The thing to remember is that the Bears lost 14 games last season, the only time in their history they’ve lost that many.
It’s a cliché, but there’s nowhere for them to go but up.
The second thing to remember is that the Bears have bet that Justin Fields is the quarterback they need for now and the future.
It looks like a pretty good bet.
But is it?
There were things Fields did last season, his second, that we’ve never seen a Bears quarterback do. That we’ve never seen any quarterback do.
There have been great scramblers and runners at the position. Fran Tarkenton, Bobby Douglass, Steve Young, Michael Vick, Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson come quickly to mind.
But Fields made some cuts and moves and escapes for huge gains behind what can only be described as a terrible offensive line, bad receivers and ho-hum running backs. He turned in a jaw-dropping 1,143 yards rushing for eight touchdowns and a 7.1 yards-per-carry average.
If you’ve forgotten his 67-yard option sprint for a touchdown against the Lions, you’ve forgotten one of the greatest plays in Bears history. My favorite might be his 61-yard scramble for a touchdown against the Dolphins, when at least five defenders had a reasonable chance to tackle him and only three even touched him.
Fields’ passing was sometimes spectacular, sometimes blah, about what you’d expect from a talented guy who was simply trying to stay alive in the backfield.
We know Fields is a great runner, but what we don’t know is if he can be that great passer, a great field tactician, a great leader and thus a great quarterback.
The belief that he can be all of that is at the root of everything the Bears are doing now to assemble a dominant team. General manager Ryan Poles started with almost $76 million of salary-cap space to spend in 2023 — more than any other team in the NFL — and the first pick in the upcoming draft. The No. 1 pick was like a gold chip in Poles’ fat wallet, and he dealt it away to the Panthers, one of several teams desperate for a franchise quarterback. The Panthers now could draft C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young, each of whom scouts feel could be the next Patrick Mahomes.
The Panthers obviously made the lopsided deal, giving up star wide receiver D.J. Moore and some high draft picks, because they’ve done this gamble before, back in 2011, when they dealt for the No. 1 pick and drafted Newton out of Auburn. He won the 2015 Most Valuable Player Award and led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in February 2016. Maybe Stroud or Young will be even better.
No matter, because the Bears won’t get either one.
Which is the gamble.
The Chiefs’ Mahomes is the shining example of screwed-up, over-thought, dumb-as-mud Bears draft-picking. He stands like a gold statue, huge and proud, chest out, above a plaque that reads, “Beneath here lie the sad Chicago Bears and poor fellow Mitch Trubisky.”
Remember, the Bears are legendary for not drafting Mahomes when they could have. So, if history repeats with Stroud, Young or even outlier quarterbacks such as Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis, the Bears will go down as the team that doesn’t know a quarterback from a Quarter Pounder.
With all their need and money, the Bears hope to ride a re-nourished Fields to dominance. Everything should be souped up this season, including the offensive line that Fields needs to avoid getting sacked constantly. But success means, above all, beating the bizarrely cruel Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers (if he decides to stay there). Because no retooling makes any sense if the Bears can’t shed that hideous weakness against the division rivals from up North.
Rodgers is 24-5 against the Bears in his 15 years with the Packers. That’s ridiculous. It truly is.
To think about Rodgers — and even before him, of Brett Favre — is to be confronted with the importance of the quarterback position. For decades, the Packers have “owned” the Bears.
Why? Their quarterbacks.
Which brings us back to Fields.
There were sparks from him last season that excited Bears fans the way almost nothing has, except maybe those who remember the magic of Gale Sayers.
Hall of Fame quarterback or mediocre?
Superstar or just a runner?
Both possibilities lurk.
The Bears are betting the house on superstar.
Away we go.
