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Where do you rank the Bears offense heading into 2021?

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Detroit Lions v Chicago Bears Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images

The Chicago Bears haven't had a good offense since... and I can’t believe I’m about to type this, but since Marc Trestman was calling the shots in 2013. Part of the reason Matt Nagy was hired as head coach was his potential as an offensive mind due to his years coaching with Any Reid, but that hasn’t come to fruition yet.

Nagy had a solid run in 2018 working his offense around 440 combined touches between Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, while getting adequate quarterback play form Mitchell Trubisky, but once Nagy tried to build off that his offense sputtered for the last two years. Nagy’s reluctance to be fluid in his offensive approach could have had something to do with the ability form his QB, but that excuse is no longer valid as he has his quarterbacks now.

This is going to be a put up or shut up season for Nagy, and if his unit doesn’t show improvement, or if rookie Justin Fields doesn’t flash some of his sparkling potential, then Nagy’s not it.

The Athletic recently ranked where they project each NFL offense to end up this season, and here’s what they said about the Bears.

28. Chicago Bears

Matt Nagy has not produced an offense that’s finished above 20th in DVOA in his three seasons as the Bears’ head coach. As mentioned above, the average rookie starter over the past 10 seasons has performed like the 21st-ranked quarterback. Maybe Justin Fields will be this year’s version of Herbert, but that’s not the most likely outcome. Having said that, there’s no denying that he offers more upside than Andy Dalton, who ranked 25th in QBR with the Dallas Cowboys last season.

Chicago has some talent at wide receiver with Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney, but it’s not a particularly deep group, and the offensive line figures to be mediocre at best. If you’re a Bears fan, you just want a few plays a week from Fields that keep you excited and invested in the future. But overall, the Bears’ offense doesn’t figure to be very good unless Fields is a revelation

The Bears were 25th in Football Outsider’s offensive DVOA a year ago, so they’re predicting another step back for the offense in 2021.

While I agree there is no upside with the 33-year old Dalton, he does have the ability to be a serviceable caretaker for the position until Fields is ready. We’re not talking about a Mike Glennon like QB1 for the Bears as Dalton has actually produced during his time in the league. Dalton will be able to give Nagy a professional performance while efficiently running the offense, which is what he hasn’t really had with any consistency during his time coaching in Chicago.

Do you guys agree with The Athletic’s prediction of another bottom of the barrel offense for the Bears?