People always try to argue that Chicago is either a basketball city or a baseball city. Yet time and again it’s been proven that his is a football town. The Bears own it and have for many, many years. When big things happen for them, everybody reacts. There is no division among fans. That was proven beyond a doubt during a White Sox game when the Bears moved up to select Justin Fields.
At the top of the 2nd inning, the White Sox were tied in a 0-0 score. It was then that a commotion took place in the stands. As it turns out, that was the exact moment the Bears moved up to #11 in the 1st round to grab their new quarterback. It’s safe to say plenty of people were thrilled with the development. Certainly not the same as what happened with Mitch Trubisky four years ago.
Fans on the South Side are HYPED about the Justin Fields pick pic.twitter.com/i2GCgoT4jI
— NBC Sports Chicago (@NBCSChicago) April 30, 2021
Remember the Chicago Bulls game he attended?
The announcers pointed him out and he was practically booed out of the stadium. In hindsight, that was a bad omen. Hopefully this more positive reaction will lead to positive results. Fields said he was in contact with the Bears a number of times leading up to the draft. Both in Zoom calls and his pro day. The interest was obvious. When the opportunity came up, Chicago jumped from #20 to #11 in the 1st round to get their guy.
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SM report last month that Fields was their primary target. The team views him as somebody with superstar potential. Head coach Matt Nagy will have a chance to possibly get his own version of Patrick Mahomes. Obviously putting those expectations on Justin Fields would be unfair. He needs to chart his own career. In terms of talent though? The young man has all the tools a team could want.
Enjoy. 🍿@justnfields | @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/mK7DOoIdnu
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) April 30, 2021
Justin Fields is more about action than talk
He didn’t sound like a person who was in the mood to discuss what happened in the draft. Not being the second QB off the board after Trevor Lawrence was bad enough. Falling out of the top 10 entirely. It was not the sort of night he was probably hoping for. He sounded ready to get to work. This should only serve the Bears well. Not only are they getting a talented quarterback, but a supremely motivated one.
He’ll be the toast of the city within two years if he ends up living up to his potential. Rest assured Justin Fields is the most gifted quarterback the Bears have ever drafted. Size? Arm strength? Speed? Accuracy? He has everything a team looks for. What people weren’t sure about was his processor post-snap. It came off a little slow at times. Especially against well-coached defenses.
Is it a concern? Sure. Then again most college QBs have that issue.
Time will tell if the young man learns to quicken things up. He has a tremendous situation he’s walking into. Not only will he have three quality QB coaches around him in Nagy, John DeFilippo, and Bill Lazor. Andy Dalton will be a nice veteran presence to learn from too.