When the Green Bay Packers take on the Chicago Bears in their Week 1 matchup on Sunday, they will do so with several familiar faces on the opposing sideline. Former Packers now playing for the Bears include wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown, tight end Robert Tonyan and offensive lineman Lucas Patrick. Additionally, Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was the Green Bay quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator from 2020 to 2021.
This weekend’s game may be the most exciting the rivalry has seen for quite some time. Former Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is 24-5 against Chicago, so the Bears feel like they can finally start to win more games against Green Bay.
Of course, Rodgers’ successor, Jordan Love, is the talk of the NFL as he prepares for his first start as the Packers’ regular starting quarterback. The former Packers-turned-Bears players were asked about Love and what Chicago could expect to see from him. Patrick’s response was very interesting.
Josh Schrock, a Bears insider for NBC Sports, asked some of Love’s former teammates what they thought of Love while they were his teammates in Green Bay. All of them were highly complimentary.
Tonyan said:
“He’s really good. He’s talented. He was a first-round draft pick for a reason. The times that he — I think Kansas City when he started and when he came in against the Eagles — he had some good plays. Obviously you have to play ball to learn and become experienced.”
St. Brown added, “He’s a good quarterback. He didn’t really get a chance because he was behind Aaron. But he’s a good quarterback.”
But perhaps the most interesting assessment of Love came from Patrick, who may have taken an underhanded shot at his new team:
“He’s a tough kid. Resilient kid. Smart. Clearly talented. We saw where they took him in the draft. He was also willing to learn. Nothing but good things to say about the kid.
“No offense to y’all, but y’all put it under this giant microscope and that’s a tough position to play. If you had to go in and study what they have to study, I’m impressed that guys can go in there with one offseason. If it were me, it would be awesome to let them develop. See what happens.”
Patrick’s quarterback, Justin Fields, was thrust into starting duties nearly right away after he was drafted by Chicago in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Since becoming the Bears’ starter, Chicago has a 5-20 with Fields under center, including 0-4 against the Packers and 1-8 against the NFC North.
There is no denying that Fields is a talented quarterback and a threat to run (he had more than 1,100 rushing yards last year), but he also led the NFL in fumbles and was sacked more than any other quarterback (also a testament to how bad his offensive line has been).
In other words, the Bears haven't put Fields in a position to be successful. They have not yet proved that they have the weapons he needs on offense in order for their passing game to flourish. Additionally, they have not yet proved that their offensive line is any better.
If Patrick had had it his way, Fields would have sat behind a veteran quarterback to learn the NFL game. It also would have kept him less beat-up as Chicago figured out its offensive line and wide receiver issues.
Perhaps that would have been best for the Bears. Their record over the last two seasons certainly could not have been much worse.
If Love turns out to be the next great thing in Green Bay, maybe Patrick will have his way and more and more teams will use the Packers’ approach of draft and develop.
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