Justin Fields seems like he’s ready to play, but Andy Dalton is trying to make it so he doesn’t have to.

The reports from Chicago Bears training camp are nearly unanimous in that both quarterbacks are well ahead of where either Mitch Trubisky or Nick Foles were a year ago. That puts the Bears in a good situation at a position they’ve rarely been able to say that about. If they want to throw the young stud out there, he won’t drown. But they can let him take his time.

At this point, the throw Fields made during Sunday’s practice has spread around the internet enough times that Bears fans surely don’t need a description of it.

Holy shit that throw!! https://t.co/ePX3wcjQ6U

— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) August 8, 2021

Whether it’s practice or games, that was as special a throw as you’ll see. It was the kind of throw only a handful of NFL quarterbacks can think about making. It’s hard not to get carried away when envisioning what Fields could do in this offense. And it’s hard to imagine a world in which he won’t get his shot, quickly. But unlike Mike Glennon with Mitch Trubisky in 2017 or Matt Flynn with Russell Wilson in 2012, Dalton isn’t giving the job away.

When the star wide receiver raves about you, as Allen Robinson has about Dalton, you’re in a good spot as a quarterback. Playing against the Bears defensive starters without most of his starting offensive line, the reports on Dalton have been consistent. He puts the ball where it needs to be, when it needs to be there.

Yet even at his best, Dalton can’t deliver the splash plays of Fields.  While early reports indicated some wild accuracy at times from Fields – and an interception on a screen pass – the gap certainly seems to be closing quickly.

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The Bears practiced Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Here are a collection of thoughts and ruminations.

• David Montgomery has been a good running back. But what’s kept him from being a great running back is his lack of breakaway speed. Too often Montgomery gains 15-20 yards on runs that should be 70-yard touchdowns. Adam Jahns (in The Athletic, of course) discusses Montgomery’s clear speed gains this summer: “It was also a run where Montgomery’s speed training from the offseason appeared to factor in. The surprising thing wasn’t that Montgomery broke tackles; it continues to be how fast he’s eating up yardage when he is in the open field.”
• The NFL will not allow us to embed their YouTube content on our websites – a decision that literally makes zero digital sense. So if you want to see Jimbo Covert’s Hall of Fame speech, go over there and see it.
• Cairo Santos saved his NFL career in 2020 with the Chicago Bears. Adam Hoge profiled that season quite nicely for NBC Sports.
• Take everything you hear in training camp with a grain of salt, but the praise being poured out for Darnell Mooney is coming from everywhere. One reason for the excitement is Mooney actually fits what Nagy wants to do offensively better than a player like Allen Robinson. (Another reason the Bears are reluctant to throw top five money at Robinson.) Won’t surprise me if Mooney’s numbers exceed ARob’s this season.
  • From Wikipedia: “Hypotheses of the phrase’s origin include Pliny the Elder‘s Naturalis Historia, regarding the discovery of a recipe for an antidote to a poison.^[2] In the antidote, one of the ingredients was a grain of salt. Threats involving the poison were thus to be taken “with a grain of salt”, and therefore less seriously. The phrase cum grano salis (“with a grain of salt”) is not what Pliny wrote. It is constructed according to the grammar of modern European languages rather than Classical Latin. Pliny’s actual words were addito salis grano (“after having added a grain of salt”).”
• Matt Nagy said he “feels better than worse” about Roquan’s injury. Here’s my question: why speak like this? The whole league does it and it makes no sense. Here’s how coaches should talk about injuries. Player X has a problem with his Y and we expect him to return in around Z days. What other details are required? Why do we need a non-medical professional’s feel for the situation?
  • Roquan Side Note: He’s going to make a lot of money very soon.

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You can argue the health of the offensive line is important. But really, it’s not. It’s August 6th.

You can argue the depth at corner is an issue. But really, it’s not.

The only thing important right now for the Chicago Bears organization is Justin Fields. And that’s why today’s diary is just this Adam Jahns Tweet, quoting Jimmy Graham, a guy who has been around.

Jimmy Graham on Justin Fields : pic.twitter.com/RAlPlXAjLD

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 5, 2021

If you’re getting sick of Fields-specific posts, I have a recommendation for you: find another blog.

