For me it’s a close race for the biggest surprise of Week 3. We had the Denver Broncos go into Tampa and totally take away Baker’s ability to pass the ball. Maybe, Tampa isn’t what we thought they were. Either way, they struggled and Denver’s pass D was suffocating. Tampa just couldn’t get anything going on both sides of the ball. We also had the Carolina Panthers with Andy Dalton totally dismantle the Oakland Raiders. This game showed me that it was more Bryce Young, then a bad team around him. He will need time to get back in the saddle, and that could be with another team by years end.

Those two were big surprises, but not as surprising as the Commanders beating the Bengals. This was Jayden Daniels coming out party, as he showed the world he’s the real deal. He showed poise in the pocket, and complete command of the offense. In addition, he’s smart with the ball and is not a guy who commits bad mistakes. For him to have this quality as a rookie is unheard of. The offensive line played their best game in awhile, giving Jayden ample time in the pocket. Give credit to the coaching staff who had a great game plan, and stayed aggressive going for it on a few 4th down calls. The Bengals have to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to dig out of the AFC North hole.

The post Biggest Surprises of Week 3 appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Red Rifle, also known as Andy Dalton, is preparing to start against the Minnesota Vikings in London tomorrow. Dalton is filling in for the injured Jameis Winston, who has also undoubtedly struggled with minor injuries over the prior few weeks.

Dalton’s nickname, “Red Rifle”, was well earned for his performances between 2011 (his rookie season) and 2017. Dalton punched a ticket to the Pro Bowl in 2011, 2014, & 2016. Furthermore, he threw 33 passing touchdowns (career-high) and 4,293 passing yards (personal best) in 2013.

In 2019, he was the miserable captain aboard a sinking ship. In that season, the Bengals had a 2-11 record, while he threw 16 TDs to 14 ints. He joined the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and was called upon to replace Dak Prescott for a whopping nine contests. Dalton registered a potent 64.9 completion percentage, 2,170 passing yards, 14 passing TDs to 8 ints, but he did have a losing record (4-5). Last season, Dalton struggled to find success in an abysmal Chicago Bears offense, as he unveiled 8 passing TDs to 9 ints.

It may seem like the Saints have shinier toys than his prior weapons in Chi-town, but Dalton will not have Cantguardmike (171 yds and 3 TDs in his last three contests) against the Vikings. In addition to MT missing the game, Jarvis Landry is questionable for the match-up. The Red Rifle hasn’t shown any signs of being a stat machine, so it will be quite difficult for him to show uncharacteristic highs with a less-than-favorable crew of skilled players.

The Saints have had turnover issues from their QB1, so could Dalton make fewer mistakes with the pig skin than Winston? Well, Dalton has only thrown 2+ ints in each of his past four starts. I expect Dalton to be pressured to keep pace with Captain Kirk and make mistakes against the Vikings, who have the capacity to drop a few touchdowns on the Saints.

Nonetheless, he is more healthy than Winston. I don’t expect him to imitate a bruised-up Jameis Winston by missing wide-open receivers in short-yardage situations on first and second down. It was regarded by countless Saints sources that he was nicely in sync with the Saints toys this off-season. He should be able to make magic happen with Chris Olave, but I’m not ready to express that he should throw 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions. I foresee Dalton throwing around 200 passing yards and 2 TDs to 1 int. I love Dalton’s journey in the league, but I don’t expect him to return to being the “Red Rifle” this weekend and potentially later this season —- then proceed to be targeted to be a QB1 for teams in 2023.

The post Is Andy Dalton underrated? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

It may seem like the seven trumpets are going off in Dallas after it was announced that Dak Prescott will miss 6-8 weeks. However, the Boys still have a plethora of talent on their roster & they could surely sneak into the playoffs with the right signal-caller. With that said, I’m going to untwine seven QBs that may be a logical fit for Dallas.

• Teddy Bridgewater

I would honestly love to see Teddy “two gloves” in a Cowboys uniform. The signal-caller that is coming off a 7-7 record last season can take care of the football and utilize the crisp route-running ability of Ceedee Lamb and Michael Gallup. I also don’t foresee the Phins retaining Bridgewater as a QB2 long-term, so it may be wise for Mike McDaniel to ship him out for a draft pick soon.

