Fields-O-Meter

[adam]

56 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

Fields definitely knows it - and thats a huge clue as to whats gonna happen. And I dont mean he knows it because he must know it because he must agree with my analysis. I think he knows it because of answers he's been giving in press conferences and interviews recently.

This past week he said (paraphrasing) "I dont care about people who love what I can do, I only care about people who love who I am" - that's the kind of philosophical answer you never want to hear coming from the mouth of a 24 year old professional athlete. It's true, and a great thing for a 60 year old man to think as his power in the world may fade a bit, and he starts to consider what's truly important in life.

It's also the kind of thing someone going through a divorce might think. It's definitely mentally healthy, but it's also a resignation of someone who is losing something. A 24 year old athlete oughtta be competitive and maybe even angry. Perhaps not to the TV cameras, but imagine Tom Brady or Mike Tyson saying something like that when they were 24. No way.

And I dont fault him for it. I actually think it's healthy, I just think it comes from his agent telling him which way the wind is blowing. I see it as evidence that his camp doesn't think he will be retained.

And if that's a fact to add to the puzzle, what does it say for Eberflus' future? Would you bring a rookie QB in to what might be the last year of a coaching staff AGAIN for the third time in a row? And what kind of OC can you really get when it looks like Eberflus might be gone after next year?

I think the odds are that Fields and Eberflus are gone. I definitely dont know anything for sure. I just think it's a pretty good guess.

This is surely interesting:

Quote

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said on @ESPN1000 that no decision has been made if Justin Fields will be the starting quarterback for the Bears next season.

He alluded to the fact that he would be part of that process and no decision has been made. If Fields was going to be the guy, it would be stated and known. The fact that he is non-committal about a QB entering his 4th year is telling.

[BearFan PHX]

59 minutes ago, adam said:

This is surely interesting:

He alluded to the fact that he would be part of that process and no decision has been made. If Fields was going to be the guy, it would be stated and known. The fact that he is non-committal about a QB entering his 4th year is telling.

I believe that they are all committed to their internal process. And so, until they've done the year review and heard from everyone that goes into that "no decision has been made" I am sure that is the official status, even if people (Poles?) already know what they think and could predict pretty well where its gonna go - who will say what points and what it will mean.

Also if Eberflus is gone, Poles will NEED to have that process with the incoming coach, and so from that point of view, no decision could be certain.

But you can bet Poles is, at the very least, doing his due diligence setting up lists of coaches and QBs for every outcome, so it's not as if his mind is a blank. He's well into it.

But all that said, I doubt very much that Poles would tell anyone what he is thinking right now - least of all Fields or Eberflus. You never know who is gonna get hit by a bus or what and so you don't tell any employee they are getting fired in the future. You wait until the moment you fire them.

So I suspect this is coming from Fields' agent to Fields. This is probably his guess at what Poles will do. And I'll bet his guess is a pretty educated one. he will have inside sources too. But they wont know anything directly either, cuz Poles surely isnt telling anyone else in the building what hes doing without telling the people hes gonna do it to first.

No proof, just more dots to connect.

[Pixote]

Everyone seems to be convinced Flus and Fields will be leaving after the season is over.

I'm not convinced. I would not be surprised if both are here next year.

I will wait and see. I trust Poles to make the best decision.

[BearFan PHX]

32 minutes ago, Pixote said:

Everyone seems to be convinced Flus and Fields will be leaving after the season is over.

I'm not convinced. I would not be surprised if both are here next year.

I will wait and see. I trust Poles to make the best decision.

Im guessing, but I dont actually know anything for sure. Just doing the sportstalk thing where you guess at the unpredictable future

[adam]

5 hours ago, Pixote said:

Everyone seems to be convinced Flus and Fields will be leaving after the season is over.

I'm not convinced. I would not be surprised if both are here next year.

I will wait and see. I trust Poles to make the best decision.

For Flus, what kind of OC is going to sign up for a job with a HC that would be on the Hot Seat all season? If they retain Flus, it is playoffs or bust next season. If they keep Flus, Getsy is more than likely coming back too then. 

For Fields, there are even more variables to consider but if you go back to the start of the season, this was his clean slate eval season with a WR1 and improved O-Line. Regardless of the team's record, I think they expected more out of him than they got.

[adam]

I've seen an interesting thought, highly unlikely, but just say the Chargers make Justin Herbert available in a trade for the #1 pick. If you are the Bears, are you better with Herbert, Williams + Cap Space, or Fields + Pick 1 in 2024 (MHJ)?

[Stinger226]

2 hours ago, adam said:

I've seen an interesting thought, highly unlikely, but just say the Chargers make Justin Herbert available in a trade for the #1 pick. If you are the Bears, are you better with Herbert, Williams + Cap Space, or Fields + Pick 1 in 2024 (MHJ)?

Poles is always thinking about the cap when making decisions and wants to build thru the draft. Odds of giving up what it would take to get Hebert would be to high.

[Stinger226]

8 hours ago, Pixote said:

Everyone seems to be convinced Flus and Fields will be leaving after the season is over.

I'm not convinced. I would not be surprised if both are here next year.

