The calls for the young quarterback eventually got too loud to ignore; the coach finally opened the door and let the youngster get his run with the starters.

The result was underwhelming.

Rookie Mitch Trubisky ran out onto the field with the starters to begin the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans in the third preseason game of the 2017 season. The result was two incomplete passes, a negative-four yard run and a punt.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FIRST LADY OF DBB, SARAH K. SCULLY. 

I have never approached any preseason game with anticipation. That changed Saturday. Here are notes on what could prove to be an important weekend in Chicago Bears history. (Side note: They should knock off one more of these preseason games. Get that schedule to two games, one home and one away.)

The Story is Fields

Penalties and drops around him. Losing track of the play clock. Spin move in the open field, taking unnecessary contact, fumbling the football. It was the definition of a slow start.

But what did Fields say in his post-game presser? “So after that, I think I’m going to officially retire the spin move.” 

None of the struggles bothered him. Fields maintained his composure, displayed his command of the offense and let his athleticism take over the football game. Yes, he was playing with backups. Yes, he was playing against backups. But Fields did what he is supposed to do in that scenario: he was clearly the best player on the field.

• Albert Breer and many around the Ohio State program are taking the “we told you so” approach after the performance. Brett Kollmann is already calling for the team to start Fields. Lebron James was apparently watching preseason football (the NFL is an unstoppable juggernaut) and sending out his praise.
• From a Brad Biggs tweet: “Justin Fields on adjusting to speed of the NFL in preseason debut today: “It was actually kind of slow to me.”
• This was my favorite play from Fields on the day. (The 3rd and 9 roll-out. I don’t know why I can’t embed just that play.)

On 3rd-and-9, Justin Fields showed how his game can be such a headache for defenses. Rolled out and his running ability baited a defender, which opened up the passing opportunity to Rodney Adams for a 13-yard gain. This is really a great play. pic.twitter.com/Z65ah8WBIG

— Matt Clapp (@DaBearNecess) August 14, 2021

• Two quotes from Adam Hoge’s excellent game story:
  • On the 8-yard touchdown run: “They were playing man coverage. My man Jesse got tripped up. I was looking to go to him,” Fields said. “Of course, I knew my routes were coming my way backside, but I knew they were in man coverage so I knew nobody really had me so I just went to the left.” Does anyone think this kid isn’t ready for regular season action?
  • “Keep stacking days like he had today and understanding that in this whole process and this plan, as we go, what’s the ultimate goal for us as an offense? Scoring touchdowns, right? So keep leading the team down, keep getting first downs, keep getting touchdowns,” Nagy said when asked what Fields needs to do to be named the starter.” This is Nagy leaving the door open for Fields to be the Week One starter. This is the first time he’s done that, to my recollection.

Bears have no choice. Fields should be throwing to Robinson and Mooney today. He’s got to be given a chance to win this job with the folks who will actually be on the roster.

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@JP_bodyguard has agreed to terms with @ChicagoBears. @AdamSchefter @MikeGarafolo @diannaESPN @JFowlerESPN @mortreport #NFLPreseason pic.twitter.com/T34MkCzEjy

— Elite Loyalty Sports (@ELSportsLLC) August 14, 2021

Notes on the game to follow.

Trevis Gipson and tight end Cethan Carter have been going after each other in these blocking drills.

Khalil Mack and Adam Shaheen got into it earlier and after the two were separated, Mack kept on talking towards Shaheen.

Already getting heated in today’s practice.

— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) August 12, 2021

Thursday was apparently a feisty practice throughout, which is actually nice to see. I don’t know why every team in the league doesn’t orchestra more of these joint practices. They are so much more valuable than in-house scrimmages.

Early candidate for play of the day: Justin Fields moving left, throwing right, floating a dime to Jesper Horsted. Creative throw, basically flicking the ball from his right pocket.

— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) August 12, 2021

Another day, another Fields gem. Why would any team leave a talent like this on the bench?