• Andy Dalton

The Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton, also known as the “Red Rifle”, still has the arm talent and a slice of the fountain of youth at 34 years old. Most importantly, Dalton played nine games with the reigning NFC East Champions in 2020. It would make a ton of sense for the Boys to bring him back if New Orleans was open to the offer.

• Cam Newton

The Panthers legend, Cam Newton, lost a chunk of his ability that led him to win MVP in 2016. Nonetheless, he could still be a threat with his rushing ability. I would want to see the Panthers ink Newton as 1B at QB. The NFL world witnessed Taysom Hill run angry for 81 yards and a touchdown on Sunday. It may be wise for the Boys to roll with a pure passing QB at 1A and sprinkle in Newton at 1B at QB.

• Gardner Minshew

Perhaps the Boys are desperate enough to get the Philadelphia Eagles to cough up the magic man, Gardner Minshew, in 2022. Minshew may be the most underrated backup QB in the league and it’s a shame that he hasn’t had a shot at a starting gig after many flashes of greatness in Jacksonville.

• Drew Lock

Geno Smith is pegged as the starting QB and the Hawks are likely a bit more interested in moving on from the Drew Lock experiment. He still has physical gifts, but he hasn’t quite found the right fit. Lamb and Gallup could make a lot of plays with the clean version of Lock.

• Sam Darnold

The former USC mythical QB, Sam Darnold, is the ultimate wildcard to land with the Boys in my opinion. Darnold has been in numerous agonizing situations in Adam Gase land & surrounded by an injured Christian McCaffrey. Yet, he has made impressive throws and taken care of the football at key times. He may be the best value pick-up for the Boys — assuming the Panthers don’t have a modest price tag on him.

• Tyrod Taylor

The electric Tyrod Taylor would be a safe bet for the Boys. Taylor, aka the 2015 Pro Bowler and near-starting QB for the Chargers (until a sad injury occurred to him from the medical staff) is still looking for his last break. The issue is: will the Giants be open to trading him to the Boys?

The post 7 QB targets for the Dallas Cowboys appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Carolina Panthers team that has a coach (Matt Rhule) sizzling on the hot seat could make a significant jump with the addition of a talented quarterback at this point in late June. With that said, I’m going to simply untwine five quarterbacks that would formulate a perfect marriage with the Panthers.

Garnder Minshew

Minshew Mania would be an excellent value pick-up for the Panthers in my opinion. The Eagles would likely demand a fifth or sixth-round pick for him. I expect that the former Jaguars QB that has 41 career passing touchdowns to 12 interceptions would have a tremendous floor with the Panthers impressive weapons. I also don’t believe Baker is the right long-term QB, so Minshew would be an excellent bridge QB at the very least.

Teddy Bridgewater

It may not be deemed sexy for the Panthers to bring back Teddy Bridgewater after he led them to a 4-11 record in 2020. Nonetheless, there are a couple of great reasons for the Panthers to reunite with Teddy B. For 1. he has familiarity with the Panthers and 2. he is an upgrade over Sam Darnold. The Jets wisely brought back Joe Flacco (numerous times) and it may be a sharp decision for the Panthers to acquire the QB2 in Miami.

Tyrod Taylor

Tyrod Taylor, who might be at the awkward age of 32, is still one of the flat-out best backup quarterbacks in the NFL. Taylor would have been the starting QB for the Chargers if a medical procedure didn’t go haywire. He wasn’t as impressive as Davis Mills last season, but he was still in a lackluster situation. I would be intrigued to see the Panthers rushing offense with a healthy CMAC and Taylor.

Andy Dalton

Andy Dalton was frequently a rock star with the Cincinnati Bengals and then he down-spiraled into one of the biggest disappointments after his 2017 season. The Red Rifle still has underrated arm talent and he wouldn’t be as expensive as Baker (regardless of him in a Saints uniform). Perhaps the Panthers can reel in the QB that Kyle Shanahan gushed over in the 2021 off-season.

Kyle Allen

Kyle Allen really blossomed in Washington – after he had growing pains in Carolina (2018 and 2019). Allen received Bruce Wayne-like training and development with the Commanders and it may be time for him to return back to CAR as a wiser and more-talented passer. Allen, who stated that he basically doesn’t have a chance to start in Washington, may have a realistic opportunity at starting for the Panthers in 2022.

The post 5 QB targets for the Panthers right now appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

The New York Jets were desperate for quarterback help in 2021, as they traded for former Jets QB Joe Flacco. Recently, the Jets brought back Joe Cool to the Big Apple. The Jets second-year head coach Robert Saleh carries Zach Wilson, Flacco, and Mike White on the roster at this moment.

