap.

The thing I love most about football is how every single thing is a multiplier for every other single thing. It's the greatest team sport, multidimensional riddle - it makes it fun to watch. And when you start stacking good things, it takes on momentum and every ability becomes intensified. Thats when you start to dominate.

That's probably measuring Fields' legs? Im actually surprised it isn't higher, given all the 3rd downs he finds a way to escape and make something happen? And you know, Ive been diminishing those amazing extra things because of a lack in core skills, but if the core skills are indeed developing, then those amazing extra things will really start to play dividends. Imagine having to take a guy out of coverage as a spy against a good pocket passer. Now the defense is truly screwed. Blitz, and he evades or makes fast hot reads, play coverage and he runs, spy and his reads just got easier.

To play Devils Advocate, we are tied when the game begins and Fields is in his scripted plays. Can you do tied only in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters? or maybe broaden it to tied or within 4 points either way and not the first quarter?

That was the question "can he improve?" and I hadnt seen anything much that said he would - he was already maxxed out at the things he does, and i wasnt seeing any of the things he doesnt (didnt). This past game was new, and provides new answers to that question.

Happy New Year to you too! I'm not saying that Justin missed some open guys in the past sometimes. I'm saying he almost NEVER had drops at tempo, went through his reads and got the ball out to the open receiver. Not that he sometimes missed it, but that he almost NEVER did that. Which was really disturbing - and why it disqualified him in my eyes despite all his other amazing positives. And then over the last few weeks he did it maybe once or twice a game (not counting scripted drives) and I said "OK hes doing it a little, but at this rate he'll be 50 before he puts it together" And then this week, it was something I had never seen from him before. The drops had urgency for the FIRST time ever. They were not late. Remember when Dexter was late off the line on every snap in preseason, and had been in college etc? There wasnt a single snap where he was across the line of scrimmage at the same time as everyone else. But then it slowly got better. One week he got 20% of them then 30% and in the second half of the season, hes been on time the whole time. Well Justin's drops were like Dexters get off. They were late. They were wrong. ALL of them. Suddenly today, they were all on time for the first time Ive ever seen it. It was impossible. It went from never to always like that. I dont know what to say. Maybe hes mad. Maybe he is fighting for his playing life. I dunno, but suddenly it was like it mattered, like the building was on fire and you had to go NOW. And as surprised as I was, I wasnt going to try to throw cold water on it so that I could keep being right about everything Id said about him before. I had to admit that THIS was what I had been complaining about, and suddenly it was correct. And not just the drops. He hit the back of his drop and got the ball out. Maybe not Bagent fast (which has its own problems) but certainly in tempo. Receivers were in their breaks and the ball arrived. I had seen a little of that in the past few weeks, one or two plays each week, but this was consistent. And suddenly balls are being thrown to the middle of the field, and caught in stride. And Yards after the catch too! None of this is about any rollouts, screens or throws after running. All of that has been pretty good all along. But just taking his drop. Making his read. Looking off the safety! What?! And getting the ball out on time. This isn't something hes been doing all along that Getsy wasn't giving him. This was new. And the rhythm of the drops - that's BRAND NEW. Never saw it from him once before. Now its a whole game. So I have to completely reevaluate my feelings about him now. I wish we had 4 more games left to see it consistently. But everything Ive been criticizing Fields for was good this week. Maybe not A+ timing, but certainly a B, and that is good enough to win in the NFL, especially with everything else he brings to the table.

all of those are cool, and necessary in the gameplan, but Fields has done that and executed it well before too. Im talking about the throws in rhythm from the pocket. They were much much better today than ever before, and his drops had more tempo than Ive ever seen from him before too. He is growing. He was not this guy before. If people didnt understand what I was complaining about before, maybe they wont understand what Im talking about now, but at the least, you see that my belief has changed, and it was because something was different with Justin today.

Fields is a unique player. His style is unorthodox to be sure. Stats will never really tell his story good or bad. You gotta watch the tape to see it all in context. Fields has had better games statistically than the one he had today. But none was more important than this one in showing what his future might be. He had some real WOW plays too, and that's what most will take from this. But the most significant plays he made were 10 and 20 yard passes that didnt include heroic scrambling, or diving acrobatic catches. He played QB today. The first pass to DJ Moore, the post to Moore later in the game, both looked "easy" in that he was just executing in tempo. And those are the plays that will make the difference for Fields and whatever team has him. That TD to Moore in the corner was beautiful too. The long ball was beautiful. But the efficient regular passes were the most significant to me. That was a line he hadn't crossed yet. They may be like 50 yards and a few completions on the stat sheet. But they were monumental in signalling his growth and future. I was not expecting that from Fields at all, and it is very welcome to see. I'll say this too - his drops were better. He always looked like a sullen teenager who just got in trouble, kinda slinking around at half speed. "Do I HAVE to" body language. Today he was crisp. He looked like a real QB out there.