NEWSLETTER
Let’s tell a story in three tweets.
We’ll start with this one, via 670 The Score:
#Bears' Allen Robinson: Andy Dalton 'has a chip on his shoulder' https://t.co/pmnZquWYqD via @AudacySports pic.twitter.com/3LgzklZdgY
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) August 18, 2021
In a piece highlighting Allen Robinson’s interview with the Tiki and Tierney show, Robinson expands on his budding connection with Bears starting quarterback Andy Dalton. Sure, we’d love to read and hear more about Robinson linking up with Justin Fields. That is a given. And in due time, it will come. However, until the Bears elevate Fields from the second unit, those nuggets will be few and far between.
But let’s get back to the Robinson-Dalton dynamic, because I found these quote to be interesting:
“Andy has a chip on his shoulder and a stake to claim in this league as well. Same for myself. As guys who’ve played in this league, each and every day, we go out there with a chip on our shoulder because we’re guys who not only belong in this league but who’ve done what we’ve done.”
“Andy definitely has a chip on his shoulder, just how he’s going about everything. I think for a receiver and others looking at him, it’s fun to see.”
I can appreciate the perspective Robinson brings here. You can tell there is a mutual respect for a fellow veteran grinder who hasn’t been given the type of respect he probably deserves. Let’s be honest with each other. Dalton wasn’t anyone’s first choice when the Bears brought him in back in March. And yet, he is a QB who has two 4,000-yard throwing seasons under his belt playing for a franchise that has never (e-e-e-ever!) had a 4,000-yard passer. Dalton has three Pro Bowl appearances on his résumé when only one Bears QB has been sent to a Pro Bowl in my 35 years of living on this planet. And he led the Bengals to five playoff appearances, making four starts. That’s gotta mean something, too.
So, yeah, Dalton *SHOULD* have a chip on his shoulder coming into this season. And I’m glad Robinson sees it and is ready to join him as brothers-in-arms with chips on shoulders.
For the sake of comparison here’s Robinson recently dishing on Justin Fields:
Allen Robinson on the Russell Wilson comp/similarities Jimmy Graham threw out there about Justin Fields. #Bears pic.twitter.com/v6NoRwU9WP
— Matt Clapp (@DaBearNecess) August 10, 2021
“He’s a guy who has all the talent in the world. I was telling some guys I’m excited to see him get his first game action, to see him on a scramble, make some guys miss, break a long one. He has those exciting capabilities,” Robinson says in the first clip. “I think the biggest thing for him, as a young guy, he has a tremendous amount of mental capacity when it comes to plays, digesting stuff, and learning stuff.”
And in the second clip, Robinson doesn’t exactly shy away from a Russell Wilson comparison that was recently made by teammate Jimmy Graham.
“Me, personally, I don’t like to compare guys. But from a talent standpoint, I definitely see the same elusiveness and escapability. From just an athletic standpoint, he’s a very athletic dude. And he’s not a small guy, either. So for him being a bigger guy who can move around and throw a football, like I said before, the sky is the limit for Justin.”
I don’t want to take too much away from these two soundbites. But I do find it interesting how Robinson talks about both players. And respectfully, too. It would be easy to jump on the getting-fuller-by-the-moment Fields bandwagon. Or it could also be easy to give a fellow veteran full backing. Obviously, fans will gravitate toward the Russell Wilson comparison stuff and dream on that moving forward. But we can’t ignore what Dalton brings to the room just because we’ve got a shiny new toy. And that’s the perspective someone like Robinson brings to the table.
