NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears offense ranks 26th in total yards and 28th in passing offense three games into the 2018 NFL season. But while things aren’t quite where Head Coach Matt Nagy wants/hopes, he believes the resilience shown by the offense in the second half of the team’s comeback win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday offered a glimpse that more positive gains are on the horizon.
Here are some highlights from Nagy’s latest press conference, as well as some additional thoughts and commentary from yours truly. Enjoy.
Deep Game Sees Minimal Gains
There have been a few occasions early this season when quarterback Mitch Trubisky has looked trigger shy when given the opportunity to go deep. Perhaps it’s a lingering effect from the conservative upbringing he had under the risk-averse John Fox and Dowell Loggains last season, but that doesn’t make it any less real. And if that is indeed the case, it’s on Nagy and the coaching staff to beat it out of him. With that as our table-setter, it’s good to know that Nagy was encouraged by Trubisky’s willingness to air it out (even if the success rate wasn’t there).
“We took some shots yesterday and I like his mentality of being able to go down-field and there was a couple in there where he had the aggressive mindset of even regardless of how far off they were he still took an opportunity to go deep and we like that. There were a few others we didn’t hit on, but for us, that’s a good thing that we did that.”
The Value in the Deep Throw
Last season, the lack of a deep passing game was frustrating because it usually meant the elimination of any potential for big, game-changing plays. That was supposed to change this year with Nagy’s scheme, but it’s up to Trubisky to make it happen.
“You feel it. You get that energy, you get the momentum, the guys feel it. It stresses a defense when you have that. Those are important to have and we need to start connecting on those. It’s great to take the opportunity of going deep, those are great. But they’re way better and they mean a lot more when you connect on them.”
Nagy’s subtle criticism of Trubisky’s inability to hit on some open deep balls shouldn’t be lost on any of us (in fact, we’re glad to see Nagy is going to keep him (and us) honest). This is a teachable moment and I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses moving forward.
Trubisky Finally Showed Some Conviction With His Throws
Despite our concerns with his apparent shyness when asked to stretch the field vertically, Trubisky did have everything sync up for a a few strong throws.
“There’s a few throws he made in there with conviction that I say to myself that right there is what we’re about to get to. … Just the timing, the footwork, and where he threw it, where his eyes went, the timing with the wide receiver on the route is basically unstoppable when he threw it on time. His progression in the route, where he went to, he trusted it, he trusted the receiver, made the grow in the pocket, and so it was neat to see there. And it wasn’t just one or two, there were a few of those.”
If Trubisky is actually starting to get a feel for the right footwork, then the quarterback we see later in the season should look different than the one we’re seeing now.
Red Zone Woes and Overcoming Adversity
After watching the tape, Nagy says the Bears’ red zone offense “wasn’t good enough.” Heh. No argument here.
“We need to be better in the red zone. We need to get to a point to where we’re touchdowns up on the board and not kicking field goals. Now, with that said, where I’m proud with the offense and what we did yesterday was the fact that they were resilient in understanding that, hey, 14-0, let’s just stick to our game plan, let’s just worry about play-by-play and not what could happen down the road here. So when we came back out in the second half, we did enough to win the game and so I was proud of those guys for that.”
One red zone touchdown in three trips isn’t a winning formula. If the Bears are going to be as good as they think they are (and can be), they’ll need to turn those three-point plays into seven-pointers. And for that to happen, the group needs to continue to show the resiliency that was on display against the Cardinals on Sunday.
You can watch Nagy’s entire press conference here:
