Fields should, and does earn the right to start, Dalton will though b/c Pac/Nagy want to develop Fields as if this is the same situation as KC w/Smith and Mahomes.
It's not; Dalton is not Alex Smith, Fields is not Patrick Mahomes. And no that doesn't mean I think Fields will be better then Mahomes, he just doesn't need to sit and learn behind a shell of a former starter qb like Dalton.
Post by Whisky Beer Bob on May 1, 2021 6:16:03 GMT -6
I still would like to give him a few couple of months holding the clipboard to adjust to the speed of the NFL. It has been noted about his memory prowess and ability to process info. But the actually size and speed is so much more then he is used to I think watching a bit would be good.
I think it depends. Every player is unique and every situation is unique. Let's see how Fields transitions this preseason. If he is ready to start then by all means make him the starter. If he isn't quite there yet, then hey, the world won't come to an end if Dalton is starting for a few games.
My thought now is that I hope the Bears don't blow this opportunity. Pace got the guy we need. Now the coaching staff needs to pull out all of the stops to help Justin transition properly to the NFL. Don't blow it. Not now.
Let's just watch and see what happens. I really don't give a crap about how soon Fields starts, but rather I just want the Bears to FINALLY get it right with developing a young QB. Get it right, not fast. But yeah, don't have him sitting on the bench if he's truly ready to start. Don't delay. I'm fine if he starts day-1 if he truly is ready. But don't start him just to rush things. Tailor the timetable to Justin. Get it right this time in Chicago.
I think it depends. Every player is unique and every situation is unique. Let's see how Fields transitions this preseason. If he is ready to start then by all means make him the starter. If he isn't quite there yet, then hey, the world won't come to an end if Dalton is starting for a few games.
My thought now is that I hope the Bears don't blow this opportunity. Pace got the guy we need. Now the coaching staff needs to pull out all of the stops to help Justin transition properly to the NFL. Don't blow it. Not now.
Let's just watch and see what happens. I really don't give a crap about how soon Fields starts, but rather I just want the Bears to FINALLY get it right with developing a young QB. Get it right, not fast. But yeah, don't have him sitting on the bench if he's truly ready to start. Don't delay. I'm fine if he starts day-1 if he truly is ready. But don't start him just to rush things. Tailor the timetable to Justin. Get it right this time in Chicago.
Well said!
Something I'm starting to think about, what's the first slate of games supposed to look like? Let's say game 1 is against... The Lions for example. Start Fields lol. If it were against someone with the prowess of Belichick, let him sit.
Post by paytonisgod on May 1, 2021 11:45:47 GMT -6
Unless Fields just wows the coaches at training camp Dalton is going to start. While things will be closer to normal than last year it still looks like there may be an abbreviated off-season. In normal times coaches everywhere already complained that they don't have a enough time to install offenses and get everyone up to speed before the season starts. Fields is likely going to need a lot more time than Dalton to learn how to do things.
Dalton will continue to start as long as the Bears are winning with some consistency. If there is a particularly bad skid, that appears to be due primarily to Dalton's performance, we might see Fields brought in. Obviously if the Bears lose a lot of games then it's going to be pretty much a sure thing Fields starts at some point.
Now that the draft is over I'm gonna go w/ Fields. Or at least start him by Thanksgiving. We got ourselves a nice mean Tackle, James Daniels & Tarik Cohen are coming back, ARob is still here. Why shouldn't the new face of the franchise get the starting job?
We love to talk about giving a player time to "learn the system" but shouldn't any first rd pick be automatically a day one starter?
Trevor Lawrence is going to start right away. Zach Wilson is going to start, and there's a good chance Trey Lance will too.
Now that the draft is over I'm gonna go w/ Fields. Or at least start him by Thanksgiving. We got ourselves a nice mean Tackle, James Daniels & Tarik Cohen are coming back, ARob is still here. Why shouldn't the new face of the franchise get the starting job?
We love to talk about giving a player time to "learn the system" but shouldn't any first rd pick be automatically a day one starter?
Trevor Lawrence is going to start right away. Zach Wilson is going to start, and there's a good chance Trey Lance will too.
Why shouldn't Fields?
Was watching NFLN during Day 3 of the draft and of course by the end in round 6 or so they stop paying attention to the actual picks and start talking about other topics.
They talked about the unique situation Mahomes came into. He had a vet ahead of him in Alex Smith who was pretty damn good, a star HC in Andy Reid who's job was safe with nothing to prove, and he came from a smaller program (Texas Tech) so needed some adjustment time. Therefore, Mahomes sat almost his entire rookie year and played only one game.
They then contrasted that to Fields. Dalton is decent vet but not at Smith's level back then and he had already been relegated to backup roles. Nagy's job may not be in grave danger but he DOES need to show something with the offense as a whole. Fields has big time college experience unlike Mahomes--3 years worth at 2 elite college programs facing the best NCAA competition there is out there.
Bottom line: they all agreed that the Bears will pay public lip service to "Dalton is the starter" and "we'd like Justin to sit a year" yada yada but that it's inevitable "Fields will be playing by week 6 or so".
I agree with that. Fields isn't Mills or Lance. He has tons of top notch college experience under his belt already. He will be (and should be) playing early. Only exception I could see is of Dalton somehow is lighting it up and takes the Bears to a 5-1 opening--that's not gonna happen.
Now that the draft is over I'm gonna go w/ Fields. Or at least start him by Thanksgiving. We got ourselves a nice mean Tackle, James Daniels & Tarik Cohen are coming back, ARob is still here. Why shouldn't the new face of the franchise get the starting job?
