We knew what Justin Fields is, are the Chicago Bears and the NFL ready for that

Justin Fields is the Modern day Michael Vick

There was once a point where a quarterback like Justin Fields would have been the first overall draft selection, and nobody would have thought twice. The words this quarterback throws a great deep ball, and Dan Reeves likes throwing downfield. It may be the win-loss record that changed the narrative. But to my mistake, Justin Fields is Michael Vick. I stated he would be more of a Russell Wilson type of player when he was a draft prospect, but that isn't who Fields became in the NFL. There are too many stuck on his passing stats. That is the beauty of the NFL draft. What a player does in college is only a glimpse of what they could become in the NFL.

The name Caleb Williams and his comparison to Patrick Mahomes is silly. If it were that simple, then each bad NFL team that selects a rookie quarterback at the top of the draft each year would always improve. That has never been 100% the case. In fact, it has been the opposite most of the time. If you believe the metrics, then Michale Penix Jr is the next Drew Brees. Sounds weird? Well, all Penix does is read defenses and take deep shots. I'm getting off-topic. It was easier to see that Vick would become the dynamic runner he was in the NFL because that is what he did in college.

Vick threw for 3074 yards in two seasons with Virginia Tech and rushed for 1202 yards on 212 attempts. For 1999, that was a lot. I have heard time and time again that Vicks's 56.2 career completion percentage was good for that time. It wasn't, though.

• Chad Pennington 68.9
• Rich Gannon 67.6
• Brian Griese 66.7
• Peyton Manning 66.3
• Matt Hasselbeck 63.7
• Brad Johnson 62.3

You get my point. Michael Vick was good for 25th in the league. Not enough use the history of the the league. They weren't throwing a thousand screens in 2001 like Luke Getsy is in 2023. Justin Fields is completing 61.0% of his passes. Truthfully, if we take away a lot of his screen passes, that stat is much lower. Vick had an elite arm. When he went deep, that ball had plenty behind it to reach the target.

Fields has a strong arm but nothing like Vick; however, his deep ball accuracy is elite. The sooner people like DaBearsBlog stop talking about Justin Fields passing and start focusing on who he is, the more they will appreciate what he has become in the NFL. There is an amazing play that The QB SChool goes over against Atlanta. 

It showcases a simple read option on the goalline that ultimately Khalil Herbert scores. But the threat of Justin Fields was so prevalent that Fields took the middle linebacker and the outside linebacker out of the play from fear. Those are the things stat stuffers need help understanding. Don't get me wrong, I also like a good stat line, but what happens on the plays that don't have stats?

There are distinctive differences between Lamar Jackson, Mike Vick, Kyler Murray, and Dak. Truthfully, Fields is different as well. But the best comparison, after three years off NFL football, is Mike Vick. The sooner everybody understands that, the sooner they can appreciate what Fields has become. I know I stated that before, but I need to stress that.