Those of you who were beyond thrilled with Justin Fields’ role in the Bears’ upset victory over the 49ers – those of you who quite possibly lost muscle function in your rapture – well, you weren’t wrong to feel the way you felt.
But neither was Mike Martz. The former Bears offensive coordinator might have been over the top in his recent criticism of Fields, might have been unduly nasty in his appraisal of the quarterback’s performance Sunday, but there was truth mixed in with the harshness.
Why does everything have to be either/or these days?
The Bears won a game they weren’t supposed to in Week 1, which was worthy of the civic excitement that followed, and Fields had a few memorable plays in an overall not-very-good day, which was worthy of the Monday morning quarterbacking that followed from some corners. Also the Tuesday and Wednesday morning versions. That the loudest couch quarterbacking came from Martz, who is inextricably linked with Jay Cutler’s turbulent ups and downs in Chicago, galled Bears fans and made dismissing what he said easy.
“I’m just shocked — shocked — at the Bears,” he said on The 33rd Team, which bills itself as an NFL think tank. “I mean, they took this quarterback, and they spent a lot to get him, and ‘less than remarkable’ would be the kindest thing you could say about him.”
The only thing to be shocked about was the Bears’ victory. Beyond the true believers, very few people saw it coming. To be shocked that the Bears didn’t look great in the opener – why would anyone be shocked by that? Wasn’t the theme of this season supposed to be tons of bumps in the road and lots of fingers crossed in hopes of progress from Fields in his second year? A shocker would have been the Bears offense putting up 35 points against San Francisco, not 19.
But the description of Fields as “less than remarkable’’ on Sunday … um, that’s not far off. Might even be spot on. If Martz was saying that Fields is less than remarkable overall and figures to be less than remarkable the rest of his career, 11 NFL starts might be a bit premature to be making such a dark, definitive judgment.
But the 49ers game? In the third quarter, Fields showed off his athleticism by scrambling left on a broken play and heaving the ball to the other side of the field to Dante Pettis for what would end up being a 51-yard touchdown play. Afterward, Bears coach Matt Eberflus wasn’t miserly with the praise, complimenting Fields on his arm strength and vision. I apologize if this makes your skin crawl, but it was reminiscent of pretty much every time former Bears coach Matt Nagy praised former Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky for pretty much anything. Not many quarterbacks could have escaped the 49ers’ rush for long enough to make the play that Fields did, but many quarterbacks would have seen a wide-open Pettis and plenty of them would have had the arm to get the ball there.
The most important thing about the play was not that it said anything about what kind of success Fields will have as an NFL quarterback but that it said to the 49ers that they were suddenly in danger of losing a game they had been dominating. Why can’t everybody in Bearland be happy with that?
But most of everything else about Fields on Sunday was … less than remarkable. It’s OK to say that. Nobody’s going to die. Nobody’s going to take away your Official Bears Fan Club card. His numbers spoke for themselves: 8 of 17 (47.1%) for 121 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception, should have had another and finished with a passer rating of 85.7. He rushed 11 times for 28 yards. Remarkable lite.
So what does all of it mean? That the rain made Soldier Field look and feel like a cranberry bog and that it affected everybody’s play. That Fields doesn’t have a lot of help on offense. That he still has all kinds of athletic ability. That all kinds of athletic ability doesn’t guarantee stardom. That this week’s game against the 0-1 Packers figures to be a whole different animal – from a river otter to a cornered honey badger.
Just because someone believes in Fields with all their heart and soul doesn’t mean they have to lose their senses, starting with eyesight, when analyzing his performances. Chicago goes through this every time there’s a whiff of a quarterback. It’s not love at first sight. It’s love at first thought. You’d think by now everyone would know it’s not possible to will a quarterback into greatness. But, no.
The San Francisco game was a positive for the Bears, something to build on heading into Sunday night’s big game against an angry and motivated Packers team. If you’re a Bears fan and believe any positive is reason enough for a cheerleader convention, have at it.
But if you can get past the idea that it was Martz who described Fields as “less than remarkable’’ – if you can purge yourself of the suspicion that Martz has a vendetta against his former employer – you might look at Fields’ play a bit more soberly. Maybe tone down the enthusiasm from a 12-pack of beer to a six-pack. You might realize the truth isn’t such a bad thing.