Kindle Vildor and Teez Tabor had some really nice pass breakups for #Bears D in red zone action.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 12, 2021

Bears corners have been good so far this summer, and the defense is playing healthy and fast across the board.

Is There Anything to Watch Tomorrow?

The truth is, who knows?

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Yesterday began a series of joint practices with the Miami Dolphins that will culminate in the preseason opener Saturday. Weather delayed the day. Quick thoughts.

An Outside Opinion.

I really like the way Justin Fields is getting the ball out there. He appears to be the real deal.

— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) August 11, 2021

Nobody who has physically watched the Bears practice this summer has come away with any other opinion. It is a matter of time, and that matter of time should be around four days.

Mack. Back.

First joint practice between the Bears-Dolphins has concluded. I spent it watching the Dolphins offense vs. the Bears defense. We’ll have plenty of takeaways up later but two main things here:

1. Khalil Mack is a game-wrecker.

2. WR Mack Hollins was a problem for Bears D.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 11, 2021

Mack’s practices have not been significantly valued due to the injuries on the Bears OL. Hearing he dominated the Dolphins should provide hope that he’s finally beyond his injury issues and ready to rejoin the best pass rushers in the sport at the top of the sack sheet.

Jon’Vea Johnson: Joe Anderson Boner Nominee

For those of you who don’t remember, this is the Joe Anderson Boner. Johnson seems to catch a big pass from Fields in every single practice.

General Notes on the Offensive Line

• Once again, I don’t understand why Matt Nagy says some of the things he says. On 670 yesterday morning, re: Teven Jenkins: “We were well aware of everything with some of the back issues he had in college. This is kind of part of the process.” Why not just say, “He’s improving. But we’re not going to rush him.” Leave it at that. Even if this is a chronic condition, why point to that?

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Fallacy #1. The Soft Landing Spot

Where did this premise come from?

“No, Jeff, you can’t start Justin Fields in the opener because the opener is against the Rams on the road. And the Rams are very good.”

It’s not the landing spot that is soft. It is this mode of thinking from fans and media. What kind of a message would that send to the kid? “Hey Justin, we think you’re ready to be our quarterback but we’re going to wait until the bad teams. We don’t think you’re ready for the good ones yet.”

Rookie quarterbacks struggle. Aaron Rodgers was a mechanical nightmare. John Elway tried to take a snap from his guard. Terry Bradshaw got benched. Troy Aikman went 0-11. Peyton Manning threw 28 picks. Josh Allen looked like he was destined for the CFL.

You’re not going to prevent a rookie quarterback from struggling by cherry-picking his opponents. The Lions are just as capable as the Rams of showing Fields a coverage disguise he hasn’t seen before. Rookie quarterbacks struggle. And that’s okay.

Fallacy #2. The Unhealthy Offensive Line

Deshaun Watson has been one of the most productive quarterbacks in the league the last three seasons. In those three seasons he was sacked 62, 44 and 49 times. He’s had one thousand-yard rusher. The only thing that’s made Houston’s rushing attack seem productive is Watson himself. His team mortgaged their entire future to attain…an offensive lineman.

Russell Wilson has been complaining about his offensive line, and rightfully so, for five years. Josh Allen is often running for his life (and making plays on the run) in Buffalo. They were two of the five best quarterbacks in the league last year.

Why?

Because they’re great. And the great ones produce. The great ones make the players around them better. And if the Bears are going to wait for their offensive line to be at full strength before handing the reins over to Fields, there’s no telling how long that wait might be. This is the NFL. People are injured constantly.

If Fields is the guy, make him the guy. Let him learn how to throw it away under pressure. Let him learn when to take off with his legs and when to sit in the pocket and absorb contact. Let him learn how to release the football quickly when the offensive line is struggling to stay healthy.

The Bears need to see the imperfections of this situation not as impediments to development, but as teaching tools.

Fallacy #3. The Veteran’s Summer Performance

Nothing Andy Dalton does this summer should have ANY influence on the team’s decision at quarterback.

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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.