Recent interviews with Chicago Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy have indicated the plan for Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season was to start Andy Dalton at quarterback and keep Justin Fields on the sideline, allowing him to get up to speed with the pro game. The preseason however may be a different story according to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer who dropped this note in his Monday editorial:
Turns out, he’s fitting in just fine. And as for whether he’ll actually play in the fall, what I’ve heard is that the Bears are going to give him a lot of work in the preseason games. So if he’s going to start a move toward getting on the game field in the fall, I’d think it’ll start with how he plays there.
As you may recall, reports last week had said the plan was concrete to start Andy Dalton Week 1 no matter what. Giving Fields the majority of the preseason snaps can at least see how much he has adapted to the pro game after starting from the basics like getting in and out of the huddle (no really, this happened) during minicamp practices, however the question of whether Nagy is really playing his hand remains.
Fields has said all the right things when he has spoken to the media, saying he’s willing to do whatever helps the team and become the best quarterback he can be. If the Bears get off to a slow start, that could just happen to be sooner rather than later.
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1 Comment
Why is everybody so in love with the idea that Dalton will look bad?
Yes, Andy Dalton is no Russel Wilson, and everybody was crushed when the Wilson high hopes didn’t materialize.
But compare this roster to the last time the Bears had a decent year on Offense:
Was Trubisky better than Dalton? Was Nick Foles? Was Case Daniels? Was Taylor Bray?
Were Trey Burton or Dion Sims better than Cole Kmet or Jimmy Graham?
Were Benny Cunningham, Michael Burton, or Taquan Mizzell better than Damien Williams? Did they have more upside than Khalil Herbert?
Were Kevin White, Taylor Gabriel, or Joshua Bellamy better than Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin, or Damiere Byrd.
Try to remember, the bar for Andy Dalton is NOT Russel Wilson, it is 2018 Mitch, and Dalton is much , more heavily armed than 2018 Mitch was!
Yes, there is every reason to believe that Justin Fields WILL be far better than Dalton ever had a fair chance to become, but will Fields surpass nine years of experience before the season starts? THAT’s a bit of a flyer! I mean it COULD happen, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.
The best thing that could POSSIBLY happen to Fields would be for Dalton to look GOOD! There is a big difference between fixing/elevating an awful offense and taking over a very good offense, after studying the previous starter!
The author says, “If the Bears get off to a slow start, [Fields starting] could just happen to be sooner rather than later.” The truth is, if If the Bears get off to a slow start, Justin Fields job becomes the most difficult job possible.