BearFan PHX

I dunno. Fields seems to be frustrated as hell, but he is practicing staying calm, so i think that's what you see on his face. He's no Jay Cutler, inside he is churning. He's a hero, who doesnt have the tools yet. It must kill him. I think he's going to be amazing in the future.

Yup, Mustipher and Patrick suck, I wonder if/when Eislen might be ready at C too.

sheesh no kidding. I sure hope he can play. This is insane.

seriously.

Let's go Leno! Do your thing! hahahaha

lol!

yes, finally a GM with a vision for the future.

It's not something I'd want to do in regular years, but we are so hollowed out by Pace and Nagy, that when you find yourself in a year zero situation, growth is what you look for. It is really fun to see the beginning chapter of the Justin Fields story. If he turns into a stud, it will have been incredibly rewarding as a fan to have seen all of this.

Enthusiastic yes! to all of these points, especially the middle of #3 - imagine adding a bunch of talent to this culture and system. Add 4 starters and you're probably playoff bound. And we will add more than that next year. Especially on the D line - we aren't talking much about it, but we are not getting pass pressure from the defensive front. Poles made a great choice - in a sea of Offensive-Gurus-To-Be he seems to have found the right head coach, even if he's a defensive guy. And this really is year zero, not one.

I totally agree. This is what we were expecting, and we are right on schedule. Staying on schedule is another thing, and we will have to grind that every week, but after 5 games with these coaches, Fields is starting to get it. Every week, I think Nagy was worse than I ever knew or even thought the week before.

Another improved game by Fields. Lots of dropped balls, and failures in other parts of the offense. Fields had his errors too. But he did get better, and if he keeps this up, we're gonna keep him around. He's not there yet, but you can see what these coaches are doing with him as far as opening his eyes, and while it's incremental, and not good enough yet, you can see clear measurable progress over the last 2 weeks. Best possible outcome - we look like we are growing, but dropped balls and stupid plays by receivers who won't be our starters next year are giving us losses, and improving our draft pick. Before the season began, I said I wanted to see Fields making good reads, and putting the ball on target, and if receivers were dropping the balls, that'd be the best way to lose games. I mean, I'd rather see us winning, but until we deserve to win, I'm glad that increasingly, the reasons for the loss AREN'T Fields. That's the purpose of this year, and we are right on track. I really like this coaching staff.

PFF is a joke. Their analysis means nothing, and is often entirely wrong in laughable ways.

That's the plan. I wouldn't bet on it, but I wouldn't bet against it either. I sure hope so.

Yes, I agree. Fields has this season to show what he can do. If he gets a season ending injury that would be a disaster. I DO see growth in Fields, but he isnt there yet. Will he get far enough this year? We will all see, I cant bet either way.

so youre not an Eislen fan? I mean, I want to be, but I dont see him in practice. I assume that the staff knows what they have in him, and they arent using him for a reason. So you're probably right. But the fan in me, the one who always thinks the second strong QB might be our savior, also wants to see Eislen. LOL

I hear you, and agree with some of it. I dont think Simien can ever be a franchise QB, so id stay with Fields to see how he does. If he makes serious progress, then yeah keep him around. He doesnt need to be the franchise guy by the end of this year, but he definitely needs to be showing major progress toward becoming that. And since these guys didnt draft him, unless they see serious growth, I dont see them giving him next year too. If that's the case, they might keep him around as the backup if they cant find a trading partner, but I think wed definitely be drafting a QB in the first round then. And maybe even (gasp) trading up to get him. This is Poles and not Pace, so if he sees someone he thinks is the guy, we oughtta support his vision. Trading up wasnt the problem. Trading up for the wrong guy was.

The Bears official site has the depth chart as : LT Jones LG Whitehair C Patrick RG Jenkins RT Borom and they have Carter as the 2nd string LG. I'm assuming that hasn't changed in weeks. Clearly not since Whitehair went on IR. It is possible the ESPN computer just bumped Carter up because Whitehair is on IR? If so, there is really no information there. Intriguing tho. Which is better? a) Patrick at LG and Mustipher at C b) Patrick at LG and Eislen at C c) Patrick at C and Carter at LG d) Patrick at C and someone else at LG

I dont think that they will give fields another year to see if he develops, given the excuse that he had crap around him. That's the old Bears thinking that got us an extra year of Nagy etc. If they get to the end of this year and don't have a solid answer on Fields, then we will be looking for a new QB. Now that doesnt mean Fields will need to be a Franchise guy by December. If he does show enough to stay it will still take more time for him to fulfill his entire potential, but this staff is not going to burn next year, they dont need to and it would be a threat to their jobs. I really like Mongo's idea of a chart of progress made for players under 27. Great idea. I think that is exactly what this season is for. But not next season!

Is Eislen ready? If Patrick has to play LG, and they were waiting to replace Mustipher, then maybe it's Eislen's chance to audition?

yes a 3T is necessary to make the cover two work BUT we may need to be in the market for a first round QB too.

I saw this too. I think of it like this. A stone archway holds itself up because each stone leans on it's neighbors. If you have 10% of the stones in or 70% it still falls. It's not until the last stonw gets in place that the whole system works. Fields is adding stones to his game. He is improving, even if the final result is still falling down. He may well put it all together later this season and be an amazing QB for us. or not. Similarly, the whole team is an arch too. Until everyone can do their job, they can't win. There definitely is progress each week. You cant use the results alone to judge the incremental progress, but you sure as hell can use the final results to say whether the entire product is good enough, and right now it isnt. Agree, plenty of blame to go around, including Fields, but also reasons for hope and signs of growth.

I think he is taking too long to make each read, and isnt trusting what he sees with a fast trigger. That means when he does throw it, the defense has had a bit more of a bead on where the ball is going. Eberflus said that they focused on his footwork and timing, the idea being that the footwork is the tempo, and the reads come in specific rhythms at that tempo. I did see Fields moving through his progressions more quickly - his head was moving in faster intervals, but I didnt see decisive moments when he took the first or second read in rhythm. I think he may be progressing, but it's not enough to change the outcome yet. A few more bits of growth, and they may start to connect into something more solid. Can he make that growth? I dunno.

exactly. year zero.

thats on plays where he was kept clean while he took too long to make his reads. If he gets the ball out of his hand more quickly, then the OL doenst need to hold blocks as long to "keep him clean" The best example was Dan Marino beating the 85 Bears. No team brought more pressure than that defensive front, and yet with a 3 steps and it's gone Marino perfection, even unblocked rushers couldnt get to him in time. Somewhere in the middle is the successful possible future for Fields. But this OL stat still says a lot about Fields' ability. Fields has all the physical tools. He just needs the light to come on seeing the plays. Maybe he never will, or maybe week 9 it will suddenly show. Im rooting for him to find it, but Im sure not betting an $ that he will.

I completely agree. 8-9 and a base to build next year off of with a full draft including a first rounder, and a ton of cap space.