One Cool Red Head Facing Heat

Andy Dalton's ability to stand and fire in the face of pressure is something noted by Next Gen Stats, and apparently it wasn't a real strength shown by Justin Fields according to another study.

Whether it was an anomaly or because Andy Dalton took so much pass rush heat last year in Dallas behind an injury riddled line, the Bears can at least be certain of one aspect of their new starting quarterback's play.

Dalton can perform under pressure from a pass rush.

This is probably good considering the inexperience they could have at left tackle in Teven Jenkins.

According to the annual list released by Next Gen Stats, Dalton ranked sixth in the NFL last year at standing up to pressure.

The only quarterbacks to perform better were Ben Roethlisberger (No. 5), Aaron Rodgers (No. 4), Lamar Jackson (No. 3), Russell Wilson (No. 2) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (No. 1).

In an article for NFL.com, Nick Shook said Dalton had a +5.2 completion percentage over expectation while under pressure, which ranked second best in the league. 

There are more figures involved in ranking him sixth than this category. He also finished with his personal highs under pressure at completion percentage (59.7%), yards per attempt (7.5), and passer rating (85.5). 

Remarkably, Dalton's overall figure for yards per attempt was nowhere near as good as his figure for this while under pressure. He averaged a career-low 6.5 yards per attempt on the year.

This isn't the first time Dalton has appeared on this particular Next Gen list. Dalton in 2016 had a +7.6 CPEO under pressure, according to Shook.

Apparently, this will be one more secret for Dalton to pass along to Fields. Coach Matt Nagy after last Wednesday's OTA session said Dalton excelled as an anticipatory thrower, something else almost any NFL rookie needs to learn.

ESPN's Todd McShay and John Parolin did a study of several quarterback traits from among players in this past draft and Justin Fields ranked only eighth among the 13 studied with a QBR of 22.6 when pressured. He was also eighth picking up the blitz with a QBR of 72.9.

What must be remembered is it was facing only college competition and a rating from among the quarterbacks considered possible draft picks. He might have actually been down the list more if the entire NCAA quarterback field had been considered. 

Also to be remembered, this was against only a college pass rush.

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