Matt Nagy Set Justin Fields Up to Fail Since Training Camp

I’ve been a part of the group that believed Justin Fields should start right away for the Chicago Bears, but I know there is a select group of people out there that don’t agree. 

And that’s fine. 

Fields has struggled at points in his rookie season, even though the Bears are 2-3 in his starts (and 1-0 when he came in relief of Andy Dalton), but some of the struggles aren't entirely his fault. 

Bears No. 1 wide receiver Allen Robinson admitted that he and Fields are still working to develop chemistry because the rookie received so few first-team reps in training camp. 

“That’s something that we’re continuing to build on, again, continuing to get reps in practice,” Robinson said Tuesday. “There weren’t many snaps that we took in training camp. A lot of these things, we’re just trying to build on.”

Dalton dominated the first team reps all offseason as Matt Nagy and the Bears thought they were fooling us all by saying he was the team’s starting quarterback for the 2021 season. Granted, Dalton’s injury cost him the starting job at first, but did we really not see this coming? 

Chicago traded up for Fields in the 2021 NFL Draft, and yet Nagy insisted on giving Dalton the lion’s share of the work in the offseason rather than developing the rookie quarterback. We know what Andy Dalton is and was, and you weren’t going to win with him this season. 

Nagy was fooling himself, and whether it was his decision or pressure from the front office that led to Fields being named the starter, the rookie was set up to fail from the jump. 

Fields has looked completely overmatched in games against the Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, throwing for a combined 232 yards and three picks in those games.

The rookie deserves some of the blame, as he’s made questionable throws at times, but he’s also dealing with an offense that is poorly constructed around him.  

The Bears’ roster is a mess, as the team released last year’s starting offensive tackles (Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie) because of cap issues. The team has been running Jason Peters, a once great tackle that is now very clearly washed up, out to protect Fields while draft pick Teven Jenkins recovers from an injury. 

It’s insanely frustrating to watch Fields struggle, when he likely hasn’t had enough reps in an offense that is already crumbling around him. 

Sure, Nagy wanted to sit Fields behind Dalton, but when was the rookie going to get meaningful reps to actually be ready to start? Next season? 

Fields was set up to fail by a coach that is trying to save his job and a front office that has fumbled move after move since a 12-4 season in 2018. Fields isn’t getting a fair shake in his rookie season, and unless the Bears decide to clean house this offseason (and they should), he’s going to face similar problems going forward.

The Bears are 3.5-point home underdogs in Week 8 against the San Francisco 49ers at WynnBET. Fields is going to face another tough pass rush, and given his struggles so far against them this season, the Bears are rightful underdogs in this matchup.