Fantasy Fueling Fields Optimism, Rodgers Finally Feeling Our Pain, Ditka’s Day, and Other Bears Bullets

Oct 18, 2022

I’m so happy the NBA returns TONIGHT. And not just because we’ll get stuff like this from Inside the NBA, which I maintain is the best show on television:

I didn’t think I’d use fantasy football projections to find optimism for Justin Fields after the mini-bye. But here I am ready to share some positive vibes that are rooted in fantasy, but relevant to Fields’ development moving forward. If you’re a fantasy player, you already know Tuesdays are for setting your priority waiver claims. Over at PFF, Nathan Jahnke highlights waiver wire targets who should be on your radar. Near the top of his quarterbacks is Justin Fields. You probably weren’t expecting it. And I can’t blame you. But Fields’ arrow has been pointing up in recent weeks *AND* there is some long-term play potential here. But don’t take it from me, Jahnke’s explainer does the heavy lifting for us.

“His PFF grade has improved as the season progressed.” “He’s run for at least 47 yards in each of his last four games.” “His last two games have been his best two in terms of completions and passing yards.” “Chicago has a few favorable matchups over the next month, making him a solid option during bye weeks.” All of the things in between quotation marks are what you’re looking for at this point of the fantasy season as your team tries to navigate bye week minefields. But it’s also what we want out of Fields moving forward.

Improvement in play as the season goes along? Good stuff. An increase in rushing yards? That is good too, but would be better if it was more as a result of scheme and design and less of a product of a line that allows pressures at a dizzying rate. There might be conflicting opinions on strength of schedule (more on that momentarily), but the Bears have games coming up against the Dolphins, Lions (twice!), Falcons, Vikings, and Packers — who rank among the bottom half in QB passer rating allowed. Sure, the Bears fumbled the bag against Washington. But if Fields continues growing, then maybe he’ll be better positioned to take advantage of these defenses.

Ian Haritz (PFF) serves up a reminder that Fields threw *TWO* passes worthy of being game-winning TD tosses, but still saw the Bears show up in the “L” column. Yes, I know, the Ryan Griffin throw is going to gnaw at everyone. But that misfire is a flickering light of a memory if Dante Pettis or Darnell Mooney snags a touchdown on Chicago’s final drive. Yet another data point nudging us not to forget that this team has so much building to do around the quarterback.

The folks at Tankathon have the Bears’ remaining strength of schedule as the second toughest in the NFL. Only Washington has a harder road to plow in its remaining 11 games. Two games against the Lions isn’t enough to offset upcoming showdowns against the Eagles, Bills, Vikings, Cowboys, Jets, and Packers. Then again, are the Packers actually good? Or are they “good” in the way that Pumpkin Spice Lattes are “good” because it’s hip to say? Green Bay might not be good. Just saying.

On the one hand, it is delicious seeing Aaron Rodgers finally dealing with the conditions Bears quarterbacks have long been facing. Poor offensive line play. No receiver help. An offense that looks like defenses have caught onto. But it is annoying as heck that the Packers still have a better record than the Bears. Ugh!

This feels like a conversation we’re familiar with having in these parts:

Aaron Rodgers says he wants to simplify the offense.

When Matt LaFleur is asked about that, he says, “I don’t know what that means.”

Ok so that’s not great— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) October 17, 2022

And then it hit me last night while watching Monday Night Football. Seeing the Bears, Packers, and Broncos having similar issues with their offenses stalling out is concerning. But I’m not totally sure what to make of this at the moment. Is it a weird coincidence? Or is it a schematic thing that Matt LaFleur, Luke Getsy, and Nathaniel Hackett (who were all working together last year) have to work through? Could it be a harbinger of doom? What if it’s just a plain weird football occurrence? Whatever it is, it bugs me. Hope it doesn’t keep me up at night.

Also on MNF: Mike Williams being mere inches from making the catch of the year:

😮 pic.twitter.com/MuSWmotv6P
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 18, 2022

Not me thinking about how Brian Daboll has the Giants winning games and Daniel Jones as a functional NFL quarterback:

Leaders in EPA per dropback over the last three weeks:

Daniel Jones – 0.32
Josh Allen – 0.31
Patrick Mahomes – 0.26
— Austin Gayle (@austingayle_) October 18, 2022

I’m fascinated with new stadium projects, such as the ones Northwestern and the Tennessee Titans are working on. We’ll continue to look at these stadium construction plans as a reference point as we keep eyes on the Bears’ maneuvering their way toward a new stadium in Arlington Heights. With that in mind, these are the types of nuggets and tidbits worth sharing for an additional bit of depth and perspective:

Seeing deal between Titans and Nashville for financing new $2.1B stadium:
$840M from Titans ownership, NFL, PSLs.
$500M payment from city of Nashville.
$760M from revenue bonds repaid through 1% hotel tax and sales taxes.
NFL owners continue to socialize cost, privatize profit.— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) October 17, 2022

Wins aren’t a QB stat. But Carson Wentz gets credit for one despite suffering an injury that could put him on IR and keep him out 4-6 weeks. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport shares the news.

I prefer to read this as the Bears’ offense is leaps and bounds better than the 1932 team that won a championship despite opening the year with three consecutive scoreless games:

One stat NFL owners will hear at today’s fall meetings: average margin of victory this season is 8.9 points, on pace to shatter the Super Bowl-era record of 10.2.

The only other year below 10 was 1932, when the Bears opened with three straight scoreless ties and won the title.— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 18, 2022

We love seeing the Bears give back to the community (but could use some more sacks for a good cause):

The @ChicagoBears defense is up to 11 sacks this season, which brings @CampbellsChunky's donation total for the @FoodDepository to 11,000 items! pic.twitter.com/KPqlVXQFYi
— Chicago Bears (@BearsOutreach) October 17, 2022

Bears legend Mike Ditka is celebrating a birthday today:

Happy 8️⃣3️⃣rd birthday to Mike Ditka, who revolutionized the tight end position and led #DaBears to their only Super Bowl title. pic.twitter.com/PFb5Co0ywh— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) October 18, 2022

I’ll be following any and all José Abreu rumors with great interest this offseason:

Jose Abreu is "High on the Cubs Wish List"https://t.co/0s5cT4t5mm pic.twitter.com/0ijusvyLn9
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) October 17, 2022

Over at BN Bulls, Eli discusses what it means that Coby White didn’t get a new contract as the rookie-scale extension deadline came and went without the consummation of a deal.

Only you have the power to make this happen for BN Blackhawks’ Twitter page:

Hey #Blackhawks fans — can we get @BN_Blackhawks to 8k followers before the puck drops on the home opener on Friday night? pic.twitter.com/IQ9SMG6MsJ— Tab Bamford (@The1Tab) October 18, 2022

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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