As we wind up the NFL season, Bears fans find themselves once again in the precarious position of having to watch everyone else in the playoffs and wondering when the team might once again ascend to the halcyon days of debating whether Rex Grossman or Kyle Orton should be our quarterback.
My how things have changed in 15 or so years. (Yes, it's been that long since the Bears were consistently in the playoff conversation).
Now we have a much different quarterback debate going on in Beardom: the Justin Fields or the field question.
Now Justin Fields sure hasn't lit the world on fire as a passer over the last 4 seasons. There has been growth, for sure. Especially since his return from a thumb injury this season. And now they have a chance to play spoiler to the hated Green Bay Packers, which sounds insane to say out loud but might just finally put a significant cornerstone on Justin Fields' legacy in Chicago should he stay.
USC's Caleb Williams is the shiny new toy. The Heisman Trophy winner that everyone with working vocal chords is saying is a 'can't-miss-sure-thing-prepare-his-bust-for-Canton' prospect. Anyone who is much smarter than myself on these things has deemed this decision a no-brainer that must happen if Bears GM Ryan Poles wants to be viewed as a competent team builder.
They absolutely could be right. So what?
Caleb Williams could go on to have every record known to man by the end of his career. Does it really mean anything if the Bears don't own the league? Because if the Bears choose to move on from a player like Fields that has shown such growth, that absolutely has the support of the locker room, that has handled himself with such class, and has shown playmaking ability with his legs better than almost anyone in league history- that has to be the return.
The Packers had an unbelievable string of decades with a Hall of Fame Quarterback, going from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers. Ultimately what did they achieve? Two Super Bowl wins 14 years apart and three conference championships. Rodgers played his last 12 seasons without going back to the Super Bowl.
The Colts had Peyton Manning from 1998 to 2010. That got them two Super Bowl appearances and one win.
John Elway? All those years, and finally two Super Bowl wins right before he retired.
Dan Marino? Arguably the best pure passer the league has ever seen? One apperance, no wins.
Let's look more recently at the top signal callers in the league.
Joe Burrow is probably the outlier, more than Patrick Mahomes or Brock Purdy due to the Chiefs and 49ers being in a totally advanced state of roster development.
Justin Herbert? Four seasons, one playoff appearance.
Tua Tagovailoa? 3 seasons, possibly about to make his 2nd playoff appearance.
Dak Prescott? 8 seasons as the Cowboys' QB, one injured season, 4 playoff appearances never advancing past the Divisonal Round.
Kirk Cousins has been in Minnesota since 2018. That's gotten them 2 playoff appearances and have never gotten past the Divisional Round. (Yes, I know about the 'miracle' and stuff)
My point is that having the best Quarterback isn't necessarily indicative of team success. I mean, if your goal is just to make the playoffs, then sure. But if you're not striving to win championships, what are you really doing?
In the last 10 years teams who won the Super Bowl were quarterbacked by Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Nick Foles, Patrick Mahomes, and Matthew Stafford. ALL of those teams were not reliant on their quarterback to do it all. In fact, the most successful quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, is consistently chastised because of the team situations he was in. The key to all those names ulitmately bringing a title home, though, was they didn't get in their team's way. They didn't throw an untimely interception or miss a receiver on a key third down. THAT takes maturity as much as any skill.
That is the question Ryan Poles needs to answer: can Justin grow into the player that doesn't implode under pressure and make the play you need when it is needed? If that answer is yes, you stay with the one who brought you and wish Caleb Williams the best.
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