GetBuLLish wrote:First of all, the decision on when to start Fields affects more than just Fields, it affects the whole team. If it is true that Dalton is noticeably better than FIelds right now, then starting Fields sends a message to the rest of the team that this season is basically meaningless for them. Now maybe in the grand scheme of things, it's still the right decision (especially considering the Bears aren't going to win anyway even with Dalton starting). But it's a factor the coach has to consider when he stands in front of his team every day and tries convincing them to fight for wins. Beyond that, again, if Dalton is the better player now, that likely means the other offensive players are going to play worse, which for soon-to-be free agents might mean they will make less money. Defensive players will likely play worse too since they'll be spending more time on the field, which increases their risk of injury, which could seriously impact their next contracts.
I generally agree with this. I noted in a different post that if the Bears had Jimmy G or some other middle of the road QB, then I'd be more prone to side with this type of thinking.
However, to me because Dalton is so poor and has so little upside anyway, I'm content to take these risks to improve Fields faster.
Second, even if you just focus on Fields, the premise that he will automatically be better if he starts right away is just not true. You attempt to liken the situation to any other type of endeavor, but even that falls short. Let's take for example a lawyer coming right out of law school. Would it necessarily benefit him if his employer had him single handedly try a massive lawsuit in front of a jury, despite him clearly being ill-prepared and destined for embarrassing failure? No. Sure it might benefit him in the long run. But the experience could also scar him psychologically (especially if the trial loss is publicized and tarnishes his reputation). It might also teach him bad habits that he never shakes. It might even make him feel entitled to always having big cases since he was undeservedly gifted one right out of the gate and therefore causes him to put in less effort.
Fields has played to massive stadiums against elite competition already. He's played QB for many years of his life already. This is a new higher level, but this isn't a lawyer going to the trial of the century as his first case. It's not hte first time he's touched a football, so these types of analogies aren't warranted.
Why do we not worry about a 1st round linebacker being scarred for life if he blows a tackle while starting for his team? Why is he so mentally strong automatically but our QBs are mentally weak? No where else on the field do people think failure will scar a player for life except QB.
All these potential considerations apply to Gase's decision to start Fields. In addition, football carries the unique potential of injury. If Fields is truly not ready to play at a professional level, that likely means he isn't able to accurately and efficiently read defenses, in which case he would be more susceptible to getting hit, which would increase his risk of injury. This risk is further compounded if the coach knows his offensive line isn't good.
I mean, today's game basically proved all these potentials could come to fruition. What exactly did Fields learning getting sacked 8 times? What exactly did he learn completing 6 passes for 68 yards and rushing for 12? Maybe this will help him. But maybe it won't. And even if it were to help him, would it have been worth it if Fields got seriously injured?
It's just not nearly as simple as you make it seem. Today proved that.
I think the opposite, I think Fields will come out of today learning a ton about what he has to do to succeed at the next level. His need to learn to feel a defense, make quick decisions, get the ball out fast etc... Those are all things he's not going to see in practice the same way he will in a game. A lot of his sacks today were absolutely on him. I don't think he learns to avoid those without feeling it in game action.
He also missed plays out there, and he's not going to have that on film. He's going to get to go out and see what he should ahve seen in the game, something he wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. I don't know if they're running game film all practice and then reviewing it in teh same way they do for real games, but my guess is probably not, and that this gives him another avenue to improve.
Could he get hurt? Sure he could. He could get hurt next year too. He could get hurt at any time. That's the risk of playing this sport. To get better, he's going to have to play. If he plays, he takes on risk.
I think a lot happened today that will allow him to improve. I think he was awful in all the ways I expected him to be and hope it's a strong learning experience for him.
