Bears talk 2.0; Fields era begins for real for real

[dice]

I feel like the fans and Fields are being held hostage while Nagy works through his insecurity and the fact that he and we all know he is in over his head. Let's face it: he has demonstrated that he is unable to organize and call plays for an offense in which Fields can succeed (at least this season). He knows it - that's why he turned the play-calling over to Lazor. Then in the post-game, he at first tried not to disclose that Lazor had called the plays. The only explanation for this is insecurity/ego. Then he decided that he better come clean, but asserted his role in making the decision. Now we know what he knows - that he is not the offensive coach for Fields. As he sorts through the reality of that truth, the only thing that he has to fall back on is "the Mahomes way," so he announces that Dalton will start if healthy, because that is what must be done with a rookie quarterback! He must sit! Meanwhile, the whole freaking world (aside from our friend Dresden, of course) knows that the best course, short term and long term, is to keep going with Fields. What a clusterf**k.

is it your speculation that nagy was not consulted about drafting fields?

i suspect that nagy knows that he has to win now and thinks that dalton gives him the best chance to do that. the problem is that even if the bears DO surprise and make the playoffs led by dalton, he's still gonna be gone after the season. at which point management will say "well, dalton's gone, and nagy hasn't shown that he can coach fields, so he's gone too." so the only realistic way for nagy to keep his job is to win WITH FIELDS

i'm beginning to think that matt nagy is not too bright

[dougthonus]

is it your speculation that nagy was not consulted about drafting fields?

i suspect that nagy knows that he has to win now and thinks that dalton gives him the best chance to do that. the problem is that even if the bears DO surprise and make the playoffs led by dalton, he's still gonna be gone after the season. at which point management will say "well, dalton's gone, and nagy hasn't shown that he can coach fields, so he's gone too." so the only realistic way for nagy to keep his job is to win WITH FIELDS

i'm beginning to think that matt nagy is not too bright

I would guess to save his job 100% that he will need a playoff win. To have any shot, he will need to make the playoffs. If he makes the playoffs with Dalton, then I don't think it would be a negative though. If he wins a playoff game with Dalton it definitely won't be.

As for Dalton vs Fields, I'd guess Dalton would probably get you an extra win or two if both were healthy and played out the full season. That said, I'd rather lose a game or two more and get Fields a ton more experience.

[dice]

is it your speculation that nagy was not consulted about drafting fields?

i suspect that nagy knows that he has to win now and thinks that dalton gives him the best chance to do that. the problem is that even if the bears DO surprise and make the playoffs led by dalton, he's still gonna be gone after the season. at which point management will say "well, dalton's gone, and nagy hasn't shown that he can coach fields, so he's gone too." so the only realistic way for nagy to keep his job is to win WITH FIELDS

i'm beginning to think that matt nagy is not too bright

I would guess to save his job 100% that he will need a playoff win. To have any shot, he will need to make the playoffs. If he makes the playoffs with Dalton, then I don't think it would be a negative though. If he wins a playoff game with Dalton it definitely won't be.

i'll go along with that

1) winning a playoff game keeps his job
2) squeaking into the playoffs and losing with dalton loses his job
3) squeaking in and losing with fields playing much of the season PROBABLY keeps his job

[dice]

Fields is the real deal top to bottom. One of the best prospects ever in college football and his years at OSU proved it. He’s not a bust. If he fails, it’s on the bears.

Best QB prospect we've ever had.

well, i mean...in the modern era the competition is trubisky and mcmahon

[bad knees]

I feel like the fans and Fields are being held hostage while Nagy works through his insecurity and the fact that he and we all know he is in over his head. Let's face it: he has demonstrated that he is unable to organize and call plays for an offense in which Fields can succeed (at least this season). He knows it - that's why he turned the play-calling over to Lazor. Then in the post-game, he at first tried not to disclose that Lazor had called the plays. The only explanation for this is insecurity/ego. Then he decided that he better come clean, but asserted his role in making the decision. Now we know what he knows - that he is not the offensive coach for Fields. As he sorts through the reality of that truth, the only thing that he has to fall back on is "the Mahomes way," so he announces that Dalton will start if healthy, because that is what must be done with a rookie quarterback! He must sit! Meanwhile, the whole freaking world (aside from our friend Dresden, of course) knows that the best course, short term and long term, is to keep going with Fields. What a clusterf**k.

