The Chicago Bears picked up their first win of the season last Sunday, largely dominating the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field. The win got the Bears to 1-1 and “back on track” following a rough opening night in Los Angeles.
Thread: A few extra thoughts on Bengals-Bears…
1. The Bears lived to fight another week by taking care of business at home. But it was another classic Bears game, wasn't it?
Defense shouldered the load, and the offense… played, I guess.
But a win is a win, and 1-1 is 1-1.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 20, 2021
However, if you’re a Bears fan who’s been living under a rock, starting QB Andy Dalton left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury, and rookie QB Justin Fields finished the game. While Fields did struggle with several rookie mistakes, he did show some of his explosive capabilities and sealed the win with a great scramble on third down — one drive after a crippling interception that let the Bengals cut their deficit to three.
With Matt Nagy coming out yesterday and declaring Fields the Week 3 starter in Cleveland while Dalton recovers, this will be the most highly anticipated regular season Bears game since the 2019 season opener. It should be fun.
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With that, let’s reach into this week’s Bears Mailbag. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Bears Mailbag
From what we've seen/been told, Fields can handle a return to the bench. Nagy loves character guys, so I doubt this is an issue.
That said, Fields has to look better than he did vs. Cincy to remain starter. He didn't look 'overwhelmed', but he still wasn't 'good.'
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 22, 2021
To expand on this, there are a few realities to acknowledge about Fields’ performance on Sunday:
- The game plan was tailored for Andy Dalton — and it is extremely different from a Fields-tailored game plan.
- Fields was not expected to see ‘significant’ snaps.
- His stat line could’ve looked a lot better if Allen Robinson catches a beautiful touchdown throw, or if Darnell Mooney brings in a solid throw on a crossing route.
- He was late on at least two throws, committed two false starts, and didn’t step up in the pocket when he should’ve, leading to unnecessary sacks.
He looked like a rookie, certainly, but his awareness in some of those situations has to improve over the course of the next few games. His progress has to be evident. That’s what I’m looking forward to seeing, starting against the Browns.
I expect a game plan and play sheet that's largely comprised of concepts Fields is comfortable with (zone-read, Y-Cross, etc.). The Bears want to ensure he has enough variety to execute to keep Cleveland honest, but also keep Fields playing as fast as possible.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
Part of it was also schematics. Sean Desai ran several stunts and creative blitz packages on Sunday, and they all worked.
I'm interested to see what they do against a good OL like Cleveland's, but Sunday was a step in the right direction for the defensive front.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
The OL has actually played okay over two weeks. I think the sum is greater than the individual parts, atm.
Mustipher is struggling (he gets blown up a lot). He needs to improve. But Bars over Mustipher is probably a wash.
I'd like to see them bring in another veteran.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
If Goldman plays, along with Mario Edwards Jr.'s return, I'd imagine Tonga sits.
But with Goldman's status unclear, I expect him to be active.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
Fields needs to help out his OL by stepping up in the pocket. One of the sacks on Fields last week was because he failed to step up (he had a pocket available to him).
Moving pockets can help some, but it's a matter of time before CLE adjusts and sends someone right at Fields.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
It's hard to say. While I think Fields will benefit from a week of practice with the 1s from a timing perspective, he still has to speed up his processing from "see" til "release." He'll look like a rookie on Sunday. I want to see him continue to not look overwhelmed.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
The Bears' schedule is tough and it'll lead to Fields struggling as a rookie. While the division is currently open (in theory), what I want to see is Fields improving over the course of the year, looking confident and making some of the easier throws more routine.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 23, 2021
This coaching staff seems to love Larry Borom as a LT prospect.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if they positioned him as the LT of the future. That gives them plenty of flexibility with Teven Jenkins.
Low-key, watch Germain Ifedi, too. He's been great at RT this year.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) September 22, 2021
