Commentary: It was never Trubisky, it was Nagy |
Just a few short weeks ago, the Bears sat at 5-1 in first place in the NFC North. Since then, the Bears have lost three consecutive games and currently sit on the outside looking in at the playoff picture in an extremely competitive NFC.
And it’s time for Matt Nagy to take some accountability. Mitchell Trubisky was taken with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft and served as the Bears starting QB in the back half of the 2017 season, the 2018 and 2019 season, and the first two and a half games of the 2020 season. Matt Nagy was hired as an offensive-minded coach to pair with Trubisky and create an unpredictable but efficient offense like the Rams have been able to do with Sean McVay. A former member of the Andy Reid staff, Nagy was highly regarded and inherited a phenomenal Bears defense. For the first two years of the Nagy era, Mitchell Trubisky was the scapegoat for a Bears offense that struggled. In the early portion of 2018, the Bears offense ranked near the tops in the NFL in points per game and efficiency — but since then, the Bears have been terrible offensively. 2018 was wildly successful for Chicago, and the last-minute drive by Mitch Trubisky was overshadowed by a missed field goal from Cody Parkey. 2019 was a major step back for this Bears team. The team scored just 30 touchdowns the entire season and finished as the second-worst offense in the NFC. The Bears also had the second-worst pass offense and rushing offense in terms of yards in the NFC as well. So what is the reason for the struggles? Mitchell Trubisky was blamed for the slow offensive starts, the inability to come back, and inefficiency on short third and fourth down plays. Trubisky was not the most accurate or efficient passer, but he completed 63 % of his throws, more than Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady in 2019. Fast forward to 2020. The Bears make a trade for Nick Foles and host an open quarterback competition between him and Trubisky. Ultimately Trubisky won the job and started Chicago’s first three games. After two wins and five touchdown passes (including a fourth-quarter comeback), Trubisky was pulled after a touchdown and a pick in the Bears’ third contest. Nick Foles then led an epic comeback for the Bears, and the Bears moved to 3-1. The Bears offense was saved, we thought. Matt Nagy even said that the Bears finally have a quarterback that can run his system. But with Nick Foles under center, the Bears have not been able to score more than 23 points. Foles has thrown 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions and has a record of 2-4 as a starter. The Bears offense frankly seems more limited now because of Foles’ lack of mobility. Even with the new quarterback under center, the Bears have struggled to secure leads, they have struggled to score in the first half, they have been bad in what should be high percentage short-yardage looks, and above all, they have not been winning games. Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy never defended Mitchell Trubisky. Rather, they scapegoated him and predetermined his replacement. All of a sudden, the replacement isn’t playing well, and it is exposing the errors in play calling that have really been what has crippled this offense over the last two-plus seasons. Foles has made plays that would have led to Trubisky getting pulled should he have made them. The bottom line is, Mitch Trubisky was never the issue, but rather just an easy scapegoat. Finally, Matt Nagy has given up the play-calling duties and we will hopefully see a better offense.
