These are (mostly) non-quarterback reflections on the weekend.

• Rodney Adams welcomed a baby girl Friday night, slept on a hospital couch, and then delivered one of the only bright spots Saturday for the Bears. It is a crowded wide receiver room but Adams should stick on the roster over Javon Wims, who just doesn’t have it.
• Adam Hoge argues for Justin Fields getting more first-team reps. But that’s not how the NFL works. Once the season starts, practice reps are severely limited and backups don’t get any. Fields most likely won’t see first-team reps until he’s named the starter. (Which should have happened a week ago.)
• Far better performance from Trevis Gipson Saturday but he still looks and plays slight. I question whether he can be productive against starter-level offensive tackles.
• This team has two viable kickers, with Brian Johnson looking like the real deal. Can they keep then both? Most have argued for sliding Johnson to the practice squad but I can’t imagine him being poached pretty quickly from there by a kicker-needy team, i.e. the Saints.
• Khalil Herbert is doing what late-round picks need to do for playing time: he’s making an impact on specials. Telling that he was involved beyond kick returns Saturday.
• Five players I thought acquitted themselves well:
  • Thomas Graham
  • Dazz Newsome
  • Sam Kamara (again)
  • Caleb Johnson
  • Charles Snowden
• Three players that don’t need to be around much longer:
  • Riley Ridley
  • Elijah Wilkinson at left tackle
  • Jesper Horsted (Do you really need Horsted and JP Holtz on the same roster?)
• What the hell has gotten into Pat O’Donnell’s leg? He is absolutely murdering the football in these preseason games. Could be a big season for him.
• Sean Desai should understand that how the Bills approached this defense is how most opponents will approach them. The Bears are great up front, weak at corner. Offensive coordinators are not going to let Mack, Hicks, Nichols…etc. ruin games. They’re going to throw on early downs and get the ball out quickly. They don’t need elite-level CB play opposite Jaylon Johnson, but they might need elite-level tackling on that side to get opponents off the field.

Bears’ HC Matt Nagy reiterated today that Bears’ QB Andy Dalton will start Week 1 at Los Angeles against the Rams, saying: “We need to see him in the regular season.”

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2021

What do the Bears think they are?

That’s the question that kept rolling through my brain as I watched Andy Dalton play quarterback on Saturday.

Do the Bears think they were this close to contending for a title a year ago and slightly better quarterback play will put them over the top?

Do the Bears think this roster is good enough now to run through Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and a Matt Stafford-led Rams in the tournament?

Do the Bears think Vegas has them all wrong? That they should have better odds than 65-1 to win it all? 35-1 to win the NFC? 6-1 to win the NFC North? 2-1 to make the playoffs? An over/under win total of 7.5?

The truth is, they must. Matt Nagy saying the team needs to see Andy Dalton in the regular season is so misguided, so out of touch with the reality of where this franchise currently resides, that no other explanation is possible. The Bears don’t need to evaluate a quarterback who has been in the league for a decade and consistently underwhelmed for the duration of that time. Andy Dalton is Andy Dalton. He’s perfectly capable of being capable. The Bears, with Dalton under center, have a ceiling of about nine wins and a wildcard weekend exit. (And even that would be an achievement.)

This season, the point of the entire enterprise, is Justin Fields. And it is abundantly obvious that no matter what Nagy saw from the young quarterback, he was never going to be given an opportunity to be the starting quarterback. Now, over these next three weeks of pivotal practices, Fields will be relegated to the second teamers and scout squad. If he gets his shot to take over the starting gig during the season, it’ll likely be that week he throws his first passes to Allen Robinson, Cole Kmet and Darnell Mooney in any structured kind of way.

It is malpractice, plain and simple.

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The Bears have played two preseason games. In the first, Justin Fields thoroughly outplayed Dalton. After that game, many expected Fields to be given increased exposure to the starters in practice. He was not. Why?

In the second game, with the exception of one bad throw that a Buffalo first, second or third-team corner easily knocks to the ground, Dalton was brutal. You want to blame the absence of Robinson, Kmet, Mooney and Montgomery? Go right ahead. But Fields came onto the field with a worse collection of skill guys and an offensive line of future real estate salesmen, and moved the team down the field. He used his athleticism. He used his mobility. He used his rocket for an arm. If any of the scrub receivers he was paired with could catch the football, he might have had a stat sheet similar to his first performance. Did Nagy see this performance and say, “It’s time to get Fields some reps with the starters”? Nope. He used the postgame press conference to name Dalton his official Week One starter.

He watched what we all watched. That was his conclusion. How?

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Teven Jenkins Has Back Surgery.

