Alaskan Grizzly

I think my answer is obvious but I'll say it anyhow, No. Not at least right now. As others have mentioned what value does he have as of this moment? I'd say little. I agree that this season was his chance to prove himself. At this point it may be for the Bears or it could be for another team, I think we owe him that much. After all suddenly the sketchier parts of team (defensive secondary and oline) are starting to look more legit. Let's face it, when the season began Justin wasn't the only one that was sucking in his play. In fact an argument could be made that he improved dramatically for both the Denver and Washington games and its taken a few more weeks for the aforementioned parts of the team to jell. The Vikings game? Some might say he was concussed and perhaps that's why he played slow? Who knows? But really after seeing Kirk Cousins play in that game then one week later put on a show against SF to the tune of 370 (or so) yards then its easy to say QBs can easily have Jekyll and Hyde moments. So my question is, what do you do if you trade Justin now (or before the deadline)? What if Bagent hit his wall last week and that performance is as good as it gets? Do you go with Peterman and say 'oh well'? Honestly I'm still not all that enthused as much by the upcoming QB draft class. The leading "stars", Williams and Maye are fading quick. Sure Williams has won the Heisman but so has RGIII, Chris Weinke, Matt Leinart and Tim Tebow. Williams is proving he can't perform (as well) against tougher opponents. And Maye? I mean really. If we go to the end of the season and still plan on dumping Justin the question still remains. Who we gonna draft to take over for him?

Was watching a replay of the 2000 Orange Bowl where unranked Michigan met up against #5 Alabama. Michigan ended up winning the game with some late game heroics by Senior Tom Brady (yes that Tom Brady) and a 150 yard three TD night by WR David Terrell (also voted the MVP of this game). Brady would end up with 369 yards and 4 TDs. Other notables from this game was Alabama's Shawn Alexander who ran for 161 yards and three TDs. Despite his efforts in this game, 'generational QB' Tom Brady wouldn't be drafted in the NFL until the 6th round the following year. David Terrell would be drafted as the 8th overall pick that same year by Chicago.

Yeah I think that would be too BIG a hire for someone like Poles. I don't think it would help either he or Warren if you had a guy like Belichick come in, especially with his desire to be a GM or manager of some sort. That being said, I also think the NFL is starting to move too fast for him. Ever since Brady left he hasn't looked the mastermind we all thought he was. He'd probably be wise to hang it (coaching) up altogether and fully immerse himself in management if he still wants to stay active in the NFL in some fashion. A guy who I think wouldn't be too "big" would be Harbaugh. A lot of good connections to his 'returning' to Chicago and he would bring that winning culture you mentioned. He also might want some control over personnel stuff but probably not nearly as much as would Belichick. Harbaugh has proven he can succeed both at the NFL and collegiate level and with his more recent accolades at Michigan still have some relevance with the current trends of the NFL.

So one week removed from just squeaking in a win against the Bears by 6 (19-13) and Cousins only throwing for 181 yards the Vikings beat the much ballyhooed 49ers 22-17 with the help of 378 yards by that same Cousins. Is Chicago better than we thought? ??‍♂️

Some say if Justin were to be traded to Atlanta and work with HC Arthur Smith he might actually get that opportunity to shine. Add in that he's originally from Georgia and the intrigue is even higher. Oddly enough I read somewhere that Atlanta currently is in the top 5 overall in defense and haven't been that high since 1978! Which to me is 'odd' considering they used to have Dan Quinn as their HC.

That's pretty much where I'm at. If he's salvageable and still able to keep/use Bagent then it's a win/win. Man wouldn't it be nice to draft players that would supplement Fields (Bagent) like MHJ, Fashanu, Alt or Van Pran rather than start all over with another "unknown and unproven" rookie QB? I get it if it doesn't and agree that Poles doesn't owe him anything especially since Poles would like to keep his job.