is it your speculation that nagy was not consulted about drafting fields?

i suspect that nagy knows that he has to win now and thinks that dalton gives him the best chance to do that. the problem is that even if the bears DO surprise and make the playoffs led by dalton, he's still gonna be gone after the season. at which point management will say "well, dalton's gone, and nagy hasn't shown that he can coach fields, so he's gone too." so the only realistic way for nagy to keep his job is to win WITH FIELDS

i'm beginning to think that matt nagy is not too bright

I think he was consulted about drafting Fields and that he was probably enthusiastic, seeing the Mahomes comparison that Nagy wrongly thought would play to his strengths. But I also think that your last line hits the nail on the head. Nagy is not a bright guy, not a deep thinker in terms of football strategy. He knows a few things and sells them well. But when it comes to being flexible and creative in response to maximizing a particular player's talent, forget it. He knows it, we know it. And right now he is flailing around trying to avoid the conclusion. Because if Nagy cannot properly develop Fields and maximize his talent, then why should Nagy be coach of the Chicago Bears? There is no good answer to that question, and even Nagy has enough sense to realize that.

Since Nagy has proven that he can't coach Justin on the field, his only way to possibly claim that he is helping to develop Fields is to sit him and thus follow the Mahomes way. It's all Nagy has at this point. And it's massively counterproductive for the team, the fans and Fields.

[Susan]

Playing this season for any sort of playoff success is absurd.

GB, Seattle, LAR, Arizona, Dallas and TB are all a level above us no matter what happens this year, we're really, really unlikely to go on the road into any of those places and pull off a W.

The objective this year is clear:
1. DEVELOP JUSTIN FIELDS
2. Win as much as possible while doing 1 - the resurgent defense makes both 1 & 2 possible
3. Develop the 1st and 2nd year players (Mooney, Johnson, Kmet, Jenkins, Borom, Herbert, Gipson, Vildor)

If they can go through this year and keep the defense alive at this level while developing Justin, this is a major win of a year. A stable defense, QB room and o-line lets them just focus on TE + receivers and the secondary.

[fleet]

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[fleet]

So funny, Sun night people started to try and find small ways to get off Nagy’s back a little bit after Sunday afternoon. Monday, morning, Nagy sets himself on fire again.

[TheFinishSniper]

Issue with nagy is like with any not Great or good coach. This goes across all sports at high lvl competition. This type of guys coach for their job. Good coaches aint worrying about it. You will notice for first groupthey all do decisions which are maybe and possibly are good in short term over longterm. No great coach isnt seeing beyond next couple of games. And Nagy is catching heat being possibly fired 2 years now. There is no f way he is gonna gamble his head coaching career on a rookie unless that rookie isnt top 10 qb right out of the gate. So he is gonna call his plays which are terrible and do everything he can which he can actually control. He is guy who would play his own plays if he could but he cant. And this will get him fired. Because to succeed at high lvl you need to trust your staff your players and let it happen. But he doesnt believe in Fields to make a miracle in Chi Town. So he is gonna pick guy who is one which will run his plays regardless od outcome because that he can control.

[dice]

Playing this season for any sort of playoff success is absurd.

GB, Seattle, LAR, Arizona, Dallas and TB are all a level above us no matter what happens this year, we're really, really unlikely to go on the road into any of those places and pull off a W.

The objective this year is clear:
1. DEVELOP JUSTIN FIELDS
2. Win as much as possible while doing 1 - the resurgent defense makes both 1 & 2 possible
3. Develop the 1st and 2nd year players (Mooney, Johnson, Kmet, Jenkins, Borom, Herbert, Gipson, Vildor)

If they can go through this year and keep the defense alive at this level while developing Justin, this is a major win of a year. A stable defense, QB room and o-line lets them just focus on TE + receivers and the secondary.

the D has been poor overall this season. i don't know where you're getting this resurgence stuff from

[Dresden]

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I don't know who Rich Eisen is, but I don't see why he should be so surprised. Fields and the Bears beat one of the worst teams in football. The week before, against a very good defense, Fields had a net of 1 yard passing. If Fields had just gone out and beat the Rams or the Packers, it would be a different story.

