Fans aren’t happy. They don’t want to hear the explanations. In their minds, Justin Fields should be the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears. He is clearly the most talented player at the position on this roster and proved in the preseason he can handle the job even when playing in tough circumstances. Yeah, he’s a rookie and he’ll make mistakes. Still, he will learn. Why is this team bothering with Andy Dalton? As it turns out, head coach Matt Nagy may have struggled with that exact issue himself in the past couple of weeks.
In front of the cameras, Nagy has remained steadfast. The plan remains unchanged. Dalton will start and Fields will be his backup, running the scout team every week in practice. Coaches remain confident in the veteran. He had a good training camp and once he has the full offense around him should play better than he did in the preseason. However, it seems Nagy may have wavered for a moment on that course.
A recent interview with Albert Breer of the MMQB hinted at it.
Back in July, Nagy told me that it was Fields’s job to make this hard on him. Did Fields do that? “For me, it was knowing when we get into a situation where Justin has to go in there as the starter, whenever that is, is he ready?” Nagy said. “And I’d say, for everything he’s done, he’s done a great job trying to be the best quarterback each day.”
Which, in a roundabout way, is saying that, yes, Fields made it tough not to play him, and that should bode well for the future.
Nagy is a master of the word salad, finding ways to escape direct answers when he deems it necessary. Yet everything about that reply is impossible to misconstrue. Fields met expectations over the past month and even exceeded them to an extent. The Bears head coach is known for being stubborn at times when he feels something he’s doing is the right course of action. So to hear him admit this? That speaks to how strong of an impression the rookie made.
If that weren’t enough? Nagy even admitted (somewhat) during his Monday press conference that he is considering all scenarios for this QB situation. In other words, if Dalton struggles immediately the door seems to be wide open for Fields to step in. Remember this head coach has never been afraid to make changes when something isn’t working. Don’t forget he pulled Mitch Trubisky in the third game last season.
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Matt Nagy committment to the plan isn’t about stubbornness
Some people will believe it is. However, this is more about his firm belief that it is the right thing to do. Both for Fields and the Bears. Giving the rookie a chance to sit and learn behind somebody like Dalton can be so valuable. Especially when the kid is an absolute sponge for information. Besides that, the head coach has seen this approach work before. Everybody references Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City but that isn’t the only one.
Andy Reid did it with Donovan McNabb in Philadelphia. Mike McCarthy did it with Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Bill Walsh did it twice with Joe Montana and Steve Young in San Francisco. There are several example of young quarterbacks benefitting from waiting their turn. Matt Nagy doesn’t want to hold Fields back. He just wants to make sure he is 100% prepared when the time comes. A lot of jobs will be riding on it.
If the Bears get this right?
The next 10-15 years of their franchise could experience tons of success. Still, the rookie wasn’t about to acquiesce to this plan without a fight. His improvement throughout training camp and the preseason was impossible to ignore. There were many instances he already looked like a veteran. Nagy almost went back on his word, but in the end stayed his hand. Here’s hoping it is the right decision.