Getty Bears head coach Matt Nagy looks on during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings.
Many NFL teams are undergoing a starting quarterback competition this summer, with rookie quarterbacks very much in the mix to beat out veterans as the Week 1 starter for their respective teams. One team that is involved in this scenario — or at least that’s what we thought — is the Chicago Bears, who had 10-year pro Andy Dalton and rookie Justin Fields duking it out over the course of August.
However, the word “had” was used because the competition is seemingly over, as Chicago head coach Matt Nagy — who was formerly the offensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs up until 2018 — reiterated on Aug. 21 that Dalton would be the team’s starting quarterback, stating, “We need to see him in the regular season,” according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
While there are many that feel strongly about Nagy’s decision to play Dalton over Fields to begin the season, there is one person that’s close to Chiefs Kingdom that bashed Nagy on Twitter for his decision — former Kansas City offensive lineman and All-Pro, Mitchell Schwartz.
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Schwartz Sounds Off
“If you’re not able to evaluate them after a month of camp, 3 preseason games, and another few weeks of practice then I don’t know what to tell you,” Schwartz wrote. “This tells his team that any camp ‘competition’ was useless and their preconceived depth chart is what they’ll stick to, not merit.”
Schwartz continued the conversation in the comments of his tweet, addressing a comment that said, “I think he is trying to save Fields from Donald under the bright lights of SNF game for his first action,” from @smithers054. Schwartz replied, “And that’s ok if that’s the goal. But the way he goes about it needs fixing. It’s a direct quote: ‘we need to see him in the regular season.’ Just don’t say stuff like that. The implication is that you can’t scout him properly through an entire training camp, which is ridiculous.”
@smithers054 @AaronLemingNFL And that’s ok if that’s the goal. But the way he goes about it needs fixing. It’s a direct quote: “we need to see him in the regular season.” Just don’t say stuff like that. The implication is that you can’t scout him properly through an entire training camp, which is ridiculous.
Fields’ Play Through 2 Games
Schwartz’s original tweet is true. Based on the way both quarterbacks played through the first two preseason games, there really isn’t a reason to start Dalton — who has a very capped ceiling — in Week 1 of the regular season. Meanwhile, Fields’ ability as a runner and passer make him an explosive, dual-threat quarterback and an overall better option for the Bears as the starter, and the numbers this summer gave us a taste of that.
Through two preseason games, Fields has completed 23-of-39 passes — a 59 percent completion percentage — with one touchdown and one interception, along with nine rushes for 76 yards, per CBS Sports. Dalton on the other hand completed 13-of-21 passes for 164 yards, one touchdown and one interception over the same time span. The most glaring difference between the two is Fields’ rushing ability, which is something Dalton simply does not possess. But for some reason, Nagy feels he needs to see Dalton under center Week 1 even though he has 10 years of film to look at of the veteran.
Time will ultimately tell if Nagy made the right decision by making Dalton the starting quarterback. And if it turns out the wrong decision was made, then Fields will be ready to play.
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