Chicago Bears: 3 positives from the Andy Dalton signing

Let’s talk about the possible outcomes for next season, realistically.

Obviously, Andy Dalton is not a game-changer for this team. He’s a 33-year old veteran whose best days as a starting quarterback are behind him. He was handed a generous spot with the Cowboys in a weak division and failed to make it out of there. He’s essentially useless.

Think about it from Nagy’s offensive scheme. A lot of play-action, out of the shotgun, and a lot of deep balls. Dalton saw a lot of shotgun formations and deep balls with Hue Jackson, which was one of his best years in the 2014 season. But, he’s worked with two separate coaches that run the West Coast offense with Jay Gruden at the beginning of his career and Mike McCarthy in the latter. These schemes offer short passes and limited turnovers — AKA not Nagy.

For the final ingredient, add the Bears’ 30th overall ranked strength of schedule — the third-hardest in the NFL next season. They play six teams outside of their division that made the playoffs last year, and one that was pretty close — the Arizona Cardinals.

All of these elements scream losing record. Ultimately, this is the first step in the positive to signing Dalton. Losing. An inevitable losing season most likely gives Bears fans the freedom of saying goodbye to head coach Matt Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace. That’s step one.