Andy Dalton, You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

I’m not a religious man but I’d though me and the cosmos were at one sometimes. When Andy Dalton was in Cincinnati I thought it sucks to be them. I’m also not a betting man or gambler but the one game I ever considered putting money on was the 2014 Chargers V.S. Bengals game. Bengals were at home that year and I knew in my heart the Bengals would lose.

I’ve followed a few quarterbacks in my lifetime good or bad in the sense that if they were good the Bears should go after them. But only if they fit our system. I’ve followed a few bad quarterbacks as well to be sure the Bears never go after these guys. And one of them was Andy Dalton. I’m like the ’72 Dolphins every year the Bears don’t sign Dalton I exhale and hoist one. I am also very superstitious and know that some of those wishes can come crashing down and I have to pick my jaw up off the floor. This is one of those times. I’ve tried to avoid writing about the many rumors or quarterbacks the Bears were interested in this year because everyone that supposedly on the market the Bears came up.

 

The pundits would mention some of the other names available who were free agents and I knew one of them was Andy Dalton formerly of the dreadful Dallas Cowboys who play in the worse division in football but has some of the best talent. And one of those names, (free agents I mean, not the talent) was Andy Dalton. I would laugh every time the Cowboys would lose with him at the helm. And then…

We have a HC and a Gm trying to keep their jobs and make a big splash. Pundits were saying these guys must not really be on the hot seat because why would anyone sign here when these to fellows might not be here after next season? Hmmmm. Then comes the news The Bears are going to go down the same road they did with Glennon and Trubisky.

 

I have a cousin who gave me advice when I was in high school: Don’t make the same mistake twice. Well here we go again. We have two below average quarterbacks on the team in Dalton and Foles and we have to get rid of one and it’s obviously not going to be Dalton and we definitely have to draft one as the city still screams for a franchise qb. So let’s say that we do draft one and we get a good one. More than likely he’s going to have to sit for a few games if not a season and Dalton will more than likely be the opening day starter. (Audible gasp). And after a three interception or more game against a nowhere team it’ll be time to bench him and put in the rookie. Sound familiar?

 

Chicagoans weren’t mad that we drafted a qb who played one season in college we were mad that we moved up to draft him. Coincidentally the big name quarterbacks drafted that year were acquired the same way. I’ve heard people call for the team to be sold which I’m sure there are a number of people who wouldn’t be too happy about that considering the bloodline. But eventually the Chicago Bulls had to give in and made some big moves and they look like a different team. I figured when they dragged the Matriarch to Green Bay last year to watch the Bears get smoked something would change but after signing Dalton there was a collective, “Get the fuck out of here,” when the news came down about Dalton. At least it will only be a small crowd to boo at Dalton. I didn’t mean that to be funny but we could have saved ourselves some trouble when no one was in the seats and gone after Dalton then instead of Foles. But now that we’ll have people in the seats excited to see live football again I cannot imagine this is what they expected.  

 

I get it the Bears need a quarterback. The Chicago Bears probably need more than that. Excuse me but they need another running back because we need an offense that can deal with the elements off the lakefront which is why I don’t understand why they let go of Jordan Howard. Granted he couldn’t catch the football out of the backfield but he could pick up 5 five to six yards per carry when the field is frozen and gimmick football doesn’t work. Roles have changed since the magical season of 2018 and everyone was willing to give Tribusky a chance. The Bears weren’t going to win or even make the Super Bowl that year because the one thing in sports that is true is the league will catch up to you.

Unfortunately a couple of things became obvious that year: Matt Nagy has no idea how to coach on game day and Ryan Pace does not know what a good quarterback looks like with the number of them available that year. Now this a year when talented college and veteran quarterbacks are available and while we are happy Pace had the balls to trade for Kalil Mack, do we trust him to pull off another big trade, much less sign a good free agent. I’m sick of hearing the Bears name with every big name free agent out there when they have no reason to come here.

It is asinine to believe a big name free agent will come here when the HC and the GM are on the hot seat. So if they do sign a star at any position why would they believe that either HC or GM will be here next year anyways? I like Russel Wilson but when the Seahawks were dominant and playing in Super bowls they also had a defense that the Bears couldn’t match. So you want Russel to come here with a coach who cannot coach on game days or make changes at half time to change the outcome of a game, a sketchy offensive line. An above average defense but I wouldn’t call them Championship worthy.

It’s one thing to pick up a QB who fits your scheme than one who will fill the seats. We still need to draft a quarterback even if we sign a big name free agent. Look at what New England has done with their drafting of backup Quarterbacks. They didn’t last except Brady and who wants to look over their shoulder that the guy behind him could become the next Tom Brady which is how Brady even got his start when the Franchise quarterback with the belief he is going to get his starting job when he comes back from injury.

 Football is different than other sports in that way. Most sports a replacement player has to perform out of this world in order to stay in the lineup to surpass the starter who is usually beloved. If I remember Drew Bledsoe was highly regarded when he recovered from injury but not given his starting job back. That went to Tom Brady with Bledsoe given spot starts. It isn’t enough to just be beloved. That’s what they play the video montage of highlights for after you’ve retired. Needless to say the Bears have a problem. It’s funny when we think how we got here in the first place. A bad pick on draft night in 2017 and within three years we are a dog chasing its tail. Thinking the answer is to go big is not the answer at all. I mean why not try to talk Drew Brees out of retirement? This team isn’t as bad as when the last head coach left it but damn this is a conundrum with no easy answers. The one thing they do not need to do is go jumping at shadows because a player is pissed at their team. G©