[Dresden]

Playing this season for any sort of playoff success is absurd.

GB, Seattle, LAR, Arizona, Dallas and TB are all a level above us no matter what happens this year, we're really, really unlikely to go on the road into any of those places and pull off a W.

The objective this year is clear:
1. DEVELOP JUSTIN FIELDS
2. Win as much as possible while doing 1 - the resurgent defense makes both 1 & 2 possible
3. Develop the 1st and 2nd year players (Mooney, Johnson, Kmet, Jenkins, Borom, Herbert, Gipson, Vildor)

If they can go through this year and keep the defense alive at this level while developing Justin, this is a major win of a year. A stable defense, QB room and o-line lets them just focus on TE + receivers and the secondary.

I tend to agree with that. I think it's unrealistic to expect Nagy to make the playoffs in order to keep his job. This team just doesn't have the talent. If anything, it's an indictment of the GM.

At the same time, Nagy has been here now for what, his 4th season? And the team hasn't shown much improvement year to year. It wouldn't be unjustified to let him go. In order to keep his job, the team will need to show improvement over the course of the year, and at least be competitive against the really good teams like GB. If they are losing in lopsided fashion, or if the players seem to have lost confidence in Nagy, those would be what he gets fired for. The last point is an especially big deal, IMO. If he doesn't inspire confidence in the team, or has lost their respect, or they're tuning him out, then he needs to go.

[Susan]

Playing this season for any sort of playoff success is absurd.

GB, Seattle, LAR, Arizona, Dallas and TB are all a level above us no matter what happens this year, we're really, really unlikely to go on the road into any of those places and pull off a W.

The objective this year is clear:
1. DEVELOP JUSTIN FIELDS
2. Win as much as possible while doing 1 - the resurgent defense makes both 1 & 2 possible
3. Develop the 1st and 2nd year players (Mooney, Johnson, Kmet, Jenkins, Borom, Herbert, Gipson, Vildor)

If they can go through this year and keep the defense alive at this level while developing Justin, this is a major win of a year. A stable defense, QB room and o-line lets them just focus on TE + receivers and the secondary.

the D has been poor overall this season. i don't know where you're getting this resurgence stuff from

They were 9th after week 3 in DVOA. Leading NFL in sacks, 6 turnovers - they're making more plays than they did last year.

The secondary is deficient in talent but they're playing hard. We'll see if Vildor can step up and be at starter level by the end of the year but he's not a top flight talent.

Mack, Quinn and Gipson is a top flight OLB crew. The DLine is really good. Roquan has been playing at All Pro levels and Ogletree has been really freaking good considering he was a late FA signing.

[dice]

Playing this season for any sort of playoff success is absurd.

GB, Seattle, LAR, Arizona, Dallas and TB are all a level above us no matter what happens this year, we're really, really unlikely to go on the road into any of those places and pull off a W.

The objective this year is clear:
1. DEVELOP JUSTIN FIELDS
2. Win as much as possible while doing 1 - the resurgent defense makes both 1 & 2 possible
3. Develop the 1st and 2nd year players (Mooney, Johnson, Kmet, Jenkins, Borom, Herbert, Gipson, Vildor)

If they can go through this year and keep the defense alive at this level while developing Justin, this is a major win of a year. A stable defense, QB room and o-line lets them just focus on TE + receivers and the secondary.

the D has been poor overall this season. i don't know where you're getting this resurgence stuff from

They were 9th after week 3 in DVOA. Leading NFL in sacks, 6 turnovers - they're making more plays than they did last year.

The secondary is deficient in talent but they're playing hard. We'll see if Vildor can step up and be at starter level by the end of the year but he's not a top flight talent.

