How’s everyone’s weekend going?
Thanks for spending a portion of your Sunday with the Six.
Let’s get right to it.
GETTING TO THE TRUTH ABOUT JUSTIN FIELDS
I took my car in this week to get some brake work done. The first question the mechanic (auto technician?) asked was not about the pads or rotors.
He asked me what I thought the Bears should do about Justin Fields.
When the car guy is talking about it, a topic has officially reached critical mass.
Pre-internet, my exchange with the mechanic would be referred to “water cooler chatter.” in the 2020’s, water cooler gab has morphed into a millions-of-voices mash up of Google-Reddit-TwitterX-mainstream debate shows. And everyone seems to have an opinion on the future of Fields.
I’m not here to to add to the perplexing level of discourse. What I do know: he’s won 10 professional games and his passes regularly miss open receivers. Historically, the NFL rewards accurate passers and winners. Fields is neither.
That’s my hot take. Throw it in the pile with the 532,467 others.
Why so much interest around Fields? Why has the future of a 23-year-old quarterback of a bad franchise become the ubiquitous “A” block debate point across so many media platforms?
It’s a series of factors, I think.
The seven month offseason has become big business for the NFL. The draft especially, as it traffics in speculation. Nothing drives eyeballs to 65” televisions and iPhones more than the words “might do” in a headline. Let’s not be mistaken, there is no actual news as it relates to Fields. He’s still a member of the Bears. He’s under contract. No decision makers––owners, general managers, coaches––have publicly said anything of substance about plans to keep or trade him.
Producers must fill programming time, writers digital space. And in the absence of real events, they come up with topics such as “Best Trade Partners For Justin Fields” or for the gambling sites, “Best Odds To Land Justin Fields” (as of this writing, Atlanta is -225). When retired NFL executives speak on talk shows about Fields, their “insights” sets off another chain reaction of responses to what was said by the “insider,” and that gets aggregated and harvested all over the internet. There’s an inverse contagion effect; media invents the talking point, receives data affirming commercial viability of said talking point, doubles and triples down on product production and that’s good for business. None of these debate topics are about Fields’ body of work, which is less than stellar. It’s all aspirational––what he could do in the right situation. These shows understand their viewers preference: speculating on potential transactions.
The Bears are also in a unique position. They have the No. 1 pick in the draft (again), with a previous first-round pick (Fields) under contract, who just so happens to be a quarterback. Interest would be much less if the Bears only had the No. 9 pick and Fields was let’s say, a strong safety.
But I also think there’s another reason driving the ceaseless ruminations.
A little over 20 years ago, one rising quarterback in the NFL was Donovan McNabb. He played for the Philadelphia Eagles (then coached by Andy Reid). The Eagles were a winning franchise and McNabb was getting a lot of positive press. Appearing on the ESPN pre-game show in 2003, commentator Rush Limbaugh (yes, that Rush Limbaugh) gave a contrarian view on McNabb, calling him “overrated” and added this piece of analysis:
What we have here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a Black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.
Next time you listen to any commentary on Fields (just turn on the television or open your phone, it’s there) you will likely hear similar sentiment. It’s how apologists behave before they validate their opinion.
“If only he had a better line blocking for him”
“If they had drafted better receivers”
“The Bears can’t develop quarterbacks”
All of those things may be true (certainly the quarterbacks part…check the record). But why have so many mainstream media analysts chosen Fields to be the proverbial hill they will die on?
Why not Zach Wilson of the Jets or Trevor Lawrence or the Jaguars? What about Mac Jones of the Patriots? All were taken in the same draft as Fields and none have been re-signed by their teams. I haven’t heard a peep about any of them on debate shows (OBTW…Lawrence and Jones have started playoff games. Fields has not).
I’m not saying Limbaugh’s 2003 comments are completely applicable today. But is it crazy to think opinionists, pundits and fans have chosen for the past few years to see Fields as a better player than he has been because they want him to be?
In case you were wondering, my mechanic thinks the Bears should keep him.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. The Insider’s Guide To The McConnell Succession Race.
Two months in, 2024 has already been bonkers in Washington. A development this past week kicks off another round of horse trading. Longtime GOP Senate boss Mitch McConnell announced he was stepping down in November. Jockeying for leverage as potential successor “has so far played out only in the backrooms of the Capitol” according to this article from Politico but expect that to change in the coming months.
2. "Please I Will Give Anything For You To Come Back.
Thirteen-year-old Talon Vance was taken by his mother and aunt to live “off-grid” in a Colorado forest at 10,000 feet. Talon’s mother, scared nearly senseless by conspiracy theories, made the move thinking it would keep her son safe. It didn’t. A tragic story told with great narrative thrust by this writer from Outside.
3. How Bad Therapy Hijacked American Schools.
There’s been a debate raging in the theater community over trigger warnings. For instance, is it appropriate to warn audiences before a production of “Romeo and Juliet” that the story depicts suicide (thanks for giving away the ending)? This type of soft-shoeing of young people is the topic of a new book and The Free Press has this excerpt from book author Abigail Shrier. “The book makes the case that the advent of therapy culture, the rise of “gentle parenting,” and the spread of “social-emotional learning” in schools is actually causing much of the anxiety and depression faced by today’s youth.” I always think of what my old high school football coach would say if an administrator brought up SEL and he’d probably walk out of the meeting and go outside and do 100 one-handed push ups.
4. Recovering The Lost Aviators Of WW2.
It doesn’t take long, only a few choice words, for this writer from Smithsonian to get readers to quickly care about Lieutenant Jay Ross Manown Jr., who was all but certainly killed in action when his plane was hit by enemy fire 80 years ago. Then the piece lowers you down into the story of the search for Manown’s seafloor remains and what finding them could mean for his living ancestors.
5. Tips And Tricks From An Uber Driver.
Most Uber drivers last fewer than 90 days. The writer of this essay has done it for ten years. His secret? Prioritizing safety. Simple rules: always have a dash cam and plenty of fuel, water, small change and snacks. Choose passengers wisely. Confirm the destination before you set off. And don’t talk about “politics, sex, religion, tips, or drugs.” Avoid stumbling drunks and in a piece of sage advice for aspiring drivers, carry ample supplies of barf bags.
6. I Hate Snakes.
Here’s a scientific background on snakes: they evolved from lizards over 100 million years ago, and what followed was a vast and intense period of diversification and evolution. A new study attributes this to a period of adaptation 125 million years ago that fostered all kinds of snakes able to exploit many different gaps in the ecosystem. Now there are roughly 4,000 species of snakes, one of the most diverse predators on the planet. Good for them. But snakes are still creepy creatures. Ask Indiana Jones.
Thanks for reading everybody and have a great rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.