{"id":20061,"date":"2021-05-03T03:51:45","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T08:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=20061"},"modified":"2021-05-03T03:51:45","modified_gmt":"2021-05-03T08:51:45","slug":"chicago-bears-select-qb-justin-fields-with-no-11-pick-in-nfl-draft-and-justin-fields-has-message-for-nfl-teams-that-passed-on-him-last-night-ive-gone-through-situations-where-i-havent-been-ch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/?p=20061","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears select QB Justin Fields with No. 11 pick in NFL draft, and Justin Fields Has Message For NFL Teams That Passed On Him Last Night, “I’ve gone through situations where I haven’t been chosen. I think the world has seen the outcome of that.”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Justin Fields, The New Starting Quarterback for the Monster Midway, is everything that has eluded the CHICAGO BEARS for a century<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

The Bears finally have hope at quarterback with Justin Fields.

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There isn\u2019t much Chicago agrees on. This is a segregated city divided by racial and socioeconomic lines that will fight about the schools, the cops, the designated hitter, calling \u2018dibs\u2019 on street parking, and which Harold\u2019s Chicken Shack is the best<\/a>. It takes something exceptional to bring us together that typically only a force of nature like Michael Jordan, our worst winter storms, and our collective hatred of the mayor can accomplish.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s why there was a fleeting moment of beauty inspired by a single tweet from the official account of the Chicago Bears<\/a> on an otherwise uneventful Wednesday night in March. The tweet in question could have been seen as innocent enough, but not to Chicago. To Chicago, a picture of Andy Dalton with the phrase \u201cQB1\u201d meant war.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For once, all of Chicago was pulling in the same direction, united in our contempt for a bad post by the football team that doesn\u2019t love us back.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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QB1. pic.twitter.com\/TuyrAcpoCM<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) March 25, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Chicago knows a terrible quarterback when it sees one, and a Photoshopped image of Dalton in a Bears uniform sent us over the edge. The team\u2019s quarterback situation has been more or less hopeless for last 100 years, and there wasn\u2019t a single person from Jackson Park to Edgewater who thought signing Dalton would change that.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It would be an immense understatement to say the Bears only know pain at QB. The greatest player to ever play the position for the franchise threw his first NFL pass the same year World War II began. As the sport evolved, the Bears mostly stayed the same, relying great defenses and dynamic running backs while their signal callers uniformly amounted to a great civic embarrassment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The Bears had been searching for a quarterback since Jim McMahon helped the 1985 team win the franchise\u2019s only Super Bowl<\/a>. They tried and failed at everything. The Bears took quarterbacks early in the draft in Mitch Trubisky and Cade McNown only to see both flame out in epic fashion. They took QBs late in the first round in Jim Harbaugh and Rex Grossman, and it didn\u2019t work out much better. They signed mid-tier free agents like Erik Kramer and Mike Glennon, and took their biggest swing when they traded multiple first-round picks for 25-year-old Jay Cutler coming off a Pro Bowl<\/a> season.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cutler made some immaculate throws, Kramer had one very good season, and as hard as it is to believe now, Grossman and Trubisky even had a few hope-inspiring moments. The common denominator was disappointment and futility at the most important position in sports. The Bears\u2019 century-long search for a franchise quarterback continued unabated.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chicagoans don\u2019t need to be told about this history, because we\u2019ve lived with it every day of our lives. The context only makes what the Bears did on Thursday night in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft<\/a> even more astounding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"CFP <\/picture> <\/span> <\/span> \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/figure>\n

Lawrence won a national championship at Clemson as a freshman and was anointed as the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft from the moment it happened. Fields, meanwhile, had to transfer from Georgia to Ohio State<\/a> before promptly lighting up college football on his own, throwing 67 touchdowns to nine interceptions and averaging 9.2 yards per attempt as the Buckeyes twice reached the College Football Playoff under his guidance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fields should have been everything the NFL coveted. He had size and strength at 6\u20193 and nearly 230 pounds. He had the speed with a 4.45 40-time. He had the pedigree, the numbers, the toughness<\/a>, the wins, and the leadership qualities after spearheading a petition to bring back Big Ten football<\/a> this past season. Instead, the NFL soured on Fields somewhere along the way, with criticisms that parroted the same dog whistle rhetoric about an inability to \u201cprocess the game\u201d that too many Black quarterbacks have unfairly faced. It didn\u2019t take much film work to see it was a bogus assessment<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Fields\u2019 fall on draft day to the fourth quarterback selected was a gift to the Bears. Jets fans<\/a>, Falcons fans<\/a>, and Panthers fans<\/a> begged for their teams to take Fields, yet he was still on the board with the No. 11 pick. That\u2019s when maligned Bears general manager Ryan Pace surrendered his No. 20 overall pick, next year\u2019s first rounder, and two mid-round selections to move up and get Fields.