Mack, Quinn and Gipson is a top flight OLB crew. The DLine is really good. Roquan has been playing at All Pro levels and Ogletree has been really freaking good considering he was a late FA signing.

fair enough. i'll note, however, that the turnovers have all been with leads against bad teams. and one of them was completely unforced (that premature snap yesterday). the poor offense of the bengals accounted for 4 of them in consecutive possessions as they melted down

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I don't know who Rich Eisen is, but I don't see why he should be so surprised. Fields and the Bears beat one of the worst teams in football. The week before, against a very good defense, Fields had a net of 1 yard passing. If Fields had just gone out and beat the Rams or the Packers, it would be a different story.

Because it is so unsurprising that Matt Nagy would reach for quarterback Dalton, who that led the team to a whole 14 points (7 scored by Justin) against the Rams that you mention?

[Susan]

the D has been poor overall this season. i don't know where you're getting this resurgence stuff from

They were 9th after week 3 in DVOA. Leading NFL in sacks, 6 turnovers - they're making more plays than they did last year.

The secondary is deficient in talent but they're playing hard. We'll see if Vildor can step up and be at starter level by the end of the year but he's not a top flight talent.

Mack, Quinn and Gipson is a top flight OLB crew. The DLine is really good. Roquan has been playing at All Pro levels and Ogletree has been really freaking good considering he was a late FA signing.

fair enough. i'll note, however, that the turnovers have all been with leads against bad teams. and one of them was completely unforced (that premature snap yesterday). the poor offense of the bengals accounted for 4 of them in consecutive possessions as they melted down

Getting after the QB will do that to a QB - Bengals are 3-0 outside of their loss to us - winning in Pittsburgh isn't ever easy, even if Ben is washed, Minnesota isn't as bad as their 1-3 record and no comment on the Jags.

If Tonga can replace Goldman, we can cut Goldman and add nearly $7m to their cap space. Pace's biggest strength has been finding budget Dline gems.

Jaylon and Roquan have been both been playing at a super high level which extends the viability of this defensive core. Players of Mack's caliber have been great well into their mid 30s so while he won't be the premier monster that he has been in the first half of his career, Roquan is bigtime enough to carry that mantle.

We will need to really invest at CB and Safety because just patching too many holes will only work for so long. Get real, young talent there and this thing still keeps on rolling.

[Dresden]

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I don't know who Rich Eisen is, but I don't see why he should be so surprised. Fields and the Bears beat one of the worst teams in football. The week before, against a very good defense, Fields had a net of 1 yard passing. If Fields had just gone out and beat the Rams or the Packers, it would be a different story.

Because it is so unsurprising that Matt Nagy would reach for quarterback Dalton, who that led the team to a whole 14 points (7 scored by Justin) against the Rams that you mention?

No, it's not that surprising. Nagy awarded the starting position to Dalton at the start of the year because he thinks he gives them the best chance to win. A win against the Lions by Fields doesn't change the equation all that much. Like I said, if had done that against a good team, it would be different. But this guy Eisen acts like it's a big shock that beating a hapless Lions team doesn't automatically vault him into the starting job and that seems a bit ridiculous.

[Jcool0]

Ryan Pace needs to step in and be like sorry Matt you aren't getting me fired. You are starting Fields.

[fleet]

I don't know who Rich Eisen is, but I don't see why he should be so surprised. Fields and the Bears beat one of the worst teams in football. The week before, against a very good defense, Fields had a net of 1 yard passing. If Fields had just gone out and beat the Rams or the Packers, it would be a different story.

Because it is so unsurprising that Matt Nagy would reach for quarterback Dalton, who that led the team to a whole 14 points (7 scored by Justin) against the Rams that you mention?

No, it's not that surprising. Nagy awarded the starting position to Dalton at the start of the year because he thinks he gives them the best chance to win.

It looks more like Dalton gives him a better chance to make his system look better. Dude is about to rehire himself.

A win against the Lions by Fields doesn't change the equation all that much. Like I said, if had done that against a good team, it would be different. But this guy Eisen acts like it's a big shock that beating a hapless Lions team doesn't automatically vault him into the starting job and that seems a bit ridiculous.

Well that can only be because you, like Nagy, have a much better opinion of Andy Dalton than NFL media do.