They say in the NFL it’s not just about whether the acquired player is talented. It is also about whether he fits what you like to do schematically. Trying to turn a big, lumbering 4-3 defensive end into a 3-4 outside linebacker is almost always ill-advised. This applies to the quarterback position too. Not everyone can play the same style of offense as others. When it comes to the Chicago Bears under Matt Nagy, they knew exactly what they were doing when they signed Andy Dalton.

For those who don’t recall, Nagy runs a variant of the West Coast offense, originally developed by the great Bill Walsh. It is a system that has been adapted and tweaked many times over the years but the core of it remains unchanged. The head coach explained a bit back when he was hired in 2018.

“I think if you compare the old-school West Coast offense, where the three-step [dropback-passing] game was the extension of the run, and they’re looking for the yards after the catch, the ‘YAC’ yards,” Nagy said, “now you look at our offense which is more of the RPO [run-pass-option] stuff. You’re sort of getting the same thing, but now you’re mixing in run and pass on the same play.”

The goal is to keep defenses off-balance and guessing.

That is why the system is so diverse and complex. The problem is it places a high demand on the quarterback. They have to know the extended language of every play which includes everything from what the receivers must do to the protections by the offensive line and so on. There is a reason Nagy has said this system takes time to learn. Once it happens though and the quarterback fully masters it? An offense becomes hard to stop.

Dalton should know this better than most. He played in a West Coast-style offense for the first several years of his career. First under Jay Gruden from 2011 to 2014 and then under Hue Jackson in 2016. Not counting his rookie year, the QB threw 104 TDs to 60 interceptions, held a 90.5 passer rating, went 41-19-1, and made the playoffs four times. His passer rating in the four seasons after Cincinnati moved away from the West Coast dropped to 86.4.

This positive trend for Andy Dalton continued in Dallas

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has long been known as another West Coast offense guy. He ran it for years in Green Bay and brought more of the same to Dallas. So it wasn’t a huge surprise when they signed Dalton to back up Dak Prescott. That decision proved quite fortuitous after the young QB tragically broken his ankle early last season. Forced to step in, Dalton reminded everybody he could still play.

After some early hiccups, he finished the final seven games with 1,718 yards, 13 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a 95.1 passer rating. This serves as more proof he plays his best football in that style of offense. So maybe what Nagy says is true. Andy Dalton is the exact kind of guy they needed to run the show. At least until Justin Fields is deemed ready to go.

Sure, the preseason didn’t show it.

Then again Dalton played both his games with half the starting offense on the sideline. That wasn’t a fair test of his abilities. Nagy and the coaches want to see how he does with everybody suited up and the entire playbook open. Expectations are the results will be much better. One can understand if Bears fans are skeptical. Years of watching this offense and seeing others like Dalton have made them numb to such assurances. Yet there is evidence to suggest this time could be different.