Justin Fields 🎯🎯🎯🎯🎯
pic.twitter.com/tnyIXV8lRc

— PFF (@PFF) August 3, 2021

Not going to say how crazy good some of things I have been told about Justin Fields the professional have been thus far. Don’t want to hear the “it’s only training camp” brigade puff up their chest and scream at the top of their lungs. BUT…it has been THAT good. Just sayin. 🤷🏾‍♂️

— Louis Riddick (@LRiddickESPN) August 2, 2021

Chicago loves Justin Fields.
Justin Fields loves Chicago.pic.twitter.com/trT9FIYBU2

— Bears Talk (@NBCSBears) August 3, 2021

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Last year, around this time, I texted a certain buddy of mine who happens to be the best beat writer covering the Chicago Bears. I asked him what was going on with Trubisky and Foles. He didn’t say anything specific about either player. He didn’t say, “Trubisky and Foles both stink.” But it was very apparent from his tone – and the tone he used on his popular podcast with another similarly-named fella – that both stinking was exactly the case.

This year, around yesterday, I texted a certain buddy of mine well-connected at the highest reaches of the Halls of Halas. I asked what he was hearing about Fields, thinking he might diffuse some of the hype. He responded in about four seconds, “Kids got it.” (Yes, there is a grammatical error there but just the facts on DBB.)

I don’t know if Justin Fields has it.

And it might be a year or two before ANYONE knows.

But unless he displays a complete inability to process information this summer, and that has overwhelmingly not been the case to this point, I can’t imagine a rationale for sitting him a single week of the 2021 season.

Because while we talk about “development”, that doesn’t actually happen during an NFL season at the quarterback position. Once the third preseason game is played, the backup QB essentially enters QB College. It’s all book learning. They become a student of the job but don’t get a single meaningful rep as long as they stay in that role. There just aren’t enough practice hours during the week anymore.

If Fields gets through the next few weeks with a mastery of the playbook and firm handle on the fundamentals of playing the position at the pro level (he seems to have mastered play-calling in the huddle in about two days), why waste a single second of his supremely-valuable rookie contract trying to win a few transitional games with Andy Dalton? Why risk Dalton playing well, keeping the job all season, and then having to start anew with Fields in 2022, knowing no more than we know right now? What is the rationale for not developing the kid in real games, against real opponents?

[Side note: I don’t buy this notion that Dalton definitively gives the Bears the best chance to win games, even as early as September. Dalton has been mediocre for years. Why would that change here?]

Also, shouldn’t it be incumbent upon this coaching staff to be able to do that? The head coach is a former college quarterback. The offensive coordinator is a former college quarterback. The quarterbacks coach is a former college quarterback. Shouldn’t these guys be able manage and bring along a talent like Fields at game speed? If not, why? If not, isn’t it fair to question the point of having such a quarterback-centric staff, and more specifically question what value these individuals bring to the organization generally?

This summer is progressing perfectly for the Chicago Bears. The quarterback they drafted, the man whose future success will mean the organization’s future success, is displaying every single quality they hoped he would display at this stage: mental, physical, emotional. The arrow is pointed up, and everybody around Lake Forest recognizes that. If he continues to progress, and display those qualities, why turn the arrow on its side?

Because the only way to truly develop in the NFL is to play NFL football. And that should be the focus of this coaching staff when it comes to Justin Fields.

Tweet one. Adam Jahns.

Really only only takeaway from Bears camp today:

Justin Fields was good. It’s the velocity of his throws, particularly over the middle, but also how often he gives his WRs/TEs a chance to make plays.

His scrambling and ability to change his arm angle on throws stood out, too.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 2, 2021

Tweet two. DBB.

Why not Andy Dalton for the Colts?

— DaBearsBlog (@dabearsblog) August 2, 2021

There is an eagerness to get Justin Fields on the field. And, as Jeff illustrated, that eagerness seems to be okay with shipping Andy Dalton east. But like it or not, the Chicago Bears need Dalton as much for the future of the franchise as the present. Because developing Fields is the single most important thing the franchise is trying to accomplish right now and making sure he has the right coach is an important part of that. Through three years, we still don’t really know if Matt Nagy can outsmart opposing defensive coordinators. Dalton could help us get that answer.

The numbers aren’t pretty. Through three years:

• All three years in the bottom twelve, in terms of yardage.
• Two scoring offenses in the bottom ten.
• Bottom five in rushing twice.
• Bottom twelve in passing yardage all three years.

Judging by the numbers alone, one could only conclude that Nagy is a bad offensive coach.

But we know it’s about more than the numbers.

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The following are thoughts on the practices Friday and Saturday, and just generally about the Bears to this point.

