Chicago Bears 2021

[Muda69]

https://deadspin.com/hey-chicago-bears-could-you-not-screw-up-justin-fields-1846890667

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The Chicago Bears have their quarterback of the future in Justin Fields. Nobody really questions that. I certainly don’t. However, the question remains — how long before he takes over, and are the Bears even capable of effectively developing a quarterback?

We all know the Patrick Mahomes story. Now arguably the best quarterback in the NFL, with an MVP, a Super Bowl ring, and another Super Bowl appearance on his resume after only four years in the NFL, he sat on the bench as a rookie behind entrenched veteran starter Alex Smith. Bears head coach Matt Nagy was the offensive coordinator for the Chiefs during the year Mahomes sat.

While some will speculate that the Bears will want to take a similar patient approach to their new signal caller, the differences are pretty stark. Before entering the NFL, Mahomes had never taken a snap from under center. He also struggled with some of the basics, like operating a huddle and calling plays.

“He started screaming the plays, and the defense could hear him on the other side because he had never called a play call in a huddle before,” Nagy said earlier this month. “Those are the little things we all think we can get up and do that these kids haven’t done — getting a snap from under center, doing different things there. So those small little processes take time. Once we get that, you can play faster and faster.”

Fields, on the other hand, operated from under center and ran a much more pro-ready offense at Ohio State than Mahomes did at Texas Tech.

...

The Bears have never successfully developed a star quarterback. Ever. They’ve been snake-bitten by the position for their entire existence. Fields has the pedigree and the talent to change that, but it must be done correctly. What “correctly” is, however, is up for debate. Starting quarterbacks don’t sit and learn like they used to; the last successful example is, ironically, Mahomes. Of the top three quarterbacks drafted last year, Tua Tagovailoa is the only one that was not handed the keys fully, and he is now the one facing the most uncertainty — Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert both took over early and never relinquished the jobs.

If Fields enters rookie mini-camp this weekend and shows the poise and command that he’s notorious for, and then enters training camp in a couple months and shows understanding of the system and playbook, coupled with abilities and athleticism that Dalton simply does not have, then it will be hard for the Bears to not let the stallion out of the stable. Give him the reins, and don’t screw him up, Nagy.

I sure hope Mr. Nagy and the Bears get this right.  And that quote about Mr. Mahomes never taking a snap from under center until he entered the NFL just boggles mind mind.  Really.

 

[Coach Nowlin]

All I know is I LOVE SCHEDULE release day..... 

We jack up the prices on our tickets.   Sold 3 games in 1 night and made all buy 150 bucks back on my total price Season tickets.    Love it 

 

[Whiting89]

36 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

All I know is I LOVE SCHEDULE release day..... 

We jack up the prices on our tickets.   Sold 3 games in 1 night and made all buy 150 bucks back on my total price Season tickets.    Love it 

 

Yeah the Vegas game min price on release was 486. 

[DE]

49 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

All I know is I LOVE SCHEDULE release day..... 

We jack up the prices on our tickets.   Sold 3 games in 1 night and made all buy 150 bucks back on my total price Season tickets.    Love it 

 

Man I love free market, capitalism.  

[Muda69]

Should Mr. Nagy be on the "hot seat" in Chicago?  Most Bears fans seem to say "YES".  Here is an alternative viewpoint:  https://deadspin.com/matt-nagy-being-on-the-hot-seat-in-chicago-makes-zero-s-1846989273

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When the Chicago Bears shocked the NFL world by trading up nine spots to select Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields with the 11th overall pick, the entire football world applauded Chicago for such a great move. The lack of a consistent starting quarterback had been the biggest elephant on the Bears’ backs ever since trading up to draft Mitch Trubisky second overall in 2017. Despite having a walking meme at quarterback over the past four years, Nagy has excelled as Da Bears’ head coach — leading the Bears to the playoffs in two of three seasons and their first division title in eight years.

SO, WHY ON EARTH IS HE ON THE HOT SEAT?!?!?!?!?!

Apparently, Nagy has the third-best odds to be the first coach fired in the upcoming NFL season.

Trailing only Dallas’s Mike McCarthy and Denver’s Vic Fangio. I don’t think Fangio should be fired either. He’s gotten incredibly unlucky with injuries and quarterback play, but he hasn’t been close to the playoffs recently, so I understand his placement on this list slightly more. But Nagy?! Why? What does anyone have on this guy?

If coaches could win the NFL MVP award, Nagy could’ve been a finalist in 2018. For a first-year coach in his first head coaching gig to put together a season like the 2018 Bears had was incredible. Despite declining production from Jordan Howard, Allen Robinson missing a quarter of the season, and a wide receiving corps that featured Anthony Miller as the team’s number two, Nagy went 12-4 and sent both Mitch Trubisky and Tarik Cohen to the Pro Bowl. Huh? How can you blame that guy for the last two years? It’s not his fault Khalil Mack has slightly regressed. It’s not Nagy’s fault that the team’s No. 2 receiver was Darnell Mooney last year (even though I think he has potential).

Nagy has done so many great things during his coaching career with the Bears. He hasn’t been perfect. He doesn’t run the ball nearly as much as he probably should — sort of turning David Montgomery into a pass-catcher early in his career rather than a runner — but Nagy started to ramp up the ground game late last season and because of it, Montgomery was one of the best backs in the league down the final stretch of the season. Nagy learns throughout the season and adapts, and he’s a good coach because of it.

The biggest problem most people seem to have with Nagy is his inability to develop Trubisky. That’s just foolish. Sometimes you just gotta take a step back and realize that some players will never live up to their expectations. You think Nagy wasn’t realizing all the mistakes Trubisky was making? No shot. You remember when he straight up told Trubisky to “shut the f**k up!” during the Rams game in 2019? Nagy looks fed up with his signal-caller in that clip.

Before coming to Chicago, Nagy was known for his ability to work with quarterbacks. As the quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator for Kansas City from 2013 to 2017, Nagy helped Alex Smith earn three trips to the Pro Bowl. Smith was even considered an MVP candidate for most of the 2017 season. This is ALEX SMITH we’re talking about here. So, if Nagy could do something like that with Alex Smith, the fact that he struggled to develop Mitch Trubisky should speak volumes about Trubisky, not Nagy.

Nagy is a once-in-a-lifetime coach who year-in, year-out has been able to lead his team above expectations. To put him on the hot seat before even seeing him get an opportunity with Justin Fields, seems awfully quick given what he’s been able to do in his three seasons with Chicago. The 2018 Coach of the Year just got his quarterback of the future, and he might not even get a chance to coach him in a regular season game. That would be the biggest tragedy of the upcoming NFL season. Don’t let it happen!