LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Andy Dalton’s initial job is safe, at least for the first week.
Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy reaffirmed the team’s decision to open the regular season with Dalton as quarterback when he announced Tuesday that Dalton will not play the Chicago regular season finale in Tennessee because the veteran will be the starter of the first week of the team.
Instead, the Bears will begin picking first-round Justin Fields, who Nagy said should play two quarters on Saturday before giving way to third-row Nick Foles.
The fields will play with “some, but not all” of the Bears ’initial offense, according to Nagy.
“I think it will be a good opportunity for Justin and then you will know that we will be selective for the rest of the players as we move forward, but you will see a direction more similar to the old school fourth preseason game,” Nagy said.
“We just want to see him play hard, play well. The variables are different. He’s not there, just like Andy hasn’t been here with some of these receivers. So all I want to see of him is just need to play a good football game in the quarterback position and take the overall picture back into account for all of us. “
The fans ’push to start Fields, the 11th overall pick in the NFL draft, over Dalton has intensified in the preseason.
Fields followed up an encouraging preseason debut against Miami (175 versatile yards, two touchdowns) with a modest display against Buffalo last week (9 of 19 for 80 yards and 46 running yards in four attempts).
Still, Fields ’elite speed and strange ability to keep out-of-pocket plays alive has captivated a Chicago fan base that has been deprived of a true franchised quarterback for more than 70 years.
“We feel really good where Justin is,” Nagy said. “I would say for sure that because of his level where there are a lot of newbies right now, he passed that test.
“So that’s good. We know that. But now it’s just a growth for each of those quarterbacks, including Justin. Everyone has a different story about how to get to the top. Every quarterback in that league has a different story. There are good examples of guys who have played since day one as newbies.There are good examples.There are also good examples of guys who have not played since day one and have sat down a bit.I’m talking about guys right now in the league. I was talking about guys 10 years ago. We have to create our own about how we do it. “
Dalton’s best preseason moment came when he connected with a 73-yard touchdown pass to great receiver Rodney Adams in the Bills game, but overall, the Bears ’offense has stalled when Dalton has them. gone fourth in the last two games.
Fixing all of the Bears ’offensive problems on Dalton, however, would be inaccurate.
The Bears have suffered a number of injuries on the training ground on their offensive line, including the planned only initial attack Tevin Jenkins, who was recently operated on his back.
Dalton has also been without three key players, receiver Allen Robinson, runner David Montgomery and tight end Cole Kmet, at certain times in the preseason games.
Nagy has never hesitated in his plan to start Dalton in Week 1, but he has also not ignored the reality that the Bears ’starting quarterback job will eventually belong to Fields.
“Right now we feel really good with our quarterback room, I know,” Nagy said. “We feel really good, and that’s a merit for those players who are in this room. It’s a merit for our coaches who train them, and now, when we have a chance in week 1, as a unit, as a team , the three phases, we have to put it together and go play Chicago Bear football. “