I don’t expect the Jets to draft a QB in the 2022 NFL Draft, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they add a more talented veteran QB this offseason. I believe Flacco was a cheap, familiar competition, but I’d be surprised if they don’t consider adding a QB that can really push Wilson for the Week 1 starting gig. With that said, here are a few free agent-signal callers that the Jets could ink this offseason.

• A.J. McCarron

A.J. McCarron provides immediate starting ability and potential at 31 years old. McCarron had a 2-1 record as a rookie starter in 2015, but he hasn’t quite had another chance to prove himself as an NFL starter. He may not be the next Matthew Stafford if he switches teams, but he could be a modest late bloomer like Taysom Hill in a new, comfortable situation.

• Andy Dalton

The red rifle is carefully looking for a different home in 2022. Dalton hasn’t been a Pro Bowl QB since the Jurassic period, but he does have great experience and arm talent at 34 years old. To be fair, he has been stuck in Alcatraz, also known as Matt Nagy’s paradise. He might be highly motivated to bounce back in a location that could offer him the keys to a starting QB gig. If he doesn’t turn around his career, he will be pinned as Ryan Fitzpatrick 2.0.

• Cam Newton

The former Panthers great QB Cam Newton has lost his spark, but he could be an interesting addition to the Jets offense. He could have special packages in the Jets offense, while potentially being an upgrade as a QB2 over Flacco. Newton and the Big Apple would be an interesting combination, as well.

The post Veteran QB targets for the New York Jets appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jake Rajala

The Seattle Seahawks truly face a mountain in 2022 after shipping out Russell Wilson and cutting ties with Bobby Wagner. Pete Carroll will have to be utterly in 2022 and 2023 to make the Seahawks a true contender in the frigid NFC West. The Seahawks still have superb profiles on their team like D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, and Jamal Adams.

The Seahawks will still surely look to improve their Wilson-less squad in 2022. I expect them to aim to add a few under-the-radar pieces to their squad this offseason. With that said, here are a few remaining free agent targets for the Hawks:

• Jerry Hughes

The Hawks really need to find more talent at the edge rusher spot. Carlos Dunlap (8.5 sacks in 2021) doesn’t appear to be returning to Seattle and they could really use a replacement for him. I don’t expect them to be a key contender in the Jadeveon Clowney sweepstakes, but they could still obtain a much less expensive, talented veteran edge rusher like Jerry Hughes. The long-time Bills sack artist has 6.5 sacks in the past two seasons combined.

• Andy Dalton

The red rifle could be an excellent good value pickup for the Seahawks. Andy Dalton is basically the best backup QB option for Pete Carroll at the moment. It’s far from certain if Lock will pan out as the QB1 via health and productivity reasons. The former Broncos QB has started only 21 games in the past three seasons.

• Tavon Austin

The former Rams first-round pick Tavon Austin would be a fine WR3 and do-it-all weapon for the Seahawks. Austin can be a nice security blanket for Lock by catching screens from the slot and he can also make magic happen from the backfield on tosses. Austin could be the poor man’s version of Percey Harvin in the Seahawks offense.

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By: Dylan Clemons

Football is back and I couldn’t be any more excited for the start of the season. The Bears are 1-1 in the preseason, winning the opener against the Miami Dolphins 20-13. Then getting smoked by the Mitchell Trubisky led Buffalo Bills 41-15, in which the Bears offense was stagnant all afternoon.

In Week 1 against the Dolphins the first team offense didn’t quite get going. Andy Dalton only played two series and finished the day 2-4 for 18 yards. Starting running back David Montgomery limped off the field after one carry, but his injury doesn’t seem to be too serious.

The man of the day was Justin Fields. He came in and looked awesome, the way he navigates the pocket, and move the chains with his legs is just an absolute game-changer. Fields was 14-20 on the day and threw a 30 yard touchdown to Jesse James, and also ran for a touchdown on an 8 yard scramble. The Defense settled in after giving up two drives that resulted in field goals. Deandre Houston-Carson intercepted Tua Tagovailoa in the end zone to end Tua’s day. That’s something the Bears have been preaching for the defense is forcing more turnovers.

