“Do simple better” is a phrase I’m familiar with from Cubs Manager Joe Maddon – I’ve heard him talk about with regards to his players … and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it on a t-shirt a time or two.
Like Maddon, Chicago Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy has Pennsylvania ties, so I wonder if he’s heard that phrase too. We already know the two leaders of their respective clubs have borrowed from each other (I mean, where else was Nagy going to get the disco ball post-victory celebration idea from?) but it’s possible that the Bears head coach is at it again.
In Peter King’s Football Morning in America post at NBC Sports, Nagy put a face to the old adage that practice makes perfect.
“See the difference in practice. You know sometimes, you start getting tight in these situations. You start trying to get perfect. We did the opposite of that this week,” Nagy explained. Everybody was loose in practice. We were just letting the ball fly. We didn’t have that tightness where sometimes you get into that funk. I think that reflected in the game.”
Well, that certainly showed in the way the Bears played and celebrated on Sunday. And maybe like in baseball where one clutch hit opens the floodgates, is possible Chicago’s offense needed that one huge chunk play early to get the ball rolling in the right direction. It certainly looked that way when the Bears struck early with a touchdown to Trey Burton.
As for that silly little notion that the Bears needed to reel it in a little on the offensive side of the ball, Nagy said the team wasn’t going that far.
“We’re not pulling back,” Nagy said. “What we’ve done though is just dissected a little bit. Maybe tweaked a few things, whether it’s the progression of a play for Mitch, whether it’s too many options at the line of scrimmage. I think the combination of that and just really guys offensively honing in on, worrying about what they do best and worrying about their own position and not worry about anybody else. ”
The Bears did simple better on Sunday. And that’s why they’re 3-1 heading into the bye week.