Surely you're not questioning my fandom of the team because I'm a fan of Fields too? I can guarantee that for the majority of my existence (save when I was five I liked the color purple so I liked the Vikings - it was a one off I promise) nothing has been more dear than my appreciation for the beloved. Technically speaking, since I've been married twice and by your definition I've been more "loyal" to the Bears than most anything else. I had a longer response planned for this but suffice to say 'yes' its true I am not the GM who makes his living on making the tough decisions but I can still not like the decisions, that's part of being a fan. Like when Olsen was traded, or when Urlacher was released, or when Lovie was fired after going 10-6, or when they let Gould walk, or when they drafted Trubisky #2 overall...I could go on. There's been many a time I didn't like or disagreed with what management chose to do. Despite it all as a fan who watches loyally from the confines of my couch I keep coming back hoping for this year to be 'the year' and for the QB to be 'the guy'. I'm a believer in Justin (and to some level Tyson too) and until he flips me the bird or tries to steal my wife it'll probably stay that way.

Reminds me of a time when Cutler was on his latter years or when Trubisky was the 2nd overall pick. Here's to dreaming.

We know the debate will continue about Justin’s ability to take over as the franchise QB. But a poster on X-witter compared Bagent’s stats and the play calling versus Justin’s first game of this season against the Pack (eerily similar). Big difference was the Bears were losing 31-14 going into the fourth quarter before Justin threw the solo pick when the team was “chasing points”. Obviously the defense has improved vastly over the last couple weeks.

Couldn't happen to a nicer person. What a dbag.

Kirk Cousins was a fourth round pick the same year (and the same team) as RGIII himself a first round pick. Whereas Jared Goff was a first rounder in 2016 but didn’t really come into his own until as of late.

At least the disparity is closing. Like you said, the defense wasn’t getting it done the first couple weeks but as of late, have done better. Meanwhile the offense has done better and enough to keep us in games. But with losses like with Denver and Minny it didn’t quite equal out.

And just like that it’s a three way race for the basement of the NFC North. Right now the Bears have the edge (2-5) but GB (2-4) just had their bye and Minny (2-4) play tomorrow night against SF. Something else of interest is Chicago has so far scored the second most points (158) in the division behind Detroit (174). Whereas they’ve had the most points scored against them (188) and Detroit is second with 151. Couple other nuggets. Their PF of 158 is 3rd most overall in the NFC and 10th overall in the NFL right now. And their PA of 188 is second most in the NFC and 5th most overall right now (I say all this just before the start of the Miami/Philly game). Is it a defensive or offensive struggle?

Word

Maybe. Week 4: Fields 28/35 335 yards 4 TDs 1 INT - 21 point lead before defense (in my opinion) sh*t the bed Week 5: Fields 15/29 282 yards 4 TDs 0 INT (win over Washington) Week 6: Bears were second best rushing team in the league with 162 yards (with 2nd and 3rd string RBs). Fields is lost and Bagent scores one rush TD to bring the final score to 19-13. Week 7: Bears win scoring two rushing TDs by Foreman (first time since Walter Payton has a player done it twice in one game) one other by passing (screen) and another by INT Maybe the tide is turning in the coaching and scheme calling or its just the difference between Bagent and Fields playing **shrug** Is there any way to a get a QB that does both what Bagent does well and Fields does well?

Not as bad as those who supported Mitchell. Former players and fans are still divided at about 50/50 or better on Fields. Unlike Trubiksy, the story’s not done for Justin in Chicago…yet.

The one takeaway I thought interesting was how the Bears were ranked 2nd in rushing (if I’m remembering the graphic earlier) the last two games. And that’s with the first 2-3 RBs on the bench and a guy who was on the Dolphins practice squad two weeks ago helping out in the running game. Why weren’t the Bears doing this more earlier in the season?

Same for when Trubisky came out. Nothing new. ??‍♂️

I was thinking the same thing (not wanting him to throw an INT) but probably (and more concerning) is that they were projecting Bagent can’t throw the long ball.

I’d have to do more reading and video watching but he’s still got the Trubiksy vibe. At least he has one more starting season than did Mitch before coming out for the draft.

At best he’s being a great game manager (9/16 for 62 yards so far). Nothing wrong with that but yes the offense does appear to be running efficiently in the short gain game.

Who knew we already had a “generational QB” on our team? ?

Playing my ‘devils advocate’ card (again) but are we seriously considering a guy who struggles against ranked teams and another guy from North Carolina as “generational”? Haven’t we learned our lesson by drafting a Tar Heel QB in the first round?

And the “ownership” by the Utes continue after last night. By my count the two losses USC have this year are to ranked teams.

In hindsight, it looks like Flus was wise in playing the 2nd and 3rd stringers more during the preseason (and less the starters). Who else knew we’d be using them as much during this part of the season?