Week 2 was the same story for the first-team offense as it struggled with Andy Dalton under center once again. Numbers-wise it doesn’t look that bad, he was 11-17 for 146 yards with one touchdown and one interception. However the Bears offense could never get into a rhythm with Dalton at the helm. Fields also struggled when he entered the game after halftime. He showed a few flashes, but the two quarterbacks where both dealing with pressure all day long from the Bills front seven, being sacked four times.

The Mitchell Trubisky revenge game was in full force on Saturday. He tore up the Bears defense, going 20-28 for 221 yards and one touchdown in the first half. The Bears defense did not play well by any means. The receivers where able to get separation from the Bears defenders whenever they wanted, Jake Kumerow beat Jaylon Johnson on a 4 yard in route for a touchdown. The Bears defenders were also missing tackles all day long, and quite frankly just couldn’t get stops. Those things need to be cleaned up fast, in order for the Bears to succeed this season.

Offensive Line Problems

It was announced earlier this week that 2nd round rookie left tackle Teven Jenkins was out for most of the season after undergoing back surgery. That is big news considering the Bears were going to slide him into the left tackle position, after letting go veteran Charles Leno in the offseason. They signed 39-year-old Jason Peters to try and put a band-aid on things, but he has yet to play in a game this preseason.

25-year-old Elijah Wilkerson started at left tackle against the Dolphins, and that’s who I expect to start the season there as well. The 5th year veteran has 26 career starts on the right side of the line, mostly at right tackle. The Right tackle position is in bad shape as well. Germain Ifedi, who was going to be the starting at right tackle is on the PUP list with a hip flexor. So that leaves the door open for rookies Lachavious Simmons, and Larry Borom to possibly start there in the season opener if Ifedi can’t get healthy.

Whoever the starting five offensive linemen are, they are going to have to protect the quarterback better than what they did against the Bills. The offensive line allowed four sacks and allowed a huge hit to franchise quarterback Justin Fields that knocked his helmet off. Fields got up and were ok, but it was still a scary sight to see. The offensive line will have to play much better in order for the Bears to have success this season.

Offensive Struggles

Through the first two preseason games, the Chicago Bears first-team offense has struggled to get going with Andy Dalton at the Helm. Dalton has played in nine series this preseason, and the offense has only managed to pick up four first downs, and have one scoring drive. His touchdown came on a huge play by wide receiver Rodney Adams on a solid throw by Dalton that went for a 73-yard score against the Bills. Rodney Adams has been a pleasant surprise this preseason, he has caught seven of his 12 targets for 146 yards and one touchdown.

The fans in Chicago have already fallen in love with rookie sensation Justin Fields. How could you not though? When Fields came into Miami, the offense struggled a bit, going three and out on his first three possessions. But after that, something clicked and the Bears scored on their next two possessions. Once By fields extending a play with his feet and scoring from eight yards out. Then the second scoring play was a 30-yard passing touchdown to a wide-open Jesse James, on a beautifully drawn-up play by Head Coach Matt Nagy. Fields ended that game going 14-20 for 142 yards and two total touchdowns.

Fields had a much tougher time against the Bills defense, being pressured all day long. However, he still showed flashes of what he can do. His ability to extend plays with his feet at an elite level as he has shown through two games could come in handy for a team with an offensive line that struggles to protect their quarterback. That is something Andy Dalton can’t do. However, Bears fans will have to wait to see their future quarterback. Matt Nagy was quoted after the game saying “We have to see Dalton in a regular-season game”. I tend to disagree with Nagy, I believe Fields gives you the best chance to win right now.

Defense Has Been Up And Down

This Bears team will only go as far as this defense will take them, as they are still the strength of the team. They have had an up and down preseason so far. The defense has forced four turnovers in the two games and has gotten to the quarterback for seven sacks.

After a solid performance against the Dolphins, the Bears defense really struggled to stop the Bills offense led by Mitchell Trubisky. The Bears secondary was considered to be the biggest weakness on the defense coming into the season, and it showed against the Bills. They missed quite a few tackles and gave up some big plays to not-so-well-known wide receivers. That unit is very young and will need to play better in order for the Bears to get to where they want to go this season. Right now there is no clear front runner at the slot corner position yet, both Duke Shelly and Kindle Vildor have flashed, but neither has stood out.

