NEWSLETTER
It wound up a surprisingly busy week of Cubs content, which means I (Brett) didn’t really get to dig in much on the Chicago Bears and their Week One win against the San Francisco 49ers amidst The Great Flood. Not that I usually do a LOT of Bears writing around here, but I like to try to dip my toe in every now and again to stay sharp and versatile.
One thing I wanted to look at was the national perception of Justin Fields after his performance in the game, with a brutal first half (the rain was unquestionably a factor, together with adjustments to the new personnel and a very good Niners defense), and then a very competent – if not downright excellent – second half. The punditry was EXTREMELY DOWN on Fields after last year and throughout the offseason (which was truly bizarre to me given the system he was asked to work with last year, all with no first team reps to prepare for his role as a rookie), but how was Fields being discussed after Week One of 2022?
The point, mind you, is NOT to offer these national takes as a useful evaluation of Fields going forward. There are local takes I trust more for that. Instead, I was just curious how non-Chicago-media folks were talking about/thinking about Fields after that first week.
Among the Quarterback Ranking takes I’ve seen out there, just for funsies …
So, in the end, a few nice little bumps, which isn’t bad, based on a single week of action. Ultimately, I think that you can make a fair argument for anything in that 22 to 25 range, mostly because last week – while impressive in the second half in terms of the comeback and the composure – didn’t necessary tell you a whole lot.
If Fields were to come out and have a great-looking game in Green Bay this weekend, however, well, I think you’d see him take a huge leap in a lot of these rankings. That may or may not be legit, but it would mostly be a reflection of him getting more attention in the national conversation. You have to perform in marquee games for that to happen.
