(Author’s Note: Since the time of this writing, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced that Justin Fields will be the starting QB against the Las Vegas Raiders and moving forward.)
SAN DIEGO — I write this Bears Mailbag from the comfort of my Airbnb, just a few blocks from the Ocean Beach boardwalk in San Diego as my vacation comes to an end. Bummer. On the bright side, I’ll be covering Bears games live again, starting this Sunday.
After a failure of epic proportions against the Cleveland Browns, the Chicago Bears breathed some life into their 2021 season on Sunday with a convincing 24-14 win over the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field.
Thread: Some thoughts after Lions-Bears…
1. Schematic changes certainly helped Justin Fields a lot yesterday, but one thing about his performance stood out to me:
He was decisive.
I counted just a couple occasions where he held the ball too long.
Significant improvement.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 4, 2021
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This win was important for Matt Nagy and his coaching staff, as talk all week centered on the real possibility that he could be fired if the Bears lost at home to winless Detroit. Luckily, after a strong Justin Fields performance (and all-around team performance) that talk has been tabled — for now.
The Bears now enter a rough stretch that will define their season, starting this Sunday in Las Vegas against the 3-1 Raiders. We’ll see just how much the Bears have grown over the course of their next six games.
With that, let’s reach into this week’s Bears Mailbag. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Bears Mailbag
Yeah why the hell is Nagy stupid enough to go back to Dalton?
— Robert Augspurger (@RDAthethird) October 5, 2021
I’ll start by saying this was covered in detail in our latest Club Dub podcast episode, which I plugged at the end of the article, so make sure to check that out!
Second, Bears fans are reading way too much into this. The coaching staff has two responsibilities this year: Win and develop Justin Fields. I get that everyone is excited about the shiny new toy in Fields, who looked good on Sunday after looking like a trainwreck in Cleveland, but Bears fans need to step back from the ledge.
Nagy is partly in survival mode and partly playing politics. He reportedly really wanted to play Andy Dalton against Detroit due to all the noise surrounding his job, and he trusts the veteran more right now to a) win him games and b) help get Fields the time he needs to learn coverages, see progressions quicker, etc.
With Fields *needing* to play, and a combination of scheme changes and Bill Lazor’s influence on play calling, Fields largely flourished, the Bears won, they looked good doing so, and the calls for Nagy’s job reduced (slightly). He’s gotten the Bears where they expected to be after four games: 2-2.
At this point, Nagy should be comfortable enough going with Fields and seeing what he’s got. But he wants to leave the window open in case Fields struggles or looks flat out unprofessional against some tougher defenses coming up. If the need comes to play Dalton, it won’t publicly look like a benching because they can always say the plan was to play Dalton.
Why is this important? Look at what Miami did last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa. It was a mess, no one knew who the starter is, the benchings mid-game didn’t make sense, and the overall strategy looked discombobulated. Nagy seemingly wants to avoid that if it comes to it.
People can say what they want about the plan — I understand not everyone agrees with it. I agreed with it earlier this year, but the reality is Dalton’s injury forced their hand. Fields has now put some good tape on there that is worth considering for many defenses, especially in the vertical passing game. It’s worth exploring further.
(Also, in general, after three years of dancing around in press conferences, why do people still believe what Nagy says in these pressers?)
The Bears *can* make the playoffs, but the upcoming stretch (@ LV, vs. GB, @ TB, vs. SF, @ PIT, vs. BAL) will define their season.
If Chicago can manage to steal three of these games, they'll be poised to make a run in the second half.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
David Montgomery being hurt certainly doesn't help, but I think the scheme will be similar to Week 4. Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue are a strong pair of pass rushers, they can't afford to just drop back with their OL still questionable.
We'll see how effective it is.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
I think the Bears can contain Derek Carr if they hit him early (and they can't just scheme away from Khalil Mack this year with Robert Quinn looking reborn). But he's still a challenge.
I expect Rodgers and Brady to have their way.
I'd imagine a lot of Dime looks.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
A few guys I think are interesting from a drafting and organizational philosophy standpoint:
Mike Borgonzi
John Dorsey
Will McClay
Champ Kelly (in-house candidate)— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
He cooled it off slightly by winning a must-win at home against Detroit (AND the offense looking solid).
I'd still say a 7/10 on the temperature scale, at this moment.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
Nothing yet. I would imagine Borom's injury takes another couple weeks, at minimum.
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
No real updates yet, but I would be surprised if he's back before the bye week (likely much further after that).
— Dhruv Koul (@DhruvKoul) October 6, 2021
FINAL NOTE — Follow our podcast’s Twitter account (@clubdub_podcast) and catch up on our latest episode from Tuesday night!
[Bill] Lazor Show At Soldier Field! NFC North Win Over Lowly Lions 24-14 https://t.co/qEg2WZmjfO
— Club Dub Podcast (@clubdub_podcast) October 5, 2021
