Alaskan Grizzly

I'd be curious if you could provide an 'iso-shot' of each of these plays where he missed the "open player" and simultaneously pair it with another 'iso-shot' of what Justin was doing or seeing at that time. I watched this video longer than 10 minutes and didn't see the same things you saw (I know - shocker). Chase's point of how Minnesota 'nearly blitzed 60% of the time' will weigh a lot of what Justin ended up having to do, which is ad-lib to some level. Did he miss some open players? Yes. Did he do it "every single play"? No. And Chase prefaced his take on this based on the sample plays he provided (about 7-8) versus all 50 (or whatever number it was). He did say he watched all of those plays to make his overall analysis. Yes he did say once or twice that Justin missed a read or two but his biggest critique? Ball security when running. That I would agree with and something that can be easily fixed. (Sorta like trying to get Jaylon Johnson to actually catch every easy INT thrown his way - but I digress). At the end of the day I know I'm not going to convince you that Justin should stay with the Bears for next year. Just like you won't convince me otherwise. I look at this similar to how political races go (to some regard). You have your separate camps of which are pushing their individual agendas/goals. Except at the end of the day in elections the majority rules. In this case the decision will be made by one, two or maybe three people. It all kinda depends on how they interpret what they have available to them versus what 'could be' and which will benefit them (and the team) in the longer run.

Speaking of QBRs, someone else (think it was Stinger) brought up a point about Tua and how he struggled his first year or two before McDaniel showed up. I was curious so I looked to see what Tua's QBR has been over his career: 2020: 44.8 2021: 49.7 2022: 70.6 (the year McDaniel started) 2023: 60.0 Using the same analytic and because I was still curious, how did/does Justin compare: 2021: 26.4 2022: 56.3 (Flus' and Getsy's first year) 2023: 44.5 In Justin's second year (Flus' first) his QBR was higher than both of the first two seasons for Tua. So far this season he's on par with Tua's first season and that's with him (Justin) missing four games. So with the idea 'stats are what you make of them' I (being a Fields supporter) could surmise that bringing in a guy who actually knows how to make offensive play calls could fix Justin. What changed between last year and this year for Justin? Last year 'they let him play' more naturally and this year they are forcing him to be more of a pocket passer or whatever it is they have changed and we see the results. I saw a recent interview with Cam Newton and Brandon Marshall and Cam made some points about how he had similar struggles that he sees Justin having. Cam's opinion was that they are trying to force too much information and not allowing him to play more freely. He thought if they were to get him a coach that caters more to his style of play (OC or HC or both) we would see more success and I think Justin's floor QBR would be that one we saw for 2022. And in case you were wondering, I looked up Cam's QBR's. His highest was 64.3 which was 2013 (I believe the first year Carolina made the playoffs). HIs second highest QBR? 2015: 61.4. That year Carolina made it to the Super Bowl and Cam won NFL MVP, Offensive Player of the year and appeared in his third Pro Bowl.

BLUF to your BLUF (with a side of another LOL): If the Bears make the playoffs all this talk of whether Flus, Fields and maybe Getsy leave at the end of the season goes out the window. ?

I don’t know, the 2006 team was pretty dominant. And 2010 was a close miss too. One game away from making the Super Bowl again. As far as 2018 goes, all you need to do is win and rinse and repeat. Especially in the playoffs anything can happen.

Why couldn’t the Venn Diagram intersect of Cairo Santos being a kicker for the Bears and the 2018 Bears team have existed? Oh what could have been.

Ha, was just about to respond to Adam and say I had no clue who he was until recently. I see that he's been in the talk for the Heisman recently but is that because someone like Williams has dropped out and afforded a spot for him? And I can't help but notice he looks to be a fifth year senior so no wonder his stats are improving (sorry that may be a bit facetious on my part). I will give him that he does play in the SEC for LSU so that is something to take note of. With regards to Penix, again I literally know very little about him. But his team is in the top 4 in the nation so there is something to be said about that and I will be curious to see how he performs in the CFB playoffs. I just noticed that he's a sixth year senior... ?!?! What's up with that? I was listening to LeBetard and Stugotz this morning and they got to talking about Maryland QB Taulia Tagovailoa (Tua's little brother) and how he's considering requesting for a sixth year of eligibility. When did that start to be come a thing? Any relation to the creation of the NIL rules?

FWIW I'm still baffled by the love for Maye and Williams. I get that they (maybe) improve their respective teams but neither UNC (8-4) nor USC (7-5) are in contention for any CFB playoff spots let alone playing for contention of either the ACC or PAC-12. As of late it seems the luster has worn off of Williams a little bit and more are questioning his leadership and tenacity traits. And others (some here on this board) have started to note that he possesses a lot of the similar (negative) traits that Fields has. For Chicago, would we still even want to be a part of that discussion? With Maye I understand that he's being coached by the great Mack Brown. But recent history shows of the QB's Brown has coached that went into the NFL were the likes of Vince Young, Colt McCoy, Major Applewhite, Chris Simms and more recently Sam Howell. And even though Howell looks like he might be a serviceable NFL QB, he was drafted in the 5th round by Washington. So far in the little bit of games I watched with Maye playing I still haven't seen anything that pops out to me to say 'yeah he's the ONE Chicago needs.'.

