When Andy Dalton takes the field Sunday night in Los Angeles, he’ll be the most experienced Bears quarterback since Jay Cutler.
The Rams game will be Dalton’s 143rd career start. That experience is something we’ve heard about a lot since the Bears signed him.
Now that it’s game week, head coach Matt Nagy can see some of that in action. For context, No. 3 quarterback Nick Foles — also lauded for his experience a year ago — has started 55 games, not even 40 percent of Dalton’s total. While the veteran will need more than just his savvy and knowledge of the game to upset a really good Rams team on the road, those 142 starts mean thousands of defensive looks, and the hope at Halas Hall is that experience can give Dalton an edge to spark an offense that needs it.
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At least until Justin Fields steps in.
As the team returned to Halas Hall after a three-day weekend, we heard from Nagy, a few starters and Bears position coaches. Our takeaways begin with Dalton.
Dalton in game mode
Nagy knows that he often references Alex Smith, but that’s the starting quarterback he spent the most time with and the one who has had the most success.
Smith was the comp Monday when Nagy was asked about Dalton’s preparation.
“He’s probably, I mean, almost identical to the preparation of how Alex Smith was,” he said. “They’re very similar, not just in the prep part but in the personality and how they lead in practice and on the field. We’ll see how Andy is on game day. I know how Alex was. But they’re very similar in that regard. Just very calm, you know, but yet competitive.”
Dalton has some cachet when he’s in the quarterbacks room giving his input.
“He’s not afraid to share ideas and things he believes in,” quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo said. “Because if he brings it up, he means it. I think any time you have a quarterback give input on things he has seen on tape as well out of this defense, I think it can do nothing but help you.”
One trait from Dalton we’ve seen all summer is how little fazes him. He’s had to handle a lot of questions about Fields and a poor performance from the first-team offense in the preseason. Compared with other quarterbacks in similar, sometimes awkward situations, Dalton’s attitude is noticeable.
10 takeaways from Bears GM Ryan Pace’s conference: On Justin Fields, Andy Dalton, Teven Jenkins and more https://t.co/LEG7tDUHpY
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And that can carry to the field. Again, if Dalton can’t make the plays physically, it doesn’t matter, but the Bears believe his poise can allow them to be patient with Fields.
“He’s played in front of 80,000 people before,” Nagy said. “It’s been loud. He’s done that in the NFL. He’s played that speed of game. He’s seen these different blitzes and stunts and fronts, and he’s gone through a game and done different cadences and that sort of thing. That experience is huge. It’s valuable. As a coach and for the teammates that we have, I think they feel that.”
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Is Jason Peters ready for Week 1?
Offensive line coach Juan Castillo likes to remind us that Peters played at 352 pounds when he was in Philadelphia. So though conditioning is important, Castillo has seen what Peters can do at his size.
But that was earlier in Peters’ career. Now he’s 39.
“He’s ready to go,” Castillo said. “He’s been working a lot. He’s been taking a lot of the reps and everything. He’s ready to go and excited to go.”
In practice, Peters will do “stacks” of reps, like a 10-play stack, Castillo said, working his way up to 55 and 60 plays. He has five days left to get in position to handle the Rams defense Sunday night.
“I feel pretty good right now with him. I think he’s in a good place,” Nagy said. “You know just talking with him and talking with Coach Juan, his level of conditioning, we feel, is good, so it might just be something when we get into the game, we’ll just see how he’s feeling and I think we’ll plan on going into it with him as the guy. He’s played a lot of games and he understands that football game conditioning, and we’re going to have to rely on him a lot as we go through it.”
The next man up behind Peters should he need a breather? Fifth-round rookie Larry Borom. The team is eager to see if it found not only another late-round gem but also someone who can play a premium position. However, the Rams defense on “Sunday Night Football” is not Family Fest at Soldier Field, which is when Borom’s abilities at left tackle really caught the eye of the coaching staff.
What will Robert Quinn’s offseason of positivity mean in the regular season?
No one in Halas Hall is putting lofty expectations on what Quinn will do this season. His first year in Chicago was obviously a disappointment — and that’s an understatement. But everything the Bears have seen of late from the veteran has them upbeat about some sort of rebound.
