Nagy Should Get Rest of Season
Many had targeted this week, the bye week, as the optimal time for the Bears to move on from Matt Nagy as head coach. But Justin Fields’ performances against the San Francisco 49ers and Pittsburgh Steelers – two good defenses, two teams playing for everything – will likely guarantee that Nagy sees out the remainder of this campaign.
And that’s the right decision.
This season needed to be entirely about Justin Fields and his development. (It hasn’t been, of course.) Over the last two weeks, the club is actually seeing tangible evidence of that development. Why would they do anything to stunt that progress in-season? The wins and losses don’t matter. The defense doesn’t matter. The weird personnel usages and return men bringing the ball out from five yards deep and penalties all over the place, they don’t matter. All that matters is Fields and Fields is currently an overwhelming positive. The Bears can’t disrupt that.
Nagy should (and likely will) be fired the second the 2021 season concludes. And if Fields continues on his current path, the head coaching candidates will be circling this vacancy like one of those dirty crows that circles your golf cart when you’ve got an open protein bar on the seat. An argument could be made that the new two-week window to interview coaches at the end of the regular season should expedite the process, and that argument is valid, but this is going to be THE destination coaching spot of the off-season. It comes with a quarterback. And these jobs rarely do.
Cole Kmet Continues to Rise
Kmet’s last four games: 4/49, 5/43, 3/24, 6/87.
His 17-game projection: 53/546.
But more important than the numbers is the rapport now developed between the tight end and the quarterback. Fields has found his security blanket and Kmet is cementing his role as a pivotal part of The Justin Fields Project in 2022, joining David Montgomery and Darnell Mooney as charter members.
Stats At the Bye
- Defense: 13th in yards, 22nd in points
- Offense: 31st in yards, 30th in points
Bowen on Fields
This is a good tape for QB Justin Fields.
Made some decisive throws to the 2nd/3rd level. Attacked the edges on boot. Showed his playmaking ability.
Confident & composed late in the game, too. @NFLMatchup pic.twitter.com/Dgx8suqfl5
— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) November 10, 2021
Five Songs for the Bye Week
This is a week to relax, hence my decision to go play golf in Florida. Here are my three favorite songs to relax to.
(1) Mendocino County Line, Willie Nelson (ft. Lee Ann Womack)
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(2) Hello it’s Me, Lou Reed & John Cale
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(3) Summer, Highland Falls, Billy Joel
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(4) The Ballad of Bobby and June, Mitch & Mickey
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(5) Back in the High Life Again, Warren Zevon’s cover
Opening Line?
The Ravens have opened as 6-point favorites in Chicago next weekend.
The over/under is 45.
Will the Bears win? Unlikely. Will they score a bunch of points? They should.
