This discourse has gotten old very quick. If you want someone to put this Bagent-Fields BS to bed with rationale and reason, read on - I’m that dude.
Just because some fans want to see more from Tyson Bagent before they crown him as the savior, they’re being labeled “Bagent haters.”
First off, there’s no such thing as a true Chicago Bears fan who is a “Bagent hater.” They are just rational fans who want a bigger sample size, and maybe they believe (with good reason) that Fields has been dealt a terrible hand by our organization before this year so they still believe in his talent and want to make sure Bagent can truly eclipse that talent weekly.
The Raiders played so shitty last Sunday that I didn’t learn a ton about Bagent other than he makes quick decisions and he’s capable of being a solid game manager.
It was impossible to learn more because the Raiders blow and Josh McDaniels is so up his own ass that he doesn’t realize that AARP member Brian Hoyer can’t lace Aidan O’Connell’s cleats whether it’s preseason or not.
Point is, routine game managers don’t get promoted to franchise QB status. That’s not how the NFL works in 2023. Hell, it didn’t work that way in 2009 when game managing savant Kyle Orton was here either. That’s why we dealt him for Cutler.
Can Bagent earn that franchise status? Sure! But why the hell would I bank on that right now? It makes no sense without more evidence.
I want to see Bagent go deep when it’s available and stretch the field to keep the defense honest. I want to see Bagent face in-game adversity and see how he responds. I want to see how well he can move the offense down the field if our run game gets stuffed. I want to see if he can win the game off his arm or legs or both when the defense allows 24+ points like they did for 14 straight games with Fields at the helm until a few weeks ago.
Why is there something wrong with that…? If Bagent aces those tests, I’m all in on QB1 Bagent! But if he’s limited in certain regards, then that’s okay too. I think no matter what he will be a great backup for us long-term, which is extremely valuable.
This weird Civil War among the fanbase is silly as hell, when literally all of us can make the smartest, healthiest decision - to let it play out and see what happens.
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I’m a little disappointed in your post because I thought you’d address a problem I’ve seen recently in the fandom.
Unfortunately, some fans simply aren’t fans of the Chicago Bears. They are fans of a particular player, and don’t really care much for the team. These are quite frankly undesirables as far as I consider them.
A true fan would want both Fields AND Bagent to succeed. There is room for 2 QBs on this team and to root against one of them to support “your guy” is ludicrous and extremely selfish. These fans need to find themselves another team because they aren’t rooting for the Chicago Bears.
That said, I appreciate Bagent. He reminds of Kyle Orton, a good, but not great quarterback. Orton was a guy who would throw you 1 or 2 TDs per game. He was a game manager, accurate, and good decision maker. Most of his throws were short, but he could throw intermediate and surprise occasionally with a deep ball. While Orton wouldn’t outright win you the game with his superstar talent, he wouldn’t lose the game for you. He was above average and that’s a lot more than Chicago Bears fans have had for a long time.
Fields COULD become a great QB. The potential is there, but he simply has to start cutting that ball loose and anticipating the open receiver. In year 3, I think most of us hoped that Fields would have gotten to that point, but he hasn’t. Unlike what others have said, the offensive line did not improve the last 2 games. Bagent simply didn’t hold onto the ball as long as Fields does. The line played the same.