Bears coach Matt Nagy is feeling a lot better about Andy Dalton as his starting quarterback than everyone else seems to be after two nondescript, uninspiring preseason performances.
But then again, that’s usually the case.
With Nagy’s irrepressible optimism, it’s always tough to tell whether he really believes things are going great or just wants that to be true so badly that he convinces himself of it. A month before Mitch Trubisky plummeted through the 2019 season, and eventually spiraled out of the organization altogether, Nagy similarly dismissed some August struggles by saying, “Yeah, no doubt, I feel really good about where he’s at.”
So his positive spin on Dalton’s nine possessions — five three-and-outs, two turnovers, one touchdown and one turnover on downs near midfield — is met with earned skepticism.
“I understand the part [that] we haven’t been getting first downs,” Nagy said Monday before practice. “I get that. But really, when you look at play, by play, by play… He’s making really good decisions.
“He’s made some plays that maybe he couldn’t have or shouldn’t have been able to make. We like what he’s doing right now with the [first string] in practice, and that really makes us feel good.”
The difference between practice and preseason games is significant. Dalton has the full offense in practice, whereas he’s been playing mostly without starting wide receivers Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney, tight ends Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet and running back David Montgomery.
On Dalton’s interception Saturday against the Bills, wide receiver Rodney Adams slipped when trying to break toward the ball and it sailed straight into rookie cornerback Nick McCloud’s hands. Nagy thought that could’ve been a 22-yard completion had Adams kept his footing (or if it had been Robinson instead), but that doesn’t look like a certainty on replay.
Speaking of hypotheticals, Dalton also hit Adams for a 73-yard touchdown pass in which Adams was streaking downfield but had to turn back and reach around cornerback Siran Neal’s helmet to catch the ball. So that underthrown pass might not always get the job done.
Dalton looks like an upgrade over Trubisky and Nick Foles, but in two games, he has completed 13 of 21 passes for 164 yards with a touchdown and an interception for an 82.2 passer rating. Without Adam’s brilliant catch, he’d be averaging just 4.6 yards per pass.
That’s why Nagy is still weighing how much to play him in the preseason finale Saturday at the Titans. It’s imperative that he get rookie Justin Fields an extended opportunity, but it would boost everyone’s confidence Dalton can be more productive with the first-string offense before he leads it against the reigning No. 1 defense in the season opener at the Rams.
That decision would be more intriguing if this was a legitimate competition. Nagy has repeatedly committed to Dalton starting the opener, and when the Bears drafted Fields, Nagy and general manager Ryan Pace intended to sit him for the entire season with an eye on taking over to begin 2022.
But Fields could revise their timeline.
While his passing statistics — 23 for 39, 222 yards, one touchdown, 83.5 rating — aren’t any better than Dalton’s, he has added 79 yards and a touchdown on nine runs and given flashes of his potential. His mobility must be a factor in Nagy’s calculation of which quarterback gives the Bears the best chance to win, especially when it’s hard to predict what they’ll get from the offensive line.
Nonetheless, he remains hopeful that the eventual quarterback change will be predicated solely on Fields’ readiness rather than Dalton forcing the Bears into it by faltering. With the team now about a week from diving fully into preparation for the opener, it’d be a good time for Dalton to back up what his coach keeps telling everyone.