I will wait and see. I trust Poles to make the best decision.

That's just bears media thinking their smarter than everyone else.  It's totally on the table that they could be gone but Flus was Poles pick as coach. Year 2 in a 4 year rebuild 3-14 , then 7-8 wins is progress. No one but me thought we could win 10 games, yet with a few plays back, we could have 9 wins right now.  Poles has no reason to change his 4_year plan because of outside noise. Now Fields is 50-50 on being here for obvious reasons. It all comes down to his QB evaluation of rookie QBs.

[Stinger226]

3 hours ago, adam said:

For Flus, what kind of OC is going to sign up for a job with a HC that would be on the Hot Seat all season? If they retain Flus, it is playoffs or bust next season. If they keep Flus, Getsy is more than likely coming back too then. 

For Fields, there are even more variables to consider but if you go back to the start of the season, this was his clean slate eval season with a WR1 and improved O-Line. Regardless of the team's record, I think they expected more out of him than they got.

There is only so many jobs in the NFL, you may not get a top choice but those guys are in line for HC jobs anyway. That's not going to be a problem. I'm sure Poles and even Warren will have input in to the new hire it won't be Flus choice by himself. Getsy is stuck on systems, just find one that is flexible. Maybe a college coach ? It doesn't have to be from a NFL team. 

[Stinger226]

I have changed my mind on Fields but that doesnt mean i ignore other poeples opinions.

[Pixote]

For those, like myself, who would prefer to keep Fields and draft a QB later in the first or possibly second round, allowing Poles to finish filling the holes in our roster and gaining future draft picks, there is an article by Greg Gabriel, a former scout, on why the Bears drafting a QB in 2024 with the 1st pick would be a mistake.

A Scout’s Take: History shows drafting the first Quarterback is a huge risk

 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

The Bears would never give a hint on what they might possibly do with JF.  They would stay neutral unless they are trying to drum up the price on pick #1, which they do not even own.  So all these signs are reading into too much things and wishful thinking. They wouldn't  start to make such plans until the season is complete and players pass the exit physicals.

I have a friend in real estate that said Ivant Fields, Justin's dad, just closed on a property in Vernon Hills. 😉

[BearFan PHX]

38 minutes ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

The Bears would never give a hint on what they might possibly do with JF.  They would stay neutral unless they are trying to drum up the price on pick #1, which they do not even own.  So all these signs are reading into too much things and wishful thinking. They wouldn't  start to make such plans until the season is complete and players pass the exit physicals.

I have a friend in real estate that said Ivant Fields, Justin's dad, just closed on a property in Vernon Hills. 😉

I agree the Bears wont say anything. My "evidence" was what Fields himself was saying, which I assume is a mix of his own beliefs, and what his agent is telling him.

[BearFan PHX]

1 hour ago, Pixote said:

For those, like myself, who would prefer to keep Fields and draft a QB later in the first or possibly second round, allowing Poles to finish filling the holes in our roster and gaining future draft picks, there is an article by Greg Gabriel, a former scout, on why the Bears drafting a QB in 2024 with the 1st pick would be a mistake.

A Scout’s Take: History shows drafting the first Quarterback is a huge risk

 

taking a QB high int he first round is risky. Taking one later is much more risky.

[Stinger226]

3 hours ago, ASHKUM BEAR said:

The Bears would never give a hint on what they might possibly do with JF.  They would stay neutral unless they are trying to drum up the price on pick #1, which they do not even own.  So all these signs are reading into too much things and wishful thinking. They wouldn't  start to make such plans until the season is complete and players pass the exit physicals.

I have a friend in real estate that said Ivant Fields, Justin's dad, just closed on a property in Vernon Hills. 😉

That is interesting information, no way he's buying a house unless he has some assurances that Justin inst going anywhere. 

[ASHKUM BEAR]

51 minutes ago, Stinger226 said:

That is interesting information, no way he's buying a house unless he has some assurances that Justin inst going anywhere. 

There is a wink 😉 at the end of the message.  

[DABEARSDABOMB]

17 hours ago, Pixote said:

Everyone seems to be convinced Flus and Fields will be leaving after the season is over.

I'm not convinced. I would not be surprised if both are here next year.

I will wait and see. I trust Poles to make the best decision.

Flus is interesting scenario. At this point I personally would be shocked if Fields is back. He just hasn’t produced enough in 3 seasons to keep him when you are sitting with a top 3 pick. Unless Bears have another plan at QB.

Ignoring the excuses around Fields - can anyone say he has shown enough to say you would put a > 50 percent chance on him becoming a top 7 qb? This is a guy who right now is statistically around #20 (some spots have him slightly better - most have him slightly worse). 
 

I don’t care about Nagy and Getsy - if he was good enough he would have shown more and reality is final few weeks he has NOT been very good. 
 

[BearFan PHX]

3 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

Flus is interesting scenario. At this point I personally would be shocked if Fields is back. He just hasn’t produced enough in 3 seasons to keep him when you are sitting with a top 3 pick. Unless Bears have another plan at QB.

Ignoring the excuses around Fields - can anyone say he has shown enough to say you would put a > 50 percent chance on him becoming a top 7 qb? This is a guy who right now is statistically around #20 (some spots have him slightly better - most have him slightly worse). 
 

