Sports fans aren’t exactly rational, nor they are patient, especially when it comes to the National Football League. And when we talk about a storied franchise such as theChicago Bears, you better believe the fans will get loud if they don’t like what they’re seeing.
Bears fans weren’t exactly ecstatic to know that the team had signed Andy Dalton as their new starting quarterback. Then, hopes were high once again when the team took Justin Fields in the NFL Draft, especially after watching him dominate in the first week of preseason.
Unsurprisingly,they’re calling his name even when Andy Dalton is on the gridiron, as they don’t want anything to do with the former Cincinnati Bengals gunslinger and believe that Fields should take those reps instead.
Justin Fields Says Bears Fans Are Disrespecting Andy Dalton
That’s why Fields took a minute to address that situation in his most recent press conference. While he’s thankful for the unconditional support, he doesn’t think that the fans are doing Dalton any favors with that behavior:
“I noticed it, of course. The fans are awesome, but they also have to realize Andy is a human being too,” Fields told the media, as quoted by NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk. “Andy is out there on the field right now, so I really think it’s kind of disrespectful to Andy, them cheering my name like that. They have to trust in coach to make sure he’s making the right decisions and cheer Andy on. That’s not helping Andy play better, them cheering my name. That’s not doing that. So I would say my advice to them would be just cheer for who’s out there playing on the field.”
That’s pretty nice of Fields to say but let’s also take a look at the bigger picture. It’s been a while since the Bears had a decent quarterback under center. The team has a great defense and they’re one capable quarterback away from making the playoffs.
Andy Dalton has been in the league for over a decade and he’s never done anything to make Bears fans think that he’s going to be any good for them, and it’s not like he’s been with the team long enough for fans to actually care about him.
Matt Nagy has said over and over that Andy Dalton is his QB1 and that he wants to see him in the regular season -as if the decade of being average at best isn’t a big enough sample size for his assessment- so it’s only natural to think that the fans want to see their prized first-round pick instead.
