As the Chicago Bears have now started training camp we conclude our series previewing the position groups by taking a look at the quarterbacks. How long does it take before the future takes over?
After opening up training camp yesterday, the Chicago Bears today started their first practice. The new season is officially underway. Yes, the real games don’t begin for over a month, but now we have football action. We now conclude our series previewing the position groups. We do it by taking a look at arguably the most important position on the team — the quarterback.
The Bears have been on a never-ending quest to find their franchise quarterback. In this year’s draft, they feel they did it. They pulled off what might be the deal of the draft. They moved up from 20th to 11th and picked up Justin Fields. That, and other moves made in the draft inspired positivity around the team. That was something severely lacking over much of the past decade.
Now the Bears have the future face of the franchise on the roster. The question now is, when does the future start?
The starter
After the Bears failed to make a huge trade to acquire either Deshaun Watson or Russell Wilson, they settled for signing free agent Andy Dalton. Going from those two big names to Dalton did not sit well for Chicago Bears fans, though. Dalton isn’t a bad quarterback, especially as a bridge quarterback, but he isn’t on the level of the other two.
Throughout much of the offseason, the fans kept thinking about what Dalton would do for the offense. No, he isn’t an elite quarterback, but he still is a competent one. He is definitely an upgrade from Mitchell Trubisky. Head coach Matt Nagy can run his offense more than he could with Trubisky. He can make the deep throw and give the receiver an opportunity to make the catch. While he isn’t very mobile, he makes up for that by making quick decisions and getting rid of the ball quickly. Furthermore, he understands that sometimes a quarterback needs to throw the ball away and not take a big loss.
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Now, with Fields on the team, Dalton knows his time is already running out. He’s a professional, though, and it doesn’t bother him. All he concerns himself with is the here and now. The truth is that for now he is the starter and that’s where his concern lies.
He’s a first-round pick, I understand that. But I also understand that I’m the starter. I understand that. I knew I signed a one-year deal [and] I knew that I was going to come in and I was going to be the starter, regardless of the situation, coming in. That’s my focus. I’m not worried about all the stuff that’s going to be going on with Justin because that doesn’t affect me.
Dalton understands the situation he’s in and he’s fine with it. He understands that his play this season is an audition for another team in 2022. He’ll go out and play as well as he can. Despite the situation, he knows that the better he plays the more time the future, aka Fields, sits and watches.
The backups
When Nagy announced that he didn’t see any way, barring injury, Fields would start in Week 1, many missed another important note. He stated that Fields is Dalton’s backup. He reiterated that point in the opening press conference to start training camp, explaining that as the main backup he receives more work. He’ll take a lot of snaps in practice (in case Dalton gets injured in a game), thus getting him ready to take over earlier.
Giving Fields as much work as possible only speeds up his development. The Bears feel he won’t need too much grooming to succeed. Before he takes over as starter, though, the more work he gets the better for him and the Bears.
The Bears also have Nick Foles on the roster. There are rumors about them trading him before the end of camp, but for now, he is still a Chicago Bears quarterback. If he starts, something went terribly wrong. For now, he’ll be mentoring Fields while the two are watching Dalton.
Having both Dalton and Foles mentor Fields is crucial in the rookie’s development. These two veterans have a great deal of experience they can share with Fields. They are both consummate professionals and Fields will be that much better for it.
The verdict
The Bears’ quarterback situation is greatly improved from the past several seasons. The roster, with a better offensive line, more running back depth and a better receiving corps will help the signal-caller (whoever he is) succeed. Dalton is a great bridge quarterback who will play well until Fields is ready to take over. Nagy’s offense will run smoother and make more plays than in the previous three seasons.
While winning games is obviously the most important thing this season, a close second is Fields’ development. They need to make sure that Fields is in the best position to succeed. If they do this well, the sky’s the limit for Fields and the Chicago Bears.