3 Chicago Bears who need to be benched or fired amid Week 2 chaos
By Mark Powell
The Chicago Bears are 0-2 on the season, and though it's only been a couple of games, it feels like the sky is falling in the Windy City. On Wednesday, Justin Fields called out the coaching staff for what he felt was a "robotic" approach to play-calling.
"It could be coaching, I think," said Fields. "But at the end of the day, they're doing their job when they're giving me what to look at and stuff like that, but at the end of the day I can't be thinking about that when the game comes. I prepare myself throughout the week and then when the game comes, it's time to play free at that point. Thinking less and playing more."
You can tell Fields is trying to be genuine, but it comes across as petty given the mistakes he made on Sunday in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sometimes it's best to keep matters in-house, especially as it pertains to disagreements over offensive play-calling. Instead, Fields spoke of his dirty laundry, and put the organization on notice at the same time.
Something has to change in Chicago, so we might as well start with the obvious.
Chicago Bears who should be benched or fired: Justin Fields
Fields still has plenty of potential as a quarterback, but the team should send him some sort of message. Whether it's a benching, suspension or even a fine, Fields cannot be allowed to make this mistake as the leader of this team.
There is something to Fields honesty on Wednesday -- he hasn't looked like the same player we saw at the end of last season. Fields gave Bears fans hope, and he's also the reason Chicago felt so comfortable in trading away the top overall pick to the Carolina Panthers rather than selecting another QB. They believe in Fields, who at his best is a dangerous multifaceted signal-caller. Fields can make the defense pay via the passing or run game.
So far this season, he's been fine for fantasy football owners, but those relatively meaningless numbers haven't translated to wins. The Ohio State product has taken a step back in his development, and that is on the coaching staff as well as the player. It's about time he takes some responsibility.