Toast88
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Mannn, all of this. I wish I could like this more than once.The italicized quoted below is something I put into another thread, but I’m going to add a little to it now.
“Why did he slide you ask?
•Lawrence and Fields have been neck and neck since H.S. and Fields’ success threatens the anointed golden god that is T. Lawrence.
•Fields’ talents, even his mechanics, challenge preconceptions of what a QB, especially a “black QB”, can/should be. Fields is often euphemistically referred to as a running QB though he has always been more of a pocket passer.
•Orlovsky’s report of work ethic concerns, the epilepsy leak, the characterization as a “one-read and run” guy, and so on were all put out there to explain what was really a fall based on Fields’ threat to QB norms in general and Lawrence’s throne in particular.
•Chris Simms’ Low Ranking of Fields: In ‘18 Simms had Lamar Jackson as his top QB, a call which Simms has used to defend his position on Fields. However, as truly generational athlete at the position Jackson fits the traditional QB stereotypes more comfortably than Fields who prefers to win from the pocket. There is a secondary wrinkle here in that Jackson was clearly being underrated by both the media and the league so Simms was able to play the “white knight” role in this instance.”
Additional thought:
•Trey Lance was taken at #3 despite a body of work that clearly shows a player with a less developed skill set than Fields. I think you can attribute this to two things—Lance’s mechanics lack the idiosyncrasies of Fields’ and the way Lance presents himself to the media is more in line with NFL expectations.
Trey Lance:
Justin Fields:
And here’s Zach Wilson:
•Perhaps you think these points are all a stretch, and you may be correct—I really don’t know—but it’s important to keep in mind that Fields’ college career was marked by racism from the outset by what went down at Georgia. To his credit Fields has continually downplayed the events that lead to his transfer. Still, after all the B.S. storylines and scouting reports of the last few months why should we assume that Fields’ NFL career has begun any differently?
In particular, it drives me crazy how people are describing Fields as a running QB who needs an offense to move him outside of the pocket. That's literally the opposite of his strength. But he's an athletic, black QB. It's what people are used to saying about such players.
I too figured his soft-spokenness and low-key demeanor might hurt him in the draft. Simultaneously sad to see that happen, but also ecstatic that the Bears reaped the rewards of that bullshit mindset. Ask his coaches and teammates what he was like in the huddle. He knows how to lead.
I'm not necessarily saying it's all racial, but Fields has been a victim to some particularly egregious examples of bullshit that appear to have pulled his stock down and/or made people think things about him that simply aren't true.