We love to talk about giving a player time to "learn the system" but shouldn't any first rd pick be automatically a day one starter?
Trevor Lawrence is going to start right away. Zach Wilson is going to start, and there's a good chance Trey Lance will too.
Why shouldn't Fields?
Was watching NFLN during Day 3 of the draft and of course by the end in round 6 or so they stop paying attention to the actual picks and start talking about other topics.
They talked about the unique situation Mahomes came into. He had a vet ahead of him in Alex Smith who was pretty damn good, a star HC in Andy Reid who's job was safe with nothing to prove, and he came from a smaller program (Texas Tech) so needed some adjustment time. Therefore, Mahomes sat almost his entire rookie year and played only one game.
They then contrasted that to Fields. Dalton is decent vet but not at Smith's level back then and he had already been relegated to backup roles. Nagy's job may not be in grave danger but he DOES need to show something with the offense as a whole. Fields has big time college experience unlike Mahomes--3 years worth at 2 elite college programs facing the best NCAA competition there is out there.
Bottom line: they all agreed that the Bears will pay public lip service to "Dalton is the starter" and "we'd like Justin to sit a year" yada yada but that it's inevitable "Fields will be playing by week 6 or so".
I agree with that. Fields isn't Mills or Lance. He has tons of top notch college experience under his belt already. He will be (and should be) playing early. Only exception I could see is of Dalton somehow is lighting it up and takes the Bears to a 5-1 opening--that's not gonna happen.
+1
Those are all good points. Nagy in that press conference with him and Pace answering questions together, made a good point. Nagy said something to the effect that no two guys are alike. And he said the transition is significant for any QB. Obviously most don't make the transition and bite the dust in the NFL. We've all seen that, even with #1 picks in the draft and touted as "can't miss" guys. I take it that they will start Fields when they believe he is ready, and that could be day-1, or mid-season, or like Mahomes (when Nagy was there in KC) he could sit this season.
My gut feeling is that he starts sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be shocked if he started day-1. But I also remind myself that we've been hearing how complex this O scheme is that Nagy has, and the pre-season is shortened now. So consequently I wouldn't be surprised at all if it is a mid-season thing. I take it that they are going to make sure (in the coaches minds) that he is ready before they let him start though. And that's reasonable. But yeah, he won't be sitting 1 game longer than necessary. As some have said, the QB learning curve requires actual game reps too. Reps in real games and not just preseason stuff. The guy needs to be at a certain level to begin that part of the learning curve though - at least in an ideal world. Part of a great QB's makeup is confidence. I believe that. So don't set the guy up to fall off a cliff. Make sure he's ready to start. And then start him.
Was watching NFLN during Day 3 of the draft and of course by the end in round 6 or so they stop paying attention to the actual picks and start talking about other topics.
They talked about the unique situation Mahomes came into. He had a vet ahead of him in Alex Smith who was pretty damn good, a star HC in Andy Reid who's job was safe with nothing to prove, and he came from a smaller program (Texas Tech) so needed some adjustment time. Therefore, Mahomes sat almost his entire rookie year and played only one game.
They then contrasted that to Fields. Dalton is decent vet but not at Smith's level back then and he had already been relegated to backup roles. Nagy's job may not be in grave danger but he DOES need to show something with the offense as a whole. Fields has big time college experience unlike Mahomes--3 years worth at 2 elite college programs facing the best NCAA competition there is out there.
Bottom line: they all agreed that the Bears will pay public lip service to "Dalton is the starter" and "we'd like Justin to sit a year" yada yada but that it's inevitable "Fields will be playing by week 6 or so".
I agree with that. Fields isn't Mills or Lance. He has tons of top notch college experience under his belt already. He will be (and should be) playing early. Only exception I could see is of Dalton somehow is lighting it up and takes the Bears to a 5-1 opening--that's not gonna happen.
+1
Those are all good points. Nagy in that press conference with him and Pace answering questions together, made a good point. Nagy said something to the effect that no two guys are alike. And he said the transition is significant for any QB. Obviously most don't make the transition and bite the dust in the NFL. We've all seen that, even with #1 picks in the draft and touted as "can't miss" guys. I take it that they will start Fields when they believe he is ready, and that could be day-1, or mid-season, or like Mahomes (when Nagy was there in KC) he could sit this season.
My gut feeling is that he starts sooner rather than later. I wouldn't be shocked if he started day-1. But I also remind myself that we've been hearing how complex this O scheme is that Nagy has, and the pre-season is shortened now. So consequently I wouldn't be surprised at all if it is a mid-season thing. I take it that they are going to make sure (in the coaches minds) that he is ready before they let him start though. And that's reasonable. But yeah, he won't be sitting 1 game longer than necessary. As some have said, the QB learning curve requires actual game reps too. Reps in real games and not just preseason stuff. The guy needs to be at a certain level to begin that part of the learning curve though - at least in an ideal world. Part of a great QB's makeup is confidence. I believe that. So don't set the guy up to fall off a cliff. Make sure he's ready to start. And then start him.
It wouldn't shock me to see Fields starting Day 1 either, JABF. I think the more likely scenario is Dalton starts first 4-6 games and then the switch is made after a loss.
It's all a PR shell game, let's face it--to lower expectations. But, everyone knows who the #1 QB is on this team. You don't trade up big time in the 1st round for a guy you want to take a wait-and-see approach to. And rookie QBs with Fields' level of college experience simply don't "sit a year" anymore in the modern NFL. This isn't 1997. Fields is this year where Deshaun Watson was in 2017. He will be starting certainly by the 2nd half of the season at the latest.