A Continuous Journey: 2024 NFL Offseason Thread

MY MAN

 

That is part of why I avoided using won-loss record to compare the two. For those who think that is a viable approach, it is vastly in favor of Pickett (14-10) over Fields (10-28). That said, Fields has had opportunities to help his team hold a lead or take a lead late and he hasn't done well in those situations. Pickett had some trouble with that his first month or so as a starter, but he has been very good in those moments since.

 

Lions CB Sutton wanted in alleged battery case

Cam Sutton sought on domestic violence charge and can't be found for two weeks.

 

NFL to mull kickoff change, hip-drop tackle ban

The best solution to keeping the kick-off relevant AND the onside kick is requiring the receiving team to line up at least nine players between 10 and 15 yards of the kicking spot and not move until the ball is kicked - you eliminate the "wedge"and still penalize a team for not having a kicker who can manage a touchback. Might even make kickoffs more exciting with "bloop" and "dribbler" surprise onside kicks

 

I don’t want a QB who’s good only in moments. I want a QB who’s consistently good in all four quarters.

Winning percentage is, obviously, a team stat. One of the teams we’re talking about made the playoffs last season and nearly made it in the back door the season before that. The other team had the ninth-worst record in 2022 and the worst record in 2023.

Again, those are team stats. Team A won in spite of its QB play. Team B failed to build around a talented QB and found ways to lose.

 

I agree that it is a team statistic, but I know others disagree, which is why I posted their teams' won-loss records when they start. The larger concern for me is that Fields has a habit of failing with the game on the line. For all his faults, Pickett showed he didn't wilt in big moments. Neither guy has been consistently good all four quarters, but only one has consistently failed in the fourth and that's Fields.

 

Yeah, I remember when he shit the bed in the 4th against the Steelers.

Oh wait, that was the defense. People forget how ass-awful the Bears defense was until about midseason last year.

Fields was putting up 30+ points in close losses because of that defense.

 

Fields was statistically the worst fourth-quarter quarterback in the league last season.

 

First- and second-half splits last season.

First: 67.5/1524/9/3/100.8
Second: 54.7/1038/7/6/70.9

The defense blew its share of games, but the numbers tell a larger story.

 

The story I get from those numbers is the Bears coaches were great in prep and scripting, but not so great at in-game tweaking and ad-libbing.

 

Thank you. They would repeatedly stop putting the ball in Fields’ hands, until the defense inevitably shit the bed, then they’d ask Fields to be a hero in obvious pass rushing situations in a 2-minute drill. And even in some of those losses, Fields would make throws that were either being dropped or fumbled. I also remember of at least two instances of uncalled blatant DPI.

But yeah, Fields sucks. All his fault.

 

Nothing is ever one player's fault, but the numbers are what they are. Players rise to the occasion in the biggest moments or they don't. Even Pickett has done so quite a bit in his short career. Fields has not.