Another quick thing that concerns me is the health of Robert Quinn. He has struggled with health since signing a five-year 70 million dollar deal with the Bears last offseason. He only totaled two sacks in his first season with the Bears. He also had a play that stuck out to me against the Bills. It was a fourth down and one and the Bills pitched to Devin Singletary Quinn had great content, and Singletary juked once and put Quinn on the ground and scored from 14 yards out. A healthier Robert Quinn from two seasons ago, makes that play. That signing looks like a disaster for Ryan Pace and the Bears, hopefully, as a Bears fan, he proves me wrong.

The post Three Takeaways from the Bears preseason so far appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Dylan Clemons

The Chicago Bears are coming into this season with more questions than answers. Head Coach Matt Nagy and General Manager Ryan Pace are very much on the hot seat after an 8-8 season. Largely, the disappointment stemmed from an embarrassing 21-9 playoff loss against the New Orleans Saints. The loss ended up being the last game quarterback Mitchell Trubisky would play for the Bears, with him now in Buffalo.

The Bears then signed veteran Andy Dalton to a one-year contract, whom they told will be the starter. Here’s where it gets a bit tricky. They then drafted quarterback Justin Fields with the 11th pick in the NFL draft after trading up to get him.

In my opinion, that should be the number one training camp battle for the Bears, but Nagy pretty much squashed that by saying Dalton will be under center Week 1. So with that said, let’s now jump into the top three training camp battles for the Chicago Bears.

Offensive Line

In my eyes, the Bears have three out of the five starters locked up heading into training camp on the offensive line. The first of which is one of the Tackles. They drafted Teven Jenkins out of Oklahoma State with the 39th pick of the NFL Draft. It was a surprise to many, that he had fallen to the second round, considering he was projected by most to be a 1st round pick. However he played mostly at the right tackle position in college, but the Bears project him to be the left tackle of the future.

Another guaranteed starter in my opinion is Pro Bowl guard/center, Cody Whitehair. He has started at both positions in his career but has mostly played center. The third starter is James Daniels, who was drafted by GM Ryan Pace in 2018. Daniels was only able to play in five games last season due to a torn pectoral. But heading into last season, Daniels had a 73.3 run-blocking grade according to PFF, which ranked 16th best in the league.

That leaves the last two offensive line spots up for grabs between four players. The Bears brought veteran Germain Ifedi back on a one-year deal. He started all 16 games for the Bears last season, mostly at guard, after being a tackle for four seasons in Seattle. He scored a 65.5 grade from PFF, which was by far the highest in his career.

The last three Linemen are wild cards in all of this. Undrafted free agent Sam Mustipher, from last year, started seven games and showed flashes of being a starting-caliber center. Alex Bars another undrafted free agent from two years also started in eight games last season. At times Bars looked overmatched at guard, and I project him to be a depth piece. The last guy in on this battle is Larry Borom, whom the Bears used round five draft capital on. Borom projects to be somewhat of a project, so I expect him to be on the bench at the start of the season.

For what its worth, I think the Bears starting offensive line should be, Teven Jenkins and Germain Ifedi at the Tackle positions. Cody Whitehair, and James Daniels at the guard positions, with Sam Mustipher as the starting center.

Cornerback

In one of the most bizarre off-season moves in the NFL, the Bears released veteran pro bowler Kyle Fuller to save cap space in which they severely needed. They also had veteran slot cornerback Buster Skrine leave in free agency as well. 

Cornerback is the thinnest position on the Bears roster heading into training camp. They signed veteran Desmond Trufant to a one-year contract this off-season. Trufant has had a solid career, being named to the Pro Bowl in 2015. But since that time, he has struggled to be able to stay healthy. Trufant has only played in 15 total games over the past two seasons for the Falcons and Lions.

This is putting a ton of pressure on second-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who also struggled to stay healthy only playing in 13 games due to a shoulder injury. But when Johnson was on the field, he was very solid. According to PFF Johnson ranked 6th in incompletion rate at 21%. Johnson will come into this season as the number one cornerback on the roster.

All of the other cornerbacks on the roster are very inexperienced. It looks like Kindle Vildor, and Duke Shelley will battle it out at the slot cornerback position. They each started a combined three games last season, and each had their moments. Vildor actually had seven tackles in the playoff game. My bet is on Vildor to win that battle. The Bears also drafted Thomas Graham Jr. in the 6th round of the draft, who may end up seeing early playing time. Former first-round pick Artie Burns is also on the roster, as he tries to battle back from a torn ACL he suffered in training camp last season.

