By: Jake Rajala

The Chicago Bears will strive to unveil a better record than 6-11 in the Matt Nagy-less era. Well, it appears the Bears have confidence in their new direction and titan-like NFL critics have expressed their praise for CHI. The Cowboys legend Troy Aikman is one of the NFL legends that has shown bliss for Fields and his crew. Per Chicago Tribune, Aikman stated, “there is no doubt in my mind that he can do that”.

Aikman elaborated on the change in playing calling and how Matt Eberflus could be the spark for the Bears offense. He outlined that Norv Tuner completely changed his Cowboys offense. Although, he did mention that the change of scenery can’t be the sole reason why it completely changes.

It may seem like the Bears exhibit a young QB, so it’s easy for NFL analysts to pick the Bears as an easy team write-off. Nonetheless, the NFL world witnessed the Cincinnati Bengals surprise the world on the back of a “Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase” connection. The Bengals were arguably the worst pass protection unit and they display the 26th pass defense (passing YPG allowed). Yet, the Bengals edged out the KC Chiefs twice in 2021 and scored a seat in the Super Bowl.

The Bears will surely look to benefit from Fields dual-threat ability and deep-arm passing ability with Darnell Mooney and the rookie Velus Jones Jr. On the defensive side of things, it will honestly be a challenge to replace the production of Khalil Mack. It honestly appears the Bears are looking to ship out the other aging pass rusher Quin, as well. Expect growing pains from the Bears defense, but they should lean on Roquan Smith, Eddie Jackson, and potentially even Quinn to be play-makers on defense.

On the horizon, the Bears will look to build on their new energy, learn to get new faces like Velus Jones Jr. involved, and perhaps they will add talent to the FA pool. It may be wise for CHI to reunite with Akiem Hicks.

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By: Jake Rajala

The Chicago Bears second-year quarterback Justin Fields is one of the very most mysterious players in 2022. Fields is coming off a porous 2021 season, where he threw more interceptions (10 ints) than touchdowns (7). Most importantly, he had a miserable 2-8 record in his rookie campaign. He was still able to make splash plays and show glimpses of his magical dual-threat ability (as shown below).

It should be noted that Fields was located on Matt Snake Nagy Island last season. It’s also fair to say that many great signal-callers and talented young faces in the league have had rough rookie or sophomore seasons. Profiles such as Peyton Manning (3-13 record in 1998) and Drew Brees (2-9 record in 2003) were deemed busts early in their career. The dual-threat Philadelphia Eagles QB Jalen Hurts nicely progressed in his sophomore season. Hurts was 1-3 as a rookie starter with 6 passing touchdowns to 4 interceptions. In the Eagles QB1’s second NFL season, he led his team to the playoffs via his arm talent (3,144 passing yds) and rushing ability (784 rushing yds).

With that enunciated, Fields will be highly motivated and gifted with new weapons at his disposal. He may not have A-Rob (412 yards in 12 games last season), but he will grow with Byron Pringle and Velus Jones Jr (outside of the third-year WR Darnell Mooney). In particular, Jones Jr. should be a rockstar target for Fields. Per NBC Sports Chicago, Jones Jr. is “locked-in” with his beloved QB. His 4.31 speed should be a valuable asset from the WR3 or WR2 spot.

I expect Fields and his shiny head coach Matt Eberflus to be able to unveil modest success on offense next season. The Khalil-Mack-less bears may not have a sexy roster, but they will have a strong game plan for their talented QB. I really can see Fields being able to run for 700+ yards and throw around 25 passing touchdowns in 2022. I expect Fields to have growing pains in 2022, but they should lean on him through the ups and downs in the Nick Foles-less QB room. CHI may struggle to have a winning record in the NFC North, but I expect honest and legitimate growth from Fields in his pivotal second NFL season.

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