• There have been multiple reports about the defense playing with a renewed sense of energy and that’s essential for this group. They certainly lost their swagger in the Chuck Pagano years. Sean Desai’s primary task is restoring it.
  • In the swagger department, Kevin Fishbain, in The Athletic, can tell you about “the takeaway bucket — a blue laundry bin that gets wheeled onto the field for a defensive player to dunk the ball in after he takes it away from the offense.” These things are goofy but players rally around them.
• Bilal Nichols was arguably the breakout star of the 2020 Chicago Bears but he might be the actual star of this group of the end of 2021. The best part of this for Desai is Nichols’ emergence should allow them to keep Akiem Hicks on a pitch count for most of the season. (His recent foot issues are just another in a series of injuries common for a declining superstar.)
• Sam Mustipher was asked what he did to put on weight this off-season. His answer? Lou Malnati’s. Sam Mustipher is a smart, smart man. (After the debacle of the last 18 months, Malnati’s will be rejoining DBB as a crucial partner this coming season. More details – and pizza giveaways – to come.)
• From inside Halas Hall there is serious optimism regarding Kindle Vildor. When I asked what that optimism means I was simply told (via text): “They’re not going to get too excited until they see it on the field. But they’re seeing it in practice.” Corner is going to be a weakness for this group. But if their pass rush delivers as it should, this group may be competent enough to hold up.
• The quarterback position has been a real strength in these early days. Andy Dalton has been the stable, veteran presence the Bears expected but he’s also had a ton of zip on the fastball. He’s smart enough to know that the only way he remains the starting quarterback is by playing Justin Fields onto the bench. Fields has all the talent in the world – everybody at these practices sees that – and his ascension is only a matter of time.
  • One Tweet from Brad Biggs stood out to me. “Justin Fields to Jesse James is a thing that’s starting to happen more often for the #Bears.” In this offense, the tight ends are the QB’s best friends. Fields seems to be learning that quickly.
  • I would have been shocked if Fields out-performed Dalton as this early stage. None of Fields’ athleticism is displayed in these practice sessions. When the pads go on, and Fields is on the move, that’s when Dalton will have to up his game.
• Cairo Santos has finally solidified the kicker position post-Robbie Gould. I don’t miss writing about kickers in July and August.

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On this day 13 yrs ago, my Tiana Renee was given a second chance at life by receiving a heart transplant. I’m so grateful for the donor family making a selfless decision during a difficult time. Enjoy these precious moments with loved ones because tomorrow is not promised. 🙏🏿❤️ pic.twitter.com/lIhbFpSkbH

— Charles Tillman (@peanuttillman) July 31, 2021

Bears rookie left tackle Teven Jenkins will remain out of practice today with back tightness.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) July 29, 2021

My rule with injuries over the summer: none of them matter until mid-August. But Jenkins needs to get on the practice field.

Nagy on whether the #Bears roster is 85 percent vaccinated: “I can say we’re either at or above that.”

— Larry Mayer (@LarryMayer) July 29, 2021

Somehow, a vaccine became political. Because we’re a fundamentally stupid country. From a football standpoint, this is great news.

7-on-7 starts at #Bears camp with Andy Dalton hooking up with Marquise Goodwin on a deep ball.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) July 29, 2021

Andy Dalton is not a great player. But he is a professional quarterback. And I just don’t see him pulling a Glennon or Nate Peterman and being so bad the organization is forced to play the young kid. Fields will play, and likely by midseason, but it won’t be because Dalton fails.

Nick Foles with a nice throw near the right sideline to Scooter Harrington.

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) July 29, 2021

I refuse to believe Scooter Harrington is a football player and not a character on Happy Days.

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Today, brief thoughts.

• Robert Quinn was limited for the first practice with back issues. There is, of course, no reason to overreact to a knock in July but Quinn has not had a single healthy day as a member of the Chicago Bears. The man is paid a fortune at one of the sport’s premier positions. The roster construction doesn’t work on defense if the team gets no production from him again in 2021.
• Nagy on Wednesday reiterated that practice will be of a higher intensity this summer and that players will see extended action in preseason games. The Bears lacked fire at times in 2020. This seems to be a cosmetic, if meaningful solution. (The easiest solution is just having a professional at the quarterback position.)
• Khalil Mack is not blaming injuries for his lack of sack production recently. (But injuries are 100% to blame for his lack of sack production recently.)
• Sadly, it seems Jake Butt has retired. His chances of making the Bears were greatly diminished by the arrival of “The Outlaw” Jesse James.
• Eddie Goldman is back. And he missed football, per this report from Adam Hoge.