Slot Wide Receiver

Heading into the last few seasons this was easy, it was Anthony Miller’s job to lose. Well, after another disappointing season, in which Miller could not stay out of coach Nagy’s doghouse. Miller has been involved in multiple trade reports this off-season

In 2018 the Bears traded up in the second round to draft Miller. Miller caught seven touchdowns in his rookie year, but since then has only four touchdowns combined the last two seasons. Last season Miller played 86% of his snaps from the slot, which ranked ninth in the NFL according to playerprofiler.com

With Miller’s time in Chicago possibly coming to a close, that opens the door for someone to take those slot snaps. The first player that comes to mind is free agent accusation Damiere Byrd who came over from the New England Patriots. The speedster that runs a 4.3 40 yard dash didn’t play a whole lot of snaps in the slot for the patriots, but that has a lot to do with long-standing slot receiver Julian Edelman. In my eyes, Byrd projects to me as a slot receiver with his small body type, only weighing 162 lbs.

Veteran Marquise Goodwin also signed with the Bears this off-season after opting out of the 2020 season due to covid-19 concerns. Goodwin has mostly played on the outside as well, only lining up in the slot for about 15% of his snaps in 2018 and 2019. The stats that sticks out the most to me is, Goodwin had a 1.88 target separation which ranked 5th in the NFL for that season. 

It is tough to project who is going to win the starting slot role considering we don’t know Anthony Miller’s future with the team. If Miller is on the roster for Week 1, I’d expect him to be lined up in the slot most of the snaps. If he is traded by Week 1, I bet that Damiere Byrd will be the third receiver behind Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney heading into the season.

The post Top three training camp battles for Chicago Bears appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Jeremy Trottier

The Chicago Bears have had quite the offseason so far, moving pieces all over the place between additions and removals.  With the drafting of Justin Fields, and the signing of Andy Dalton for a relatively decent amount, the debate for starting QB has begun.  Most would expect Fields to start right away as he was taken early in this years draft, however that may not be the case immediately.  

In this article, I will be going over three reasons as to why Andy Dalton should be the Bears starting quarterback in 2021.

Fields needs time to develop

A lot of people think throwing a QB straight into the game will work every time, or at least will work in their case.  First off, Fields is a phenomenal quarterback from what we have seen, I cannot deny that in the slightest.  However, taking a year to develop NFL tendencies and learn from the coaches in the building as well as learn the Bears’ scheme and offense would definitely benefit him in the long run.

We have seen this work out before, the primary example being with the Kansas City Chiefs letting Patrick Mahomes develop behind Alex Smith for a bit.  Or even Justin Herbert behind Tyrod Taylor, despite only being a few weeks.  Having Andy Dalton and Nick Foles around, two veteran QBs who have seen it all in a sense, to teach you the ins and outs of this next step would do wonders.

Chicago is not ready yet

This one is pretty self-explanatory, Chicago is not ready for a deep playoff push yet, potentially not a playoff push at all if they underperform.  Even if Fields were to start, there’s no guarantee whatsoever that he can take them to the playoffs in his rookie campaign.  Therefore risking the compromise of his health just to give him experience is not the brightest idea in the book.

With their coaching and GM situation also really on the brink of collapsing, the worst case scenario is Fields takes the field year one and has a coaching change after one year.  Or even worse, he does not have enough to start yet and that gets the coach and GM fired because he underperforms year one.  The best and most suitable scenario for Fields is to sit a year, let the Bears do whatever they do this year while he learns the playbook and scheme, and let the front office get cleaned out if it needs to be.  

Andy Dalton can at least break Fields in

If the Bears do not heed this advice and start Fields in the first year, at least they should let Dalton break Fields in.  What I mean by that is 50:50 split the season, starting Dalton for the first half of the year and Fields for the second half.  Following the lines of what Miami did last year with Tua Tagovailoa and Ryan Fitzpatrick, where they just got Tua playing time while not rushing him in full time.

This knowledge of how to play in an NFL game and how to handle that pressure may do Fields some good, as it will make him work even harder in the next offseason to prepare once he knows what it is like.  They cannot make the same mistake they make with Mitchell Trubisky, despite him and Fields being vastly different QBs. 

The post Why is Andy Dalton the outspoken starter? appeared first on Pro Football Mania.

