Chicago Bears: Is Matt Nagy more of a problem or a solution?

Can the Chicago Bears quarterback situation be a solution?

That gets us to every Bear fan’s favorite topic. Who should be their starting quarterback? I can see arguments for both sides of Andy Dalton versus Justin Fields. Based on Nagy’s past performances as a play-caller and Fields’ preseason appearances it is fair to conclude that Justin Fields busted plays will probably produce more yards than Matt Nagy’s, typically, predictable and relatively easy to defend, play calls.

On the other hand, Justin Fields, especially in crunch time is going to have an overall hard time reading the plethora of sophisticated defenses that will be thrown at him. I do not believe Andy Dalton is as bad as most Bear fans want to believe. Nor am I, absolutely, certain Justin Fields will become a superstar QB. Yes, Fields has the physical skills and intangible qualities to become an elite QB. However, none of us really know for certain when and if this will happen.

In the meantime, very likely, Matt Nagy has to win games to keep his job. Here is something Matt Nagy will probably not take into account when deciding at any time during the season who should be his quarterback but is a factor in how good or bad the Bears’ offense will be in 2021. Will Andy Dalton’s ability to be consistently better than Justin Fields at reading defenses pre and post-snap create more yardage than Fields turning busted plays into positive gains along with executing Nagy’s play calls?

For the very many Bears fans that love to hate on Andy Dalton, I would advise you to consider that every QB that has played under Matt Nagy, including Dalton, has had the same problems in consistently moving the ball and scoring points.

Dalton’s reputation is a quarterback who makes good decisions and is accurate. He had a rough start in Dallas then closed the season with a number of good games. He did this under another conservative WCO play-caller, Mike McCarthy. I can see where it makes sense to have Fields practice with the starters to one degree or another over the next few weeks. I also can see where it makes sense to start the season with Dalton on the road against a very tough Rams defense.

Whoever is the Chicago Bears starting quarterback, Matt Nagy needs to be smarter than in the past with his play-calling and that includes taking more calculated risks or this season will likely be a bust for Chicago.