• It is now unlikely the second-round selection will see the field this season. Back injuries are bad news for offensive linemen, and pretty much everyone else on the planet.
• Trading up for a player with known injury concerns, even despite the potential/ability, is a suspect decision. Often times draftniks will argue that players “fall” in the draft but the truth is many organizations don’t touch guys with lingering injury concerns. Ryan Pace has to own this failure, including the decision to release Charles Leno, leaving the club extremely vulnerable on the edge.
• Once again, I question why Matt Nagy says the things he says publicly. Why say the Jason Peters signing has nothing to do with Jenkins’ health FOUR DAYS before the latter has surgery? Does that give the club a competitive advantage? No. All it does it devalue any other public statements you make. After a while, everyone is going to just tune the coach out. (I’m pretty damn close.)
• There will certainly be some urgency inside the Bears when it comes to Jenkins’ recovery but their entire focus should be readying him for the 2022 season. If this is a redshirt season, so be it. He’ll still be an immensely talented tackle next off-season.

What Do the Bears Do if Andy Dalton Stinks on Saturday?

Justin Fields is the future at the quarterback position.

Justin Fields has shown command of the offense and composure at every stage of the off-season program.

The only thing seemingly keeping the Bears from giving Fields the first-team reps in practice and naming him the starter is the presence, and behavior, of Andy Dalton. (If the Bears only had Nick Foles on the roster, you think he’d be getting starter’s reps?) Dalton was signed with the “promise” of the starting gig and has been a model soldier during his short tenure with the organization. Dalton doesn’t have the resume to keep Fields at bay. He hasn’t lit up training camp. He’s been fine. He’s been…Andy Dalton. And that seems to be enough.

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[Yesterday was a rather uneventful practice for the Chicago Bears, and most of the coming practices will be the same. As the season approaches, the team will show less and less “relevant material” to fans/media. These are secretive organizations and this, outside of the lead-up to the draft, is their most secretive period.]

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Here’s the difference in watching, covering, writing about the 2021 Chicago Bears as quarterbacked by Andy Dalton and Justin Fields.

If the Bears lose to the Rams on opening night, say 17-10, with Dalton at quarterback, the headline is simple:

Bears Lose Opener to Rams; Fields Decision Looms

If the Bears lose to the Rams on opening night, say 17-10, with Fields at quarterback, the headlines can be many:

Bears Lose Opener to Rams; Fields Shines Late

Bears Lose Opener to Rams; Fields Struggles

Bears Lose Opener to Rams; Fields…etc.

With Dalton, the Bears are the thing they are. With Fields, the Bears are the thing we hope for them to be. And that’s the difference. Fields’ play in 2021, snap-to-snap, drive-to-drive, quarter-to-quarter, will be but the overture to what we all hope will be a great American musical. We’ll see bits and pieces of what’s to come.

The Bears are not winning the Super Bowl in 2021. Andy Dalton isn’t winning the Super Bowl. A rookie quarterback isn’t winning the Super Bowl. History tells us that. And this ain’t the group that’s going to buck history.

The future is the focus.

The future is Fields.

That future is exciting.

But until he plays, that excitement remains on the bench.

The calls for the young quarterback eventually got too loud to ignore; the coach finally opened the door and let the youngster get his run with the starters.

The result was underwhelming.

Rookie Mitch Trubisky ran out onto the field with the starters to begin the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans in the third preseason game of the 2017 season. The result was two incomplete passes, a negative-four yard run and a punt.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FIRST LADY OF DBB, SARAH K. SCULLY. 

I have never approached any preseason game with anticipation. That changed Saturday. Here are notes on what could prove to be an important weekend in Chicago Bears history. (Side note: They should knock off one more of these preseason games. Get that schedule to two games, one home and one away.)

The Story is Fields

Penalties and drops around him. Losing track of the play clock. Spin move in the open field, taking unnecessary contact, fumbling the football. It was the definition of a slow start.

But what did Fields say in his post-game presser? “So after that, I think I’m going to officially retire the spin move.” 

None of the struggles bothered him. Fields maintained his composure, displayed his command of the offense and let his athleticism take over the football game. Yes, he was playing with backups. Yes, he was playing against backups. But Fields did what he is supposed to do in that scenario: he was clearly the best player on the field.

• Albert Breer and many around the Ohio State program are taking the “we told you so” approach after the performance. Brett Kollmann is already calling for the team to start Fields. Lebron James was apparently watching preseason football (the NFL is an unstoppable juggernaut) and sending out his praise.
• From a Brad Biggs tweet: “Justin Fields on adjusting to speed of the NFL in preseason debut today: “It was actually kind of slow to me.”
• This was my favorite play from Fields on the day. (The 3rd and 9 roll-out. I don’t know why I can’t embed just that play.)

On 3rd-and-9, Justin Fields showed how his game can be such a headache for defenses. Rolled out and his running ability baited a defender, which opened up the passing opportunity to Rodney Adams for a 13-yard gain. This is really a great play. pic.twitter.com/Z65ah8WBIG

— Matt Clapp (@DaBearNecess) August 14, 2021

• Two quotes from Adam Hoge’s excellent game story:
  • On the 8-yard touchdown run: “They were playing man coverage. My man Jesse got tripped up. I was looking to go to him,” Fields said. “Of course, I knew my routes were coming my way backside, but I knew they were in man coverage so I knew nobody really had me so I just went to the left.” Does anyone think this kid isn’t ready for regular season action?
  • “Keep stacking days like he had today and understanding that in this whole process and this plan, as we go, what’s the ultimate goal for us as an offense? Scoring touchdowns, right? So keep leading the team down, keep getting first downs, keep getting touchdowns,” Nagy said when asked what Fields needs to do to be named the starter.” This is Nagy leaving the door open for Fields to be the Week One starter. This is the first time he’s done that, to my recollection.