By: Andrew Hayslip

Hey all, happy to be here working on my first piece for Pro Football Mania!  Over the next few paragraphs I’m going to do everything in my power to talk about a few quarterbacks, while striving for my perfect crystal ball projection.  Alas, three sentences in and we’re already off to a great start.  Fantastic.

But let’s get to it and have some fun actually looking at players in the 2021 fantasy season.  And today’s focus is going to be on specifically the Quarterbacks of the NFC North.  So Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, and the newly acquired Andy Dalton and Jared Goff.

But before we even get into the players or metrics specifically, its important to know that in any buy/sell scenario, we’re not operating in a vacuum.  I may “buy” Ryan Fitzpatrick and “sell” Patrick Mahomes for the 2021 season.  That doesn’t mean I’d take Fitzpatrick over Mahomes in a draft, more so an explanation of where they’re each going respectively, I like the value of one player over that of another.

Additional programming note:  we’re evaluating Average Draft Position (ADP) and player value in April.  That’s absurd.  These will change.  Maybe not a ton, and there is still value in evaluating their general perception among the industry, but changes will happen.  The draft is right around the corner and could very easily shake up everything.

But that’s enough with the caveats and nonsensical hedges by which I’ll cover myself when one or all of these calls flame out miserably. 

Lets get started.  

The first thing we have to do is stop and see the respective ADPs of each of the guys we’re discussing.  Right now, Aaron Rodgers is the highest ranked QB being taken of the four, towards the middle of the 4th round in 12 team leagues.  Andy Dalton is going undrafted.  As a note:  This data is full PPR (relevant only for the average draft spot, even though it means nothing to the QBs themselves) provided by fantasydata.com.

These are the respective values by which we’re going to judge our buy/sell decisions, as every player has a price.  Its just now our responsibility to figure out if its worth paying.

Aaron Rodgers

Verdict:  Sell

Woah hey alright, put the pitchforks down for a second”¦ I know Rodgers is coming off of an MVP season and all of that.  He’s a fantastic player.  That said, Rodgers threw 48 touchdowns in 2020, a career-high, as well as a figure that best his three previous season totals by over 20 touchdowns. 

Now, I should take this opportunity to say I don’t expect Rodgers to regress to his totals of the past three years.  He’s playing better following 2020 than he was in those years where he threw 16 (in 7 games), 25, and 26 touchdowns, respectively.  I think the happy medium is right in-between that range, likely somewhere in the 30s.  And that’s completely fine.  But I think overall touchdowns are most likely to regress to what would be more “normal” for a quarterback of his age and use.  And nowhere reflects this quite like the goal line.  Of his 48 touchdowns, a whopping 29 of them came with less than 10 yards to go.  That number is utterly obscene.  And while it speaks to Rodgers’s trademark efficiency and safety with the ball, it’s a number that will likely normalize in 2021.

The last metric I want to point to isn’t even one of Rodgers, but rather that of the man he primarily shares the backfield with, Aaron Jones.  In 2020, within that same “opponent’s 10 yard line” range, Jones got 20 carries and converted 6 of them for touchdowns.   In 2019, what was considered a “breakout” year for Jones, he converted 11 of his 19 carries within the same range.   Similarly to Rodgers, he went from highly efficient to moderately inefficient given his opportunities, and could see a similar rebound to mirror a decline from Rodgers.  And that doesn’t even factor in the likely increased opportunities for 2^nd year back AJ Dillon, who seems like he was built for goal-line work.

All in all, I see Rodgers regressing a moderate amount within the opposing 10 yard line.  Coupled with the likely increased efficiency of Aaron Jones, this could very easily result in a slight decline in the fantasy outlook of Rodgers.

Kirk Cousins

Verdict:  Buy

As of this moment, Kirk Cousins is going off the board at Quarterback 20, in the back end of the 11^th round.  And simply put, he’s better than that.  Always has been.  Over the last 5 years, his average finish among QBs has been 10.6, averaging just over 18 points per game.

And I find this telling, as he’s had Dalvin Cook during his entire Minnesota tenure (when healthy of course).  Any narrative of him being on a run-first team simply doesn’t hold up for that reason alone.  Sure, a reasonable argument can be made that the scheme doesn’t make it such that he’ll have a 50 touchdown season, and that’s perfectly reasonable.  But getting a mid to high end QB2 at an ADP of 20 if the definition of value.  Especially when he has two elite receivers in Jefferson and Thielen, and dynamic outlet options in Cook and Tight End Irv Smith Jr.

