Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy setting the stage for Justin Fields
In his presser on Tuesday, Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy clearly stated his plan for the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins. The starting unit on both sides of the ball will play eight to ten snaps with the reserves playing the rest of the game. The reserves, of course, include rookie quarterback Justin Fields.
Matt Nagy knows Justin Fields is ready to be the Chicago Bears starting quarterback.
To win the starting quarterback job in camp, two things must happen. First, the entire team must be on the same page about who they want as their leader. Nagy has to start the best player because he knows if he doesn’t, he risks losing the respect of his locker room. Secondly, it must be evident to fans and the media that the better quarterback will be starting.
I have followed the daily reports and press conferences out of training camp this year and I believe that Justin Fields has performed as well as Andy Dalton when going against the first-string defense. The caveat: Fields has been doing it with the second-string offense and has left reporters and fans with more “wow” moments every day than Dalton has.
Matt Nagy knows that Justin Fields is the key to his offense. The Chicago Bears have been atrocious at executing big plays and Dalton, while impressive in practice, is not the quarterback that can fix this problem immediately – especially considering the injuries to the offensive line.
This is what makes his decision to only play Andy Dalton in limited snaps very interesting. Nagy must know that in eight to ten plays, Dalton won’t be able to settle into a strong rhythm. However, Justin Fields, over the rest of the game, will be able to completely settle in with plenty of chances to leave his teammates, fans, and the media in awe of his jaw-dropping talent. The result: an even stronger push by the media for Nagy to start Justin Fields.
Now, if Nagy was really intent on sitting Justin Fields this season, there is absolutely no way he distributes the snaps so disproportionately that all everyone will remember from the game is how Justin Fields looked.
Matt Nagy wants to start Justin Fields in the Chicago Bears opener.
This brings me to my main point: Matt Nagy is going to use the preseason to make it absolutely undeniable that Justin Fields needs to be the week one starter. He needs to because he has to be able to justify it to Andy Dalton, to who he promised the starting job.
The Chicago Bears are in a very unique position this season with two quarterbacks that would be quality starters. However, Matt Nagy knows only one of them, Justin Fields, has the potential to completely break open the offense and let Nagy unleash his entire playbook on the NFL.
As a result, I believe his most recent comments on the preseason showcase that he is setting the stage for Justin Fields’ coronation as the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.