I don’t care about Nagy and Getsy - if he was good enough he would have shown more and reality is final few weeks he has NOT been very good. 
 

I agree with what youve said about Fields of course, but what kind of OC could you get if we keep Eberflus, knowing hes coming into a situation on thin ice? And are we really gonna take the first year of a rookie QB and saddle him to an outgoing coaching administration again for the third time in a row?

We need a new QB and a new offensive minded head coach.

[DABEARSDABOMB]

5 hours ago, Pixote said:

For those, like myself, who would prefer to keep Fields and draft a QB later in the first or possibly second round, allowing Poles to finish filling the holes in our roster and gaining future draft picks, there is an article by Greg Gabriel, a former scout, on why the Bears drafting a QB in 2024 with the 1st pick would be a mistake.

A Scout’s Take: History shows drafting the first Quarterback is a huge risk

 

This is interesting - let’s say Bears could trade #1 pick to say #5 and got a bunch more assets, I suppose that lowers the risk of taking best qb on board at 5? Basically Poles acknowledging it’s a crap shoot so let’s move down - keep stocking up on assets and than take a qb than. Maybe even stick with Fields too and go with competition. 
 

Remmeber Poles comes from an org that traded Alex Smith after putting up 4k yards. It’s also an org that sat Mahomes for one year before trading Smith. 
 

Would bears move down - get more assets - take a qb still - and let Fields play one more year. Crazier things have happened. I just can’t see them sticking with Fields and not taking a qb early. 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

1 minute ago, BearFan PHX said:

I agree with what youve said about Fields of course, but what kind of OC could you get if we keep Eberflus, knowing hes coming into a situation on thin ice? And are we really gonna take the first year of a rookie QB and saddle him to an outgoing coaching administration again for the third time in a row?

We need a new QB and a new offensive minded head coach.

I just don’t like Flus not succeeding and Bears ending up with yet another head coach not tied to the qb. If it weren’t for that I think Flus had earned a 3rd year. I give him credit for the defense development and in general how the team handled adversity. I like his calmness and demeanor and I think his players respect him. I think a great HC doesn’t have to be the smartest guy in the room - but he has to get the guys bought in together. I don’t undersell Flus contributions to that. 

[Stinger226]

1 hour ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

I just don’t like Flus not succeeding and Bears ending up with yet another head coach not tied to the qb. If it weren’t for that I think Flus had earned a 3rd year. I give him credit for the defense development and in general how the team handled adversity. I like his calmness and demeanor and I think his players respect him. I think a great HC doesn’t have to be the smartest guy in the room - but he has to get the guys bought in together. I don’t undersell Flus contributions to that. 

True, true ,and true. Poles hired Flus and I dont think he only gives him 2 yrs to prove himself. That's not logic. Now if we lose both of these games, that might change Poles mind. Its not treading that way thou.

[Stinger226]

7 hours ago, Pixote said:

For those, like myself, who would prefer to keep Fields and draft a QB later in the first or possibly second round, allowing Poles to finish filling the holes in our roster and gaining future draft picks, there is an article by Greg Gabriel, a former scout, on why the Bears drafting a QB in 2024 with the 1st pick would be a mistake.

A Scout’s Take: History shows drafting the first Quarterback is a huge risk

 

Greg has a podcast on BarRoom Network every week. I'm friends with him on twitter and we have talked several times. Smart guy. He's not a big Fields fan but understands that to change QBs , you need someone to standout to be taking another QB and getting rid of Fields. Just drafting a QB for sake of change isnt a god idea.  ( those are his words)

[Stinger226]

 

[BearFan PHX]

On 12/27/2023 at 3:39 PM, DABEARSDABOMB said:

This is interesting - let’s say Bears could trade #1 pick to say #5 and got a bunch more assets, I suppose that lowers the risk of taking best qb on board at 5? Basically Poles acknowledging it’s a crap shoot so let’s move down - keep stocking up on assets and than take a qb than. Maybe even stick with Fields too and go with competition. 
 

Remmeber Poles comes from an org that traded Alex Smith after putting up 4k yards. It’s also an org that sat Mahomes for one year before trading Smith. 
 

Would bears move down - get more assets - take a qb still - and let Fields play one more year. Crazier things have happened. I just can’t see them sticking with Fields and not taking a qb early. 

I agree that if they take a high pick rookie QB, Fields will go. But whoever is in charge next year might want to sit that rookie for a month or more until they are ready. That's pretty normal like you said.

We could even sign a reasonably priced free agent like Glennon was as a placeholder for that month that you knew you were going to replace.

But i wonder. If we draft a high pick rookie QB, is Bagent good enough to be that one or two month guy? I kind of like that because it gives Bagent a chance to show hes ready, and if the rookie takes it from him with superior practices or bagent failing on the field, that's all good stuff to know. And if nothing else, it gives your backup more reps in case he is needed later because of injury or whatever.

Are people comfortable with Bagent being the interim QB while a rookie develops?

[Stinger226]

Seen today on X where people are calling Field's ( Bustin Justin. ) That's just so cute.