”¦all that said, I don’t want you to go into the season with Cousins as your primary plan at the position.  You should probably be shooting a little higher and locking up a guy that does have the potential for a bigger statistical output.  But if you’re looking to draft a backup QB to pair with a high-risk guy, Cousins is a fantastic option to return above-drafted value.

Jared Goff

Verdict:  Sell

I cant pretend, I started the brainstorming piece of this article fully expecting Goff to be a buy.  The presumption would be that Detroit was going to likely be a bad team and that Goff would be able to garbage time his way to fantasy success.  And there’s a part of me that does still believe that.  Its easy to forget that towards the end of his time in Jacksonville, Blake Bortles was a valuable fantasy asset, as the team was often behind and he had to scramble in hopes of catching his team up.

I thought I’d likely try to push a similar narrative with Goff, I really did.  But then three main factors pushed me off of this narrative.

• His ADP is already too high to provide reliability of value.
• Garbage time still requires weapons to catch the ball.
• We’ve only seen him succeed in a McVay system.

I won’t give the first its own paragraph, as its moderately self-explanatory.  For a player to get moderate value in the “dart throw” category, he has to be going late.  And the value of QB23, while certainly low, isn’t the most preposterous thing I’ve ever seen.  So that was a deterrent, but really points 2 and 3 got me thinking.  The first one is also moderately straightforward as well.  As it stands on April 7^th, 2021, the Lions’ receiver room consists of Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman, and Quintez Cephus.  Yikes.  If you’re going to be in catch-up mode and constantly pushing for points to close games, it would generally be helpful to have some elite weapons on the outside to help drive that goal.  This group likely isn’t it, even if you count Tight End TJ Hockenson in that mix.  And even if they were to add a receiver at 7 overall, I don’t know that a young rookie quite moves the needle enough to make me suddenly feel confident in the group as a whole.

The final point is one of speculation.  And its driven by the idea of not knowing what exactly Jared Goff is.  We’ve seen one season of him without the play-action and QB friendly system of Head Coach Sean McVay.  That season (his rookie season) had him looking like one of the absolute worst Quarterbacks in the NFL.  Yes, I know, rookie QB on a bad team and all of that.  I get it.  There are ways in which it can be explained away.  But any explaining HAS to be done with at least some amount of respect to the concern.  None of us know.  We think we might know, but its no certainty that McVay wasn’t the driving force behind Goff looking completely serviceable following his rookie year.

Andy Dalton

Verdict:  Buy

My goodness this is free money.  And I both love and hate the fact that I took it.  Andy Dalton is an easy easy buy.  And simply put, its because he’s free.   

Will Andy Dalton be an actual usable fantasy asset in 2021 though?  That’s the question we all have to look at and ask ourselves.  And my answer is”¦ kinda?  And I know, that’s such a hedge.  No doubt.  

But the other side of that coin is that in 2020, Dalton wasn’t a fantasy tire fire either.  When he came back in week 11, he averaged over 17 fantasy points per game, which would have been a stream-worthy QB2 in many formats.  And that’s simply the definition of value if you can get it at an undrafted price.  

All that said”¦ that was 2020.  And in Dallas.  Where the weapons are such that I could put up fantasy value throwing to those weapons.  Chicago is”¦ not that.  Chicago has Allen Robinson, who is fantastic, but beyond that is a plethora of question marks.  Can Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet take the next steps?  Is Anthony Miller going to get traded?  Can Tarik Cohen come back from injury to be an outlet in the passing game?

I don’t have the answers to any of these questions, but I can tell you that I have a surprising amount of confidence that this offense won’t be terrible in 2021.  I think Dalton is a professional quarterback who can elevate the play of the other guys such that they can in turn facilitate his value as a fantasy quarterback in 2QB and SuperFlex leagues.  I wouldn’t push it in single-quarterback formats, but if you completely punt on the position or find yourself in a bind, Dalton is likely an asset that has far more value than his current market price.

Summary

Sell:  Rodgers and Goff

Buy:  Cousins and Dalton

Caveat: All of the things can and likely will change.  Its April, have fun with it and understand the draft is going to throw a wrench is all of your carefully laid plans.  But at the end of the day, it’s just a game we do for the amusement of challenging and heckling our friend, so whatever.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this diatribe.  If you want to discuss it or anything else related to the NFL, please don’t hesitate to hit me up on twitter, @FF_AHayslip. 

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