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“I like where he’s at,” Nagy said. “I think he’s put together a really good offseason, with the training camp included. His mindset is great. Physically, he’s in a really good spot. Schematically with (defensive coordinator) Sean (Desai), he’s in a great place. Now he’s just got to go do it.”
Quinn opens the 2021 season against his former team. In seven seasons with the Rams, he never had fewer than four sacks — and that came in a nine-game, injury-shortened season. Now he’s 31 years old and had two sacks in 15 games last season.
Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn and the Bears defense: ‘Not satisfied with the result last year’ https://t.co/x6JV2q510K
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“I see a lot of positive energy with Robert,” outside linebackers coach Bill Shuey said. “He’s excited. He knows, though, at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to what do you do on game day? He’s a professional. He’s been doing it a long time. All that work he’s put in, how he’s feeling about everything, it’s going to come down to production. And he knows that.
“He’s excited for that opportunity, I should say. He’s ready. After last season, (he) didn’t have a good taste in his mouth about how the season went. Then you’ve got to wait. You’ve got to wait all the way through to this part to get another shot to try to make it the way you want it. He’s anxious.”
Next wide receiver project: Breshad Perriman
The 2015 first-round pick officially signed with the Bears on Monday morning and had his first practice with the team. Since the Ravens cut Perriman in September 2018, he has been with Washington, the Browns, Bucs, Jets and most recently the Lions.
“We’ve been looking at him for a couple years now, so we’re pretty familiar with his path,” Nagy said. “I think the way you attack it is, number one, you always want to give these guys a fresh start, I think that’s pretty self-explanatory. The other part is making sure he can grasp the terminology. But you’ve just got to stay positive with them and then you find out why didn’t things go well here or there and why did things go well as these other spots, because I know when he was at Tampa Bay, that second part of the season he was really, really good.”
This is what the Bears would love to reclaim.
“He had the big year in Tampa Bay when he came out of Cleveland,” wide receivers coach Mike Furrey said. “I’ve studied him, and I think he’s got enough skill set and talent in there that maybe hasn’t come out yet consistently so he was looking for that opportunity or whatnot, and so what a great opportunity for him here to come here.”
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Furrey said Perriman “can still run,” so he adds to the offseason focus on upgrading the speed. Expectations can’t be high for Perriman, who comes to Chicago as the No. 5 receiver, but if the Bears can find a way to get some explosive plays from him this season, he’d be quite the find.
Yes, Eddie Jackson is working on his tackling
I’m not sure there’s a player who has fallen out of favor with Bears fans more over the past few seasons than Jackson — at least based on my Twitter mentions and comments on our stories.
His tackling struggles in the past two seasons are well documented. When he misses a tackle, it’s glaring. As a safety, he’s one of the last lines of defense. It’s a weakness of his, and Jackson knows it.
“Just the point of attack,” Jackson said of what he needs to improve. “Just running through and finishing on the tackle, not thinking the next person will make the tackle. The type of player I am, that shouldn’t have to be said (by) a coach. That’s supposed to be an instinctive thing. Just trying to get back to it.”
It’s a challenge to improve that when there is very little live tackling in training camp. Jackson got a fair number of snaps in the second preseason game, and he didn’t do much there to instill confidence that he’s going to suddenly be a stout tackler. Jackson has taken to extra work with “Big Bertha,” a 300-pound tackling bag.
“Just stand there hitting it after practice,” he said. “Wrap-up drills, tackling drills. (Secondary) Coach Deshea (Townsend) does it with us every day, tackling drills, hitting the ground, see what that feels like, breaking on angles when somebody gets the ball, just come in a little squat, lead with your right foot or left foot, same foot, same shoulder. Just little tendencies, it helps you, it rolls over to the game.”
Meanwhile, Desai will probably work to put Jackson in better positions to make plays on the ball.
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Khalil Mack reminded Jackson that the player himself has to find ways to be the playmaker.
“Mack said something that stuck with me a few weeks ago,” Jackson said. “He was like, ‘One thing about it, Eddie-Bo, the great ones always find ways to make plays.’ That just stuck with me. It just changes your whole focus. He’s right. He learned that from Charles Woodson. So that’s just something that’s just been sticking with me ever since: If you’re a great one, you’re gonna find a way to make a play.”
(Photo of Dalton: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