Wouldn’t this be ‘cherry picking’ a bit?? The qualifications you outline are pretty specific. And those that qualified aren’t all necessarily horrible QBs. Especially if you add in Jackson (who’s already been an MVP) and Hurts. And honestly had Griffen not been prone to injury, it’s hard to tell where he’d have ended up. Anyhow, shouldn’t you also consider what type of team (aka system - Purdy in SF) surrounds the player to measure how they really are performing? Suffice to say Jackson has made a career out of doing what Justin was doing last year and for all intents and purposes has had a pretty good team around him (especially on defense) and damn good HC. Hurts has also benefited from a lot of good things with key players and a really good oline (anchored by Kelce). Jones who he is most comparable to (by your stats) did pretty well last year (made the playoffs - because of Daboll?) but for whatever reason the wheels came off this year. I don’t know what the story is there as I really haven’t watched much of his play but I know it has driven Daboll nuts. At any rate, to have made the cut of the original qualifiers, I’d think Justin has done some significant and (I dare say) elite things to be considered. Never mind the records (team and league) he’s set since playing in Chicago. Edit: happened to see this graphic (below) after posting. And it involves three of the QBs we’re talking about.

I always revert back to the Redskins 2012 draft when the chose RG3 in the first round and Cousins in round 4. In that case the competition for RG3 was drafted the same year and proved that a somewhat successful QB doesn’t always have to be chosen in the first round.

I don’t understand your first question. ‘Trade Fields for one of the others then keep him?’ And the point about stats are how you want to interpret them, and yes they don’t tell the whole story. Suffice to say the stats I provided paint a more positive picture of Fields.

You being a stat guy and ‘stats being stats’. I’ll add a few of my own.

Since we're using 'what ifs' I'll ask you this. What if we end up hiring a coach like Jim Harbaugh to take over as HC next year? And (assuming he can pick up where he left off in SF) he's able to properly use and develop an offense that caters to FIelds' skillset? We know he was able to get to a Super Bowl with a less than average QB like Kaepernick so surely he could do the same with a 'slouch' like Fields? Or what if, we trade Fields away. He goes to a team with a functional OC/HC in place and flourishes? And we draft any of the QBs that 'can't be missed' and they flop? Because either they are A) not able to adapt to the NFL or B ) the Bears keep Getsy (or someone like him) and we're right back to where we started but one year later? I get the impression you trust Getsy more than you do Fields. I only say that because you said he is 'hiding Fields' and you openly wonder why? I ask, is it Fields or Getsy that is the problem? So far the offensive brain trust that was Nathanial Hackett (Getsy was his right hand man in GB) hasn't done really well in either Denver (as HC) or more recently as the OC in NY. Last night there was a quick clip of Poles in the suite and they showed him where he was talking to someone to his right and motioning with his hand in a circular fashion as if to resemble a repetitive motion. Some on social media have speculated it was him asking something to the effect of 'the same thing'? This was right after the offense had done its gazillion-th screen pass to the outside. There are confirmed reports that came out this week that Poles essentially asked Flus why he wasn't using key players more during the Detroit game. This was in response to Flus telling the media that the newly acquired Sweat was on a rotation. We saw last night that Sweat played a lot more than he did the previous week. I'm curious now, especially with the bye coming up, will we see a more open offense allowing Fields to make or break it and play more to his style of football because Poles will ask Getsy and Flus about it. I suspect that Poles will want to see Fields in his full potential for the remainder of the season and not hemmed in by Getsy's "protection" calls.

Some nuggets from last night.

He (Fields) ain’t going anywhere.

Thank you. You ALWAYS play to win. No matter the circumstances

Kmet had been getting open in the middle on handful of the plays early on.

Between the penalties and the creative (NOT) play-calling by Getsy, these Bears are their own worst enemy. Three WR screens in a row … how imaginative.

Johnson has become a bit of a menace (for opposing teams) these last few games. Another near miss. If he could just secure some of those drops he’d be sitting pretty for a new deal. Time to hit the Jugs machine JJ. And keep doing what you’re doing.

Yeah for what it’s worth I think they should keep him only to avoid making another hole/need (similar to what someone else said). However both Stevenson and to some level Smith are both making cases he could become expendable.

Not usually heralding Johnson’s play but so far he’s playing really well.

This is going the way the Detroit game was. Another old school ‘black and blue’ Division game.

But we don't want him to be a rushing QB. ? So this isn't a real surprise...right?

I think using a spy on him will help...and I think Sanborn is just the man. Meh...I'd still think this would be more on the defense being able to hold up and do their part.

Watched a highlight reel of Bowers (hadn't really seen him play - hear a lot though) and man is he impressive. They had him line up in several positions, mostly in the slot but even as a RB once or twice and every time he gained yards. I especially like in one play where he fully sold the blocking he was doing prior to catching a screen pass for a huge gain. His skills look as though they'll translate to the NFL really well. I did read he's had some issues with his ankle and had what they referred to as "tightrope surgery" earlier this year. It is the same type procedure Tua had when he last played for Alabama and was able to make the National Championship game 4 weeks later. From the sound of it Georgia is hoping to have Bowers back for the SEC championship game this coming Saturday and only if he's 'feeling 100%'.

I watched portions of the GB/DET game and couldn't help but notice GB deployed almost exactly the same game plan as did Chicago, especially on the defensive side (a lot of pressure on Goff and the offense -resulting in three TOs). Problem is GB's defense was able to hold off Detroit. I'll be curious to see how Dobbs does after coming out of the gate hot for Minny before losing to Denver last week. Denver is the common denominator for both Fields and Dobbs this year with their current teams. Fields performance against them on October 1 resulted in him throwing 335 yards with 4TDs and one 1 INT (132.7 passer rating). Dobbs did 221 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT (80.3 passer rating) on the 19th of November. Tonight's game will come down to who puts more pressure on the opposing QB and how that QB and team adapt to it. As far as playing Detroit and GB again, I see that going 1-1. We'll be at home for Detroit and should do as good as they did before but manage to win this time. With GB I'm not 100% convinced the Bears will lose but I'm less inclined to think they'll win. Love is having a weird season and appears to be leveling out as of late.