NEWSLETTER
When Matt Nagy was coaching the Bears, we often looked at Louis Riddick’s analysis for guidance into explaining what the heck was going on. Riddick, an ESPN NFL analyst, had long-time ties to Nagy dating back to their days with Andy Reid and the Eagles. It made sense that Riddick could give necessary context and perspective to what was happening in Chicago.
But even after Nagy’s departure, Riddick’s analysis remains interesting and relevant. It is no wonder ESPN 1000 in Chicago continues to bring him on to break down everything Bears. Because not only does Riddick continue to keep it honest, he also shares nuggets and tidbits every once in a while. And there was no nugget more interesting than one he gave up in his most recent appearance on the station, sharing pieces of a conversation with Luke Getsy in which the Bears’ offensive coordinator might’ve been hinting at the team’s draft plans:
There are a few things that stand out from this clip. But the thought I can’t shake that Riddick might’ve inadvertently pulled back the curtain just a little bit on the Bears’ draft plans. And, hey, I’m cool with that. Let’s dive in there while we have the moment.
Getsy relaying to Riddick in their conversation at the Senior Bowl that the Bears need to help quarterback Justin Fields by getting him protection and weapons feels telling. Because, since then, the team went the trade route to get him a new weapon (WR DJ Moore) and took to free agency for protection upgrades (RG Nate Davis). The Bears haven’t done much else in terms of adding impact talent on that side of the ball since. Sure, tight end Robert Tonyan and running back D’Onta Foreman are nice pieces to the puzzle. But a splash addition (lock-down offensive tackle? another play-making pass catcher?) would elevate the offense to another level. In other words, the possibility of the Bears bringing in more help on offense via the draft is something we need to keep an eye on when the draft unfolds starting on Thursday.
And then there is the notion that the Bears have their guy in Justin Fields. Chicago’s football team has maintained its full support of QB1 through all the rumors, innuendo, conversations, and other chit-chat leading up to this date on the calendar. The Bears have handled a situation that could’ve been a slippery mess better than I would’ve otherwise come to expect from this organization. I find it refreshing. Think about all the other times the Bears needed to handle something with care and completely fumbled the bag. Actually, don’t do that. It’s a Monday and I’m trying to keep the vibes on high for as long as I can this week.
Anyway, to execute what the Bears did this offseason takes major gumption. And it takes something more to be a quarterback whose team essentially tells him: “You’re gonna hear a lotta wacky rumors about your future with us, but we need you to ignore them because we have full faith in you.” We’ve seen teams go back on those promises before (lookin’ at you Broncos-Jay Cutler … and you Browns-Baker Mayfield). But the Bears standing strong with Fields is a rare show of solidarity and loyalty in a pro sports landscape that doesn’t seem to have much of it these days.
Eventually, we’ll see if this show of faith was a good decision by the Bears. For now, we’ll chalk it up to the franchise exercising good processes with the hope that good results will come. And I think they will — especially if they find a way to fortify the offense via the draft this week.
