Internal Pressure on Nagy. McCaskey not happy
Sept 15, 2021 20:09:40 GMT -6
butkus3595 and davidl like this
Post by JABF on Sept 15, 2021 20:09:40 GMT -6
I get the feeling that we're seeing the team beginning to lose faith in Nagy. I don't think the players are buying what he's selling anymore. I think we saw the first cracks in the foundation when the D failed to show up for off-season practices (except for Roquan Smith). I rewatched the opener against the Rams the other night. There were times when some of the D players looked like they were just going through the motions and mailing it in. The intensity level just wasn't there at times.
Think about it. Does ANYONE here really really believe Andy Dalton gives us a better chance of winning now than Fields? The players and coaches aren't stupid. They know this too. You play the game to win. You play your BEST players. I could see letting Dalton go up against the Rams. But moving forward I think Fields is ready to play (his coach says so) and he is our best player at QB. If you're not playing your best players on gameday (and they're healthy) then that is dysfunctional coaching. JMO.
Well the D doesn't have any excuse. They got their Fangio disciple as their DC, so they should be busting their asses for him, not Nagy.
I also think Fields is ready to go though. One interesting thing I read though was a quote from Fields saying how he has been taking risks in practice as the scout team QB that he wouldn't normally take in a game, and how that has lead to a lot of growth for him because he's able to find out what he's capable of and what he isn't at this level. That type of experience is invaluable.
+1 to all of that.
I'd add that every QB, or for that matter every football player, is unique. Some rookie QBs do need lots of time to be ready. Some are never ready. But it sure sounds like Fields is a guy who is truly ready to play now. His coach says he's ready. He should know better than anyone. JMO.
I do have a problem if Nagy doesn't start his best players. Nagy overthinks things. We see that on gameday. Now I wonder if he's overthinking the Fields decision too. Will Fields make mistakes and take some hits? Heck yeah. But if Nagy is waiting until Fields is "perfect" and the OL is "perfect" and... well you get the drift, it is overkill. Again, every player, and every situation is unique. I think Fields should be starting sooner rather than later. Certainly by game 4. And I'd be fine starting him against the Bengals on Sunday.