Chase Daniel, Javon Wims, and the Backup Bears Stole the Show and Other Bullets

Aug 26, 2018

The drive home in the morning after a wedding is only as good as the coffee you drink before hitting the road. I’ll schedule some stuff out for your Sunday reading, but first, let’s dive into some Bullets.

I like this perspective:

Matt Nagy: "If we win that game against Green Bay, trust me, it wasn't because we didn't play 25 [plays today], and if we lose it, it's the same thing. I'll promise you that."
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 25, 2018

Matt Nagy’s explanation behind the decision (which you can check out via the Bears’ official website) allows us to understand the thought process and the end game a little better here. And while we won’t know the long-term impact of this decision for a while, it’s tough to imagine the Bears offense (which probably needs the most work moving forward) magically hitting on all cylinders because they played 30something snaps against a vanilla defense.

Adam Hoge of WGN Radio believes Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy did the right thing by sitting his starters against the Chiefs during Preseason Week 3. The more I think about it, the more I’m inclined to want to jump on board this bandwagon. To be clear, there’s no doubt the team needs work. After all, we’re looking at a franchise that hasn’t put together a winning season in a hot minute. HOWEVER, if this coaching staff can successfully create a practice environment that better prepare for the regular season while also limiting injury risk, then we might see more of this moving forward.

Andy Reid had his disciple’s back as he showed support for Nagy’s decision to rest his starters, writes Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times. We’ve often talked about Nagy following in the footsteps of Reid and Doug Pederson, but the most refreshing thing to see is how Nagy appears willing to blaze his own trail. That might be the most important takeaway from this preseason twist.

No matter which way you slice it, Nagy appears to be really comfortable in his skin right now. To make the decision he did to rest his starters for what is generally used as the regular season dress rehearsal, stick with it, and answer questions honestly about it isn’t something that happens often with football coaches. Some start that way before eventually going full turtle and falling into the cone of silence. If Nagy is as open (and frankly, honest) moving forward as he has been up to this point, I think good things will be on their way.

And I’m not just saying that from our perspective. But a coach willing to take some heat off the players by simply addressing issues in a straight-forward fashion can do wonders for a team. If you’re a fan other other Chicago sports teams, you’ll remember when Ozzie Guillen did it for the White Sox during his best years and the times Joe Maddon does it currently for the Cubs.

*raises eyebrows suggestively*

One of the bigger takeaways from Matt Nagy's postgame press conference: DAMN, is it refreshing for a head coach to answer questions openly and explain his decisions without that air of smug condescension.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) August 25, 2018

Let’s enjoy some highlights from yesterday’s game:

Quarterback Chase Daniel was efficient in working the ball downfield and putting points on the board. Going 15-for-18 with 198 yards, two touchdowns, and a passer rating of 149.5 is one heck of a way to tune up for your role as QB2. In an ideal world, Mitch Trubisky channeled his rookie season self and soaked in everything he saw from the sidelines. And if he can apply that to games of consequence (starting in Week 1 against the Packers), then we might look back fondly at this preseason experience.

The Backup Bears scored 24 points in the first half against the Chiefs starters. That’s something because the Bears scored 24 or more points just nine times in the last three years. Some back of the envelope math shows that’s an 18.7 percent clip. Without getting too deep into the analytics, let’s just say that’s not often enough to be competitive in a division that now features three Pro Bowl quarterbacks.

Rookie receiver Javon Wims caught four passes for 114 yards and did this:

Javon Wims hauling in the DOUBLE CHINA-7 FOR THE BRAND pic.twitter.com/qxII8IaCei

— Michael Kist (@MichaelKistNFL) August 25, 2018

That’s a top-notch toe drag (or Toe-drag Swag, as the kids call it these days) for a rookie who had just two years of major college football experience. Impressive … most impressive.

James Daniels split time between center and left guard on Saturday. It was an uneven performance for the rookie who still seems poised to start in some capacity. An early sequence that featured a high snap and a holding penalty was tough to watch. Even the Benny Cunningham touchdown featured this not-so-pretty moment:

derrick nnadi gets on one knee, out-leverages james daniels. taken to the ground but he did his job. pic.twitter.com/vAqz30zgyt

— John Sheeran (@John__Sheeran) August 25, 2018

Despite the mixed bag, Daniels appears to be a better choice as a starter right now than Eric Kush. The veteran interior lineman who has been at the top of the depth chart since training camp hasn’t put together the type of preseason that would make you clamor for him to be a starter. This isn’t to say Kush can’t be a valuable contributor as a depth piece along the line, but I’m not convinced the Bears’ best group of starting offensive linemen includes him right now.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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