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s an extraordinary move for so many reasons. The entire fanbase had been hoping Pace and head coach Matt Nagy would be fired after a disappointing 8-8 season that saw the final nail driven into the Trubisky era. There were rumors the Bears could land Russell Wilson or Deshaun Watson but the team let down its city again by settling for Dalton. If Dalton looked like every awful quarterback the Bears have employed for the last several decades, the selection of Fields is an incredible swing in the other direction.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bears have had very few Black quarterbacks over their 100+ year existence. Fields is only the second Black QB the franchise has ever drafted, and the first since Vince Evans in 1977. He will be the league\u2019s second fastest quarterback behind Lamar Jackson from the moment he plays his first game, but the wonderful thing about Fields\u2019 game is that his outlier athleticism isn\u2019t the foundation of his skill set but rather a complement to his terrific pocket passing ability.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trubisky might have also been seen as a legit top-five pick in mock drafts coming into the 2017 draft, but there is a world of difference between the level of prospect he was coming out of North Carolina compared to Fields. Trubisky sat on the bench for two years at UNC, and immediately made his team worse during his lone season as a starter in 2016. Fields had 11 more touchdowns and three less interceptions on nearly 100 fewer attempts as a sophomore than Trubisky did during his breakout junior season. Fields\u2019 team also won at the highest levels of the sport, highlighted by a 385-yard, six touchdown performance to upset national title favorite Clemson in the playoff. There are so many numbers that suggest Fields is an absolutely elite prospect at QB<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fields has been considered a no-doubt, flat-out stud from the moment he rose up the ranks as a recruit, and he\u2019s never proven himself to be anything less than that. There are no certainties in the NFL Draft, especially with quarterbacks, but if the Bears screw this one up they may never get it right.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That Fields was drafted on the same day Aaron Rodgers started to force his way out of Green Bay<\/a> only makes things even sweeter. The Bears\u2019 roster still has plenty of problems, and the head coach and GM remain major question marks. For once, though, the Bears have hope. That\u2019s something all of Chicago should agree on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Justin Fields Has Message For NFL Teams That Passed On Him Last Night<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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\"OhioJustin Fields #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes looks on against the Clemson Tigers in the first half during the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on December 28, 2019 in Glendale, Arizona.
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A year ago, Justin Fields<\/a> was seen as the 1B to Trevor Lawrence\u2019s 1A among 2021 NFL Draft quarterback prospects. Fast forward to last night\u2019s first round, and he was the fourth player at the position off the board, going No. 11<\/a> to the Chicago Bears<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s certainly no shame in going in the first third of the first round. The Bears also traded up to get him, making it known that they see him as an elite prospect at the most important position in sports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course, it probably stings Fields a bit. All he did this year was lead Ohio State<\/a> to the national championship game, and absolutely obliterated Lawrence\u2019s Clemson Tigers in the process, in one of the most impressive performances of the 2020 college football season. And even so, he was passed by two quarterbacks that essentially rode single big seasons to their picks, New York Jets No. 2 pick Zach Wilson, and San Francisco 49ers\u2019 No. 3 pick Trey Lance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t the first time Fields has been passed up. As a freshman at Georgia, Kirby Smart opted to play veteran Jake Fromm over him, a decision that looked pretty horrific as Fromm leveled out, and Fields exploded as a second-year player after his transfer to Ohio State. He made a pretty clear reference to that move, in addressing the teams that passed on him last night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Ohio State’s Justin Fields on waiting to be taken at No. 11: “I’ve gone through situations where I haven’t been chosen. I think the world has seen the outcome of that.”<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nathan Baird (@nwbaird) April 30, 2021<\/a><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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At the same time, he\u2019s excited to be in Chicago, with a team that clearly wanted him badly. \u201cThey\u2019re going to get a hard worker, a guy that\u2019s going to put himself out there to win every game. A leader on and off the field,\u201d Justin Fields said on Thursday night<\/a>. \u201cSo I\u2019m just excited and ready to go to work.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Bears hope he\u2019s the solution to quarterback issues that have plagued the franchise for years now. Nothing is guaranteed with the transition from college football to the NFL, but anyone who watched him at Ohio State probably thinks the Bears just got a total steal, even with the big move up.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Justin Fields<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Justin Fields<\/strong><\/caption>\n
\"refer<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
Fields with Ohio State<\/a> in 2019<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
