Whenever a high-profile player is in danger of losing their job, reporters dutifully march to teammates’ lockers to get their opinion on the matter. Two things are true about this exercise.
The reporters have to ask the question.
The teammates’ predictably positive responses don’t mean much and carry little weight.
We’re deep into Justin Fields debate season, and his latest performance was shaky enough that sportswriters had to make the rounds and ask The Question.
Should the Bears stick with him or use what could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft on a quarterback?
The next time a player answers that type of inquiry by saying his teammate is atrocious will be the biggest upset in sports history. The more common response is the extravagant oil-strike gusher that Bears receiver Darnell Mooney offered when asked about Fields after a brutal loss to the Browns on Sunday.
“Justin is the quarterback of the future,” he said. “He’s this franchise’s quarterback. He’s been balling. I don’t understand why there’s any more questions (about) that. Obviously, we have the first-round pick because of Carolina right now, but Justin’s a dog. If he’s not here, he’ll be somewhere else balling. I’m not the guy that makes those decisions, but Justin’s a dog. So, wherever he may be, if it’s not here, somewhere else, he’s still going to ball.”
If I had taken the name “Justin’’ out of that quote and asked you who was being described, you probably would have said Patrick Mahomes, Tua Tagovailoa or Jesus. If Mooney thinks that highly of Fields, it’s more than fair to question his judgment.
There isn’t overwhelming evidence that Fields “is the quarterback of the future.’’ If there were, Chicago wouldn’t be locked in mortal combat over his ability and future. The body of his work as a passer over almost three seasons has been average. Whatever you want to attribute that to – his mediocrity or coaches’ mediocrity – is the argument that apparently will never end. But stating that Fields is a franchise quarterback, as Mooney clearly was doing the other day, is based on something other than facts. Friendship, loyalty and “I had to say something’’ are possible suspects.
That Mooney said Fields is “balling’’ suggests that fealty to a teammate is at work here.
He’s not the only one with high praise for the quarterback.
“He’s been doing everything that’s asked of him, keeping us in games and stuff like that,’’ wide receiver DJ Moore told 670 The Score. “His growth has been phenomenal, I would say.’’
Say what?
Keeping the Bears in games is one thing. Performing at a high level when games are on the line is another. Fields does his best work in the first three quarters. He has yet to prove that he can win games late – or even be good when it really matters. He’s completing 51.3% of his passes in the fourth quarter this season. His passer rating is 55.3 in the fourth quarter. For his career, the numbers are 56.2% and 62.4.
It’s one of the reasons why the buyer has to beware when deciding on whether Fields should be the franchise’s quarterback going forward. Saying “yes’’ to him will involve a massive amount of money. Jobs throughout Halas Hall will be on the line.
For the people making the decision on Fields, furniture needs to be pushed up against the door to keep emotion out.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles likely will not be taking players’ politicking for Fields into consideration when he makes the gargantuan decision on the direction of the franchise. If he does, he’ll be making a terrible mistake. Teammates can’t be trusted in these situations.
We know this because we were subjected to four years of Bears players talking about how talented Mitch Trubisky was, how good a colleague he was and how he was killing it in minicamp drills.
Whatever growth Fields has shown in his time here, it hasn’t been “phenomenal,’’ as Moore put it. You can argue that his best years are ahead of him or you can argue that he’s received awful coaching. But you can’t say his growth has been phenomenal in Chicago.
This brings us back to the obligatory folly of asking players about a teammate whose future with the team is very much in question.
They’re either too close to the teammate to be objective or they’re put in an impossible position.
That leaves them with two possible approaches.
One is Mooney’s response: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
The other is nobody-in-their-right-mind’s response: That quarterback from USC is really talented!
