Sometimes, optimism can bring out new thoughts, ideas, opinions, and game plans. And I think that might be happening at Halas Hall with the vibe brought to the Chicago Bears by first-year head coach Matt Nagy.
Take Tarik Cohen, for example. While meeting with the media on Wednesday, second-year running back Tarik Cohen told reporters the coaching staff had him playing all over the field. This isn’t the first time Cohen has expressed this sentiment, but it comes on the heels of an appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” program where he explained something different that his new head coach was doing.
“Coach Nagy has not only made me learn every position, he’s making the whole offense learn every position,” Cohen told the GMFB crew. “You might see a tight end in the backfield, you might see a tight end as an outside receiver, we’re just doing it all.”
To say Cohen did it all last year might be an understatement. Cohen was a one-man highlight reel for the Bears in 2017, scoring touchdowns as a rusher, receiver, returner, and quarterback. Even though he played limited snaps, you could tell from the small sample that he had the kind of big-play ability you would hope coaches would go out of their way to get on the field. By the sound of it, this staff is doing a better job of implementing Cohen into their system.
Knowing your responsibilities, as well as those of others around you is certainly one way to learn the ins and outs of a new offense. I imagine this will be beneficial to all of the Bears’ skill position players as they try to get a grasp of their role in the offense, especially in coordination with what is on the plate of other players in the offense.
Besides, Mitch Trubisky has already expressed an interest in catching touchdown passes this year. Let’s have fun here with this new offense.