The Weekender: Justin Fields Should Be Starting for the Bears, SC Puts in a GA at QB, and the Most Perfect NIL Deal Yet

By 11W Staff on August 22, 2021 at 2:30 pm
Justin Fields
Justin Fields
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Own the group chat with The Weekender, highlighting the biggest stories in college sports, standout writing from Eleven Warriors, and a glance at what's next.

Justin Fields is the future of the Chicago Bears and also the best quarterback they have right now. Why is he not their starter?

Following his blistering preseason performance against the Miami Dolphins last weekend, former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields took the field once again yesterday for the Chicago Bears. However, the 11th overall pick in this year's draft did not see any action until the second half when the Bears were already down by 28 points.

This is because the Bears' coaching staff remains firmly committed to starting Andy Dalton to begin the regular season. Yet, most people watching the Bears' practices and preseason games would agree that the offense looks far more effective with the the latest rookie Buckeye QB at the helm than the former Cincinnati Bengal.

Dalton threw for just 73 yards excluding a jump ball touchdown with the game out of reach, managed three "3 & Outs" on his first three possessions, and tossed a bad pick at the end of the first half that set up three extra points for the Bills. By contrast, Fields posted 126 total yards on a day when he outrushed all four other Bears that received carries combined. 

Fields completed fewer passes than Dalton did, but the plays he did make came with a much more impressive level of difficulty and demonstrable skill. There was perhaps no such better example than this back-foot throw he made under duress following a play action fake:

Justin Fields' NFL team needs him. Yesterday was an obvious example of how Fields can give any offense a scrambling dynamic that will manufacture some sort of offensive movement when nothing else is working. Andy Dalton does not bring the same skills to the table, and when a team struggles to execute even the most fundamental offense, any football game can get out of reach quickly—as it did yesterday.

Last year, one of the greatest quarterback rookie success stories in recent memory almost did not happen because an NFL coaching staff wanted to commit to a pedestrian veteran instead of a budding talent. Justin Herbert was an unpunctured-Tyrod Taylor lung away from not getting the chance to break the rookie records for most completions and passing touchdowns.

No one wants to see Dalton hurt—least of all Fields. After Dalton received a cascade of boos and other disrespect from Bears fans near the conclusion of the first half, Fields defended his teammate in the postgame press conference.

Despite Fields' diplomatic response to the controversy, this idea that fresh talent must wait behind the old guard needs to be dealt away with. In cases where the chasm between alternate options is as vast as it is with Fields and the rest of the Bears quarterbacks, NFL teams are only handicapping themselves by not exposing the talents they invest in to meaningful action. How much less along would the San Diego Chargers be today had Justin Herbert not been thrust into action last season?

Justin Fields is the future of the Bears, and given the other talent available at the position, the future is now. The city of Chicago already seems to recognize that, and it will be interesting to see if his NFL coaches acknowledge as much before the end of the preseason.

South Carolina Just Made a Graduate Assistant Their Newest Quarterback

The SEC is never short on crazy college football news, but the latest development out of South Carolina this week is truly one for the ages.

After the Gamecocks' assumed starting QB Luke Doty suffered a sprained foot in preparation for the season opener, the team suddenly only found itself with three healthy quarterbacks on its roster. Two of them were underclassmen, and the other was a recent transfer from an FCS program.

Seeking extra manpower at a critical position, Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer elected to make recent graduate assistant Zeb Noland an active member of South Carolina's football roster this past Tuesday.

As a graduate assistant with remaining eligibility, Noland is allowed to practice with the current team. He is likely a longshot to play this season, but it is always great to see a player-turned-coach get one last shot at contributing to a team's success with the ball in their hands—even in practice.

Kool-Aid McKinstry Now Has a Brand Deal with Kool-Aid

NIL deals continue to take shape across college sports as the fall athletics season dawns. Football players are dominating the landscape, mostly via their own social media platforms. However, after the first month of new legislation, the average monthly income for most athletes remains just shy of $500 according to available data.

While the monetary value of these deals is likely to increase once these players take the field and start turning heads, it is unlikely fans will see a much more perfect NIL deal than the one an Alabama freshman just signed.

Ga'Quincy McKinstry—officially listed on Alabama's football roster as "Kool-Aid" McKinstry—agreed to swap names with the Kool-Aid Man on social media last Wednesday. The Crimson Tide defensive back will presumably yell, "OH YEAH" after any and all pass breakups going forward.

Of course, despite the perfect pairing of the two Kool-Aids, the most significant recent NIL deal between a freshman and a beverage company remains Quinn Ewers and Holy Kombucha.

ICYMI

OBSERVATIONS FROM FINAL FULL PRESEASON PRACTICE OPEN TO THE MEDIA 

Dan Hope provides notes and analysis from Wednesday morning's practice session that included an up-close look at Quinn Ewers as well as reports on positive developments from freshmen such as Denzel Burke and Jakailin Johnson.

2021 SEASON PREVIEW: FIVE PREDICTIONS FOR THE 2021 OHIO STATE FOOTBALL SEASON

Eleven Warriors executive editor Chris Lauderback is the latest in the site's season preview series. He makes five bold predictions about Ohio State's pass rush, Jeremy Ruckert, and other key elements of the upcoming Buckeye football season.

HOW OHIO STATE'S OFFENSE WILL LOOK WITH C.J. STROUD AT QUARTERBACK

Anticipating that C.J. Stroud would shortly be named the starter, Dan Hope and Kyle Jones got together on Real Pod Wednesdays this week to break down how Stroud will shape the similarities and changes of the Ohio State offense.

Up Next

  • Friday, August 27th: Women's Volleyball vs. Northern Kentucky (@ Nationwide Arena) (7 p.m. ET)
  • Friday, August 27th: Men's Soccer vs. Memphis — The Wolstein Classic (7 p.m. ET)
  • Saturday, Aug. 28th: Justin Fields to play in Chicago Bears' third preseason game vs. Mike Vrabel's  Tennessee Titans (7 p.m. ET)
  • Thursday, Sept. 2: Ohio State football opens its 2021 season at Minnesota
  • Saturday, Sept. 11: Ohio State football hosts Oregon in its 2021 home opener
  • Saturday, Nov. 27: Ohio State plays Michigan in The Game
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Prognosticating: Indiana

Dry Goods Contest

Across The Field: Indiana Beat Writer Zach Osterman Says This Might Be the Hoosiers’ Most Important Regular Season Game Ever and QB Kurtis Rourke Has Played Well Under Pressure

Kurtis Rourke
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