Hope you learned your lesson, Bears fans.
Well, not all of you. Just the ones who thought Tyson Bagent could (or should) be a starting quarterback in the NFL—for this Chicago Bears team, in fact.
I do have to say it’s not quite fair that I’m even writing this.
After all, the undrafted free agent out of Shepherd College is just a backup quarterback. Like most backup quarterbacks, he was really good/awesome at football before he got to the pros, then discovered he wasn’t good enough to be a consistent
NFL starter. That’s hardly anything to be ashamed of, honestly. And as long as he continues to be a good teammate and accept his role, he’ll have a nice, long NFL career. In fact, he’s already made way more money than most backup quarterbacks ever do, thanks to his two-year, $10 million contract. By any practical account, he’s winning at this football thing. (Except for Sunday’s dud against the Green Bay Packers, of course.)
But I don’t want to see him play another snap for the Chicago Bears ever again.
In fact, I don’t want to see any quarterback play football for the Bears except Caleb Williams for the foreseeable future. I don’t care if he sails throws at times, misses an open receiver, takes an unnecessary hit, or sheds a tear on occasion.
Because I will never willingly go back to what life was like watching the Chicago Bears before he showed us what real quarterback play looks like.
Some people, for reasons best known to themselves, don’t agree. They think that the likes of Bagent or Case Keenum, who threw a ghastly pick of his own in that blowout loss to Green Bay, can “show” Williams a thing or two about playing quarterback. Something about the way they stand tall in the pocket, or read a defense, or show grit, or whatever. Or maybe they just thought Bagent was good enough to realistically fetch a trade haul from another team, that NFL squads really sat there watching him thinking, “You know what this team needs? Some Tyson Bagent.”
Then again, why am I surprised that people honestly think this after four years of data suggesting Bagent might not even be a roster-worthy quarterback, let alone a guy worth $10 million or an NFL starter? I mean, people can’t even agree that our current quarterback is good because he paints his nails and shows too much emotion when he gets hurt.
We’re not motivated by actual results sometimes. We like stories, and we want our favorite narratives to prevail sometimes more than we want to acknowledge objective, uncomfortable truths.
Until they punch you right in the jaw.
Because me telling you Tyson Bagent isn’t an NFL starting quarterback isn’t as effective as you seeing it on live TV against the Bears’ most hated rivals. Or having to watch the All-22 as receivers streak open down the field and never get the ball because he took a sack or threw a pick instead. Or having to confront the fact that, as lucky as the Bears are to be 3-2 right now with Williams hampered by injury, that they might not win another game without him after the way they just played.
You had to see it for yourselves. And now you know:
There are levels to this NFL stuff, and there’s a difference between competing and winning.
Be glad your starting quarterback can do the latter, not just the former.
