The Bears’ Greatest Victory, the Value in Run-Pass Options, Pass-Rush Regression, and Other Bullets

On this date 32 years ago, the Chicago Bears overcame a 10-0 deficit to wallop the New England Patriots 46-10 to win Super Bowl XX.

If you’re looking for a fun Friday activity, you can re-watch the Bears’ Super Bowl triumph in its full-blown glory thanks to YouTube:

So how do the Bears get back there? It all starts with maximizing Mitch Trubisky’s talent.

  • Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes Matt Nagy can help Trubisky most with the implementation of run-pass option plays that could add variety to an offense that lacked it in 2017. Former Offensive Coordinator Dowell Loggains dabbled in RPOs with Trubisky (most notably on his first career touchdown run), but it wasn’t a staple of the offense by any means. Adding this wrinkle should benefit Trubisky, who is familiar with RPOs from his time as a starting quarterback in college. Surely, Jordan Howard – who averaged 5.1 yards per carry out of the shotgun in 2017 – and even Tarik Cohen will benefit from it too.
  • (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

  • Over at Bears Barroom, Kevin Schroeder dives into explaining how Nagy’s offense works with the help of an informative piece by Terez Paylor of the Kansas City Star. Points are the end result in which we judge how good an offense is, but the process is key. The route combinations, variety in formations, and using players’ individual strengths are just some of the things that make the Chiefs offense as productive as it is and has been under Andy Reid.
  • I’m hesitant to expect the Bears to go from worst to first in every offensive category, but it’s not hard to imagine Nagy’s offense being significantly improved compared to the last two years under Loggains. After all, the Philadelphia Eagles are riding the concept of splicing the West Coast and spread offenses all the way to Super Bowl LII. So perhaps this seems like a good path to follow.
  • The Bears have a new head coach and offensive coordinator leading the offense, a fresh set of eyes running the special teams, and have retained the defensive coordinator who orchestrated a top-10 defense despite a never-ending pile of injuries. So upgrades to the roster will be the next step, right?
  • Chris Emma of CBS Chicago saw regression from the Bears’ pass rush in 2017. Chicago’s defense finished in the middle of the pack with 39 sacks, but will need some improvement in that area if the team is going to improve on its 5-11 record. With Fangio returning for a fourth season in Chicago, one of the league’s best defensive coordinators could surely use some new minds to mold among the group of edge rushers. Emma notes DeMarcus Lawrence is the best of the free agent bunch, but it’s highly unlikely the Cowboys let him go for nothing. Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah pops up as a “tremendous addition” in Emma’s eyes, but injuries have hindered him over the last two seasons and how he fits in a 3-4 defense is up for debate.
  • On the offensive side of the ball, Bryan Perez of BearsWire expects the Bears to dive into the free agent waters to upgrade the receiving corps, naming Marqise Lee as a potential target. While Allen Robinson garners the headlines, Lee is quietly productive as a secondary option, averaging 63 catches and 828 receiving yards per 16 games. We recently discussed Lee as an under-the-radar option if the Jaguars prioritize Robinson. Lee was an All-American and Biletnikoff Award winner (given to the best receiver in college football) when he was at USC, so there’s probably a bunch of untapped potential here.
  • Getting it right in the draft would sure help matters, no matter which side of the ball GM Ryan Pace decided to use his first pick on in April. And to show a recent piece of evidence proving there is no consensus pick for the Bears at No. 8, Larry Mayer highlights five mock drafts from five respected analysts at five separate publications who have Chicago choosing five different players. Good luck coming to a conclusion on who’s coming to the Bears at this point of the offseason because there are valid arguments to be made for each of the prospects mentioned in Mayer’s post.
  • written by

    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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