Bears have no choice. Fields should be throwing to Robinson and Mooney today. He’s got to be given a chance to win this job with the folks who will actually be on the roster.

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Notes on the game to follow.

Trevis Gipson and tight end Cethan Carter have been going after each other in these blocking drills.

Khalil Mack and Adam Shaheen got into it earlier and after the two were separated, Mack kept on talking towards Shaheen.

Already getting heated in today’s practice.

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) August 12, 2021

Thursday was apparently a feisty practice throughout, which is actually nice to see. I don’t know why every team in the league doesn’t orchestra more of these joint practices. They are so much more valuable than in-house scrimmages.

Early candidate for play of the day: Justin Fields moving left, throwing right, floating a dime to Jesper Horsted. Creative throw, basically flicking the ball from his right pocket.

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) August 12, 2021

Another day, another Fields gem. Why would any team leave a talent like this on the bench?

Kindle Vildor and Teez Tabor had some really nice pass breakups for #Bears D in red zone action.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 12, 2021

Bears corners have been good so far this summer, and the defense is playing healthy and fast across the board.

Is There Anything to Watch Tomorrow?

The truth is, who knows?

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Yesterday began a series of joint practices with the Miami Dolphins that will culminate in the preseason opener Saturday. Weather delayed the day. Quick thoughts.

An Outside Opinion.

I really like the way Justin Fields is getting the ball out there. He appears to be the real deal.

— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) August 11, 2021

Nobody who has physically watched the Bears practice this summer has come away with any other opinion. It is a matter of time, and that matter of time should be around four days.

Mack. Back.

First joint practice between the Bears-Dolphins has concluded. I spent it watching the Dolphins offense vs. the Bears defense. We’ll have plenty of takeaways up later but two main things here:

1. Khalil Mack is a game-wrecker.

2. WR Mack Hollins was a problem for Bears D.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 11, 2021

Mack’s practices have not been significantly valued due to the injuries on the Bears OL. Hearing he dominated the Dolphins should provide hope that he’s finally beyond his injury issues and ready to rejoin the best pass rushers in the sport at the top of the sack sheet.

Jon’Vea Johnson: Joe Anderson Boner Nominee

For those of you who don’t remember, this is the Joe Anderson Boner. Johnson seems to catch a big pass from Fields in every single practice.

General Notes on the Offensive Line

• Once again, I don’t understand why Matt Nagy says some of the things he says. On 670 yesterday morning, re: Teven Jenkins: “We were well aware of everything with some of the back issues he had in college. This is kind of part of the process.” Why not just say, “He’s improving. But we’re not going to rush him.” Leave it at that. Even if this is a chronic condition, why point to that?

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Fallacy #1. The Soft Landing Spot

Where did this premise come from?

“No, Jeff, you can’t start Justin Fields in the opener because the opener is against the Rams on the road. And the Rams are very good.”

It’s not the landing spot that is soft. It is this mode of thinking from fans and media. What kind of a message would that send to the kid? “Hey Justin, we think you’re ready to be our quarterback but we’re going to wait until the bad teams. We don’t think you’re ready for the good ones yet.”

Rookie quarterbacks struggle. Aaron Rodgers was a mechanical nightmare. John Elway tried to take a snap from his guard. Terry Bradshaw got benched. Troy Aikman went 0-11. Peyton Manning threw 28 picks. Josh Allen looked like he was destined for the CFL.

You’re not going to prevent a rookie quarterback from struggling by cherry-picking his opponents. The Lions are just as capable as the Rams of showing Fields a coverage disguise he hasn’t seen before. Rookie quarterbacks struggle. And that’s okay.

Fallacy #2. The Unhealthy Offensive Line

Deshaun Watson has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the league the last three seasons. In those three seasons he was sacked 62, 44 and 49 times. He’s had one thousand-yard rusher. The only thing that’s made Houston’s rushing attack seem productive is Watson himself. His team mortgaged their entire future to attain…an offensive lineman.

Russell Wilson has been complaining about his offensive line, and rightfully so, for five years. Josh Allen is often running for his life (and making plays on the run) in Buffalo. They were two of the five best quarterbacks in the league last year.

Why?

Because they’re great. And the great ones produce. The great ones make the players around them better. And if the Bears are going to wait for their offensive line to be at full strength before handing the reins over to Fields, there’s no telling how long that wait might be. This is the NFL. People are injured constantly.

If Fields is the guy, make him the guy. Let him learn how to throw it away under pressure. Let him learn when to take off with his legs and when to sit in the pocket and absorb contact. Let him learn how to release the football quickly when the offensive line is struggling to stay healthy.

The Bears need to see the imperfections of this situation not as impediments to development, but as teaching tools.

Fallacy #3. The Veteran’s Summer Performance

Nothing Andy Dalton does this summer should have ANY influence on the team’s decision at quarterback.

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