The Chicago Bears are one of Chicago’s most popular sports teams. However, for the past few years they have seemed to have a string of rough luck. Whether it’s from poor management, coaching, or bad players, it’s clear that the once highly praised team is nothing close to what it once was. Could there be better days ahead?
Let’s focus attention on one of the most highly argued aspects of the Bears: Justin Fields. There is an abundance of mixed feelings about the starting quarterback throughout the Bear’s fanbase. Looking at his 2022 season, fans were not very convinced until the last few games of the season when suddenly everybody discovered that Fields could run. Fields immediately became an NFL spectacle, being able to run out of the pocket and for yards upon yards.
“It was like something out of a movie I swear…watching him run all over the field had me finally excited,” said OHS Senior Kenny White.
The shocking revelation not only aided people’s fantasy football teams but also gave fans hope for the next season as they hoped that maybe Fields could work on his passing game while mixing in his astonishing rushing talent. Now passing week six, it looks like Fields has achieved something of the sort, however it’s not as flashy as people had hoped.
As of week six, Justin Fields had 1,201 passing yards, six interceptions, and a whopping 11 touchdown passes, according to ESPN.
On paper, Fields looks like a top-tier quarterback, minus the interceptions, and he has multiple offensive weapons at his disposal. One of the fan favorites is the new wide receiver numero uno, DJ Moore.
So far DJ Moore has had a pretty decent season with the Bears, even though the current record is 1-4. He recently had a career game against the Washington Commanders, catching 8/10 of his targets, bringing in a whole three touchdowns for a combined 230 yards, per ESPN. Again, you’d think these Chicago Bears would be a high-caliber team.
However, there has been an issue looming over the Chicago Bears longer than the reign of quarterback Justin Fields. That issue is coaching and management. Just watching the Bears play you can see that they constantly misuse Justin Fields.
In the words of a Bears superfan and OH football player Hayden Cook, he believes that the state of the Bears management is, ”Absolutely terrible and run by two guys who don’t know how to coach, and an offensive coordinator with no experience who is a doofus and doesn’t understand how to make adjustments. Ryan Poles has put some good pieces together but has failed to address some big team needs.”
On the subject of “big team needs”, the infamous Chicago Bears defense is not in the best of shape. Out of all 32 teams in the NFL, the Chicago Bears rank 25th according to FOX Sports. This is an accurate ranking as the defense has started to rebound after a series of injuries.
Declan Auton, a senior at OHS, and football fan, gives his input into the current state of the Chicago Bears defense.
“ extremely inconsistent but good enough to where if the offense wasn’t extremely incompetent, they would actually be a good team.”
As of now, week seven, the Bears have a record of 2-5 and won week seven with backup quarterback Tyson Bagent. Bagent, who played during the end of week six, has shown Bears fans that he can be trusted as a backup, someday maybe even a starter, but for now fans await Field’s return.
Until the Chicago Bears really start to get cooking, Bears fans are left with little glimpses of hope. These little glimpses most definitely mean better days ahead for the “Monsters of The Midway”.
As a fan, it’s best to keep rolling with the punches.
I am a senior at Oswego High School. I am very active in the community. I enjoy sports and hope to one day become a sports writer. I am also an Oswego football player.
