How the Chicago Bears rookies performed against Packers

The Chicago Bears rookies still proving they can ball

Aaron Rodgers did not pass the torch to the Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields. He shouted how he still owns the Chicago Bears to fans that were disrespecting him. Aaron Rodgers isn’t wrong, but it is time for the Chicago Bears to take back the North. It just might have to wait a bit longer. Justin Fields had a solid game. Fields looked like a rookie quarterback. Many on Facebook have wondered why Justin Fields did not hit Allen Robinson on a wide-open naked play. I try to explain to fans that playing quarterback in the NFL is like racing a stick-shift car first. Justin Fields understands how to change gears and knows where the gas and brake are on the vehicle. Now he is learning when to put the power down, when to turn and when to brake. It all takes time to understand how to put it all together.

Justin Fields doesn’t yet know when a particular read will likely be open based on his pre-snap evaluation. Justin Fields finished 16/27 for 174 yards with one touchdown and one interception. As much as I would like to say he could have quickly completed without an interception due to the “free play,” it seems there was a makeup call on another could have been interception play. The refs made it hard to evaluate Justin Fields, but looking outside of the box, we saw a leader capable of accurately making throws on the run and downfield. Justin Fields still needs to work on checking the ball down and processing pre-snap. Fields’ head is constantly moving, and his ability to read plays is a lot better than most give him credit. If Fields could locate what he should be doing pre-snap, his big plays post-snap will come at a higher clip.

Enough on the quarterback. Khalil Herbert continues to prove that Ryan Pace knows what he is doing when it comes to drafting players. It has been two games, and the run-stopping Buccaneers are next on the table. If Herbert has another good game against the Bucs, it might be time for people to see that Herbert could potentially be better than David Montgomery. Speed kills. I have been saying that from day one. Herbert continues to show that one-cut and getting downhill is more effective than dancing and breaking tackles. Herbert is missing something Montgomery does have, though, the ability to run routes and catch. That is something Jordan Howard lacked as well. There isn’t much I can say about Herbert that I didn’t say last week.

Herbert needs to keep doing what he is doing. The Chicago Bears might have found their versions of Ray Rice (Herbert) and Bernard Pierce/Willis McGahee (Montgomery). Herbert has shown that his 4.4X speed mixed with his 5’9 212 frame is strong enough to break tackles while getting chunks of yards. I know that is only two rookies, but until Larry Borom and Teven Jenkins return, there won’t but much else to talk about with Eddie Goldman back at nose tackle. Maybe Dazz Newsome can show out in practice and push Damiere Byrd for some playing time.