No. 1 \u2013 Chicago Bears<\/span><\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Position:<\/strong><\/th>\nQuarterback<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Personal information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Born:<\/strong><\/th>\nMarch 5, 1999 (age\u00a022)<\/span><\/strong>
\nKennesaw, Georgia<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Height:<\/strong><\/th>\n6\u00a0ft 3\u00a0in (1.91\u00a0m)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Weight:<\/strong><\/th>\n227\u00a0lb (103\u00a0kg)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Career information<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
High school:<\/strong><\/th>\nHarrison<\/a> (Kennesaw)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
College:<\/strong><\/th>\n\n
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NFL Draft:<\/strong><\/th>\n2021<\/a>\u00a0\/ Round:\u00a01\u00a0\/ Pick:\u00a011<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Career history<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
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Roster status:<\/strong><\/th>\nUnsigned draft pick<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Career highlights and awards<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
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Career NFL statistics as of 2021<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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Player stats at NFL.com<\/a>\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0PFR<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Justin Skyler Fields (born March 5, 1999) is an American football<\/a> quarterback<\/a> for the Chicago Bears<\/a> of the National Football League<\/a> (NFL). He began playing college football<\/a> with Georgia<\/a> in 2018 before transferring to Ohio State<\/a> the following year. With Ohio State, Fields won several Big Ten Conference<\/a> awards and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy<\/a> as a sophomore in 2019. He was drafted by the Bears in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft<\/a>, who traded up to select him.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Statistics<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Season<\/strong><\/th>\nGames<\/strong><\/th>\nPassing<\/strong><\/th>\nRushing<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
GP<\/strong><\/th>\nGS<\/strong><\/th>\nRecord<\/strong><\/th>\nComp<\/strong><\/th>\nAtt<\/strong><\/th>\nPct<\/strong><\/th>\nYards<\/strong><\/th>\nAvg<\/strong><\/th>\nTD<\/strong><\/th>\nInt<\/strong><\/th>\nRate<\/strong><\/th>\nAtt<\/strong><\/th>\nYards<\/strong><\/th>\nAvg<\/strong><\/th>\nTD<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Georgia Bulldogs<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
2018<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n12<\/strong><\/td>\n0<\/strong><\/td>\n0\u22120<\/strong><\/td>\n27<\/strong><\/td>\n39<\/strong><\/td>\n69.2<\/strong><\/td>\n328<\/strong><\/td>\n8.4<\/strong><\/td>\n4<\/strong><\/td>\n0<\/strong><\/td>\n173.7<\/strong><\/td>\n42<\/strong><\/td>\n266<\/strong><\/td>\n6.3<\/strong><\/td>\n4<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ohio State Buckeyes<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
2019<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n14<\/strong><\/td>\n14<\/strong><\/td>\n13\u22121<\/strong><\/td>\n238<\/strong><\/td>\n354<\/strong><\/td>\n67.2<\/strong><\/td>\n3,273<\/strong><\/td>\n9.2<\/strong><\/td>\n41<\/strong><\/td>\n3<\/strong><\/td>\n181.4<\/strong><\/td>\n137<\/strong><\/td>\n484<\/strong><\/td>\n3.5<\/strong><\/td>\n10<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2020<\/a><\/strong><\/th>\n8<\/strong><\/td>\n8<\/strong><\/td>\n7\u22121<\/strong><\/td>\n158<\/strong><\/td>\n225<\/strong><\/td>\n70.2<\/strong><\/td>\n2,100<\/strong><\/td>\n9.3<\/strong><\/td>\n22<\/strong><\/td>\n6<\/strong><\/td>\n175.6<\/strong><\/td>\n81<\/strong><\/td>\n383<\/strong><\/td>\n4.7<\/strong><\/td>\n5<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Career[28]<\/a><\/sup><\/strong><\/th>\n34<\/strong><\/th>\n22<\/strong><\/th>\n20\u22122<\/strong><\/th>\n423<\/strong><\/th>\n618<\/strong><\/th>\n68.4<\/strong><\/th>\n5,701<\/strong><\/th>\n9.2<\/strong><\/th>\n67<\/strong><\/th>\n9<\/strong><\/th>\n178.8<\/strong><\/th>\n260<\/strong><\/th>\n1,133<\/strong><\/th>\n4.4<\/strong><\/th>\n19<\/strong><\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justin Fields, The New Starting Quarterback for the Monster Midway, is everything that has eluded the CHICAGO BEARS for a century The Bears finally have hope at quarterback with Justin Fields. There isn\u2019t much Chicago agrees on. This is a segregated city divided by racial and socioeconomic lines that will fight about the schools, the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2405,11,8,1314,1456,1156,13,2406,14,104,124,1,39,7,9],"tags":[3879,3988,3987,3986],"class_list":["post-20061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-business","category-entertainment","category-global-business-entrepreneurs","category-global-news-updates-and-more","category-global-sports","category-health","category-mbs-hss","category-most-commented","category-ncaa","category-ncaa-football","category-news","category-nfl","category-sports","category-us","tag-1999-age-22-kennesaw","tag-2021-2022-season","tag-justin-fields-chicago-bears-starting-quarterback","tag-no-1-chicago-bears-position-quarterback-personal-information-born-march-5","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myboysay.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

Justin Fields should have been the second pick in the draft. While the pre-draft debate tried to split hairs on Mac Jones and Trey Lance, the better argument would have been Fields vs. Trevor Lawrence. The QBs had been competing against each other since they first entered the football consciousness as elite recruits from the same class who each graded out among the 10 best overall recruits of the rankings era<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n