Matt Nagy is a good coach. When he's on his game as a play caller, he can be one of the best in the NFL. However, the man is not without flaws. Those who have followed the Chicago Bears since he took over learned one truth. His playbook is huge. It's a brainchild of not only his experiences in Kansas City under Andy Reid but features tons of additions in collaboration with offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. While an exact size is unknown, there is no question it is massive in scope.
Even crazier? It's likely even bigger than it was last year. This due in large part to new additions on offense. Players who offer different skill sets that demand plays that fit what they do. Thus Nagy and his staff brainstorm ideas to throw into the mix. This is never a bad thing. The best coaches are those who never stop creating new ways to attack a defense. With that said though, Nagy seems to have forgotten one thing.
Not everybody has the mastery of this playbook at the level he does. Most of the Bears offensive players are either in their first or second years learning it. The man himself admitted that it usually takes three seasons to gain a proper grasp on the system and all its intricacies. Until then, one would assume it's wise for him to maintain a measured approach with his game plans each week in terms of how many plays he includes.
By the sound of things, he threw that idea out the window against Green Bay.
Matt Nagy may have overwhelmed Mitch Trubisky vs. Packers
Adam Jahns of The Athletic picked up on something interesting during Nagy's recent press conferences. The coach was quoted talking about his desire for quarterback Mitch Trubisky to reach a point where he sees the field as Nagy himself does. This means a greater grasp of the playbook. However, as already stated there is no way Trubisky is at that level yet. So it was interesting to hear the coach mention offhand that he may have unintentionally sabotaged his young QB by overloading the game plan with too many new plays.
“Just by understanding the actual concept, in and out, versus every coverage. Again when you play some of these defensive coordinators that disguise things — Vic’s the same way, he does a good job of holding his coverage and disguising things — it’s really just a matter of knowing where the bones are buried in a lot of these plays.
“And so I think just the more we do it, the more that his trust in the play and my trust with him knowing where to go within the play, that’s where, if you start getting too crazy with too much volume of plays, then you don’t become an expert at that play. And that’s what I want to make sure that I help Mitch do.”
Review of the game shows that the Bears actually didn't run a lot of the plays they'd become known for last year. They were in a lot of new formations and alignments. It became apparent the Bears were trying to catch the Packers off guard with stuff they hadn't seen before.
Unfortunately, it backfired.
The offense, particularly Trubisky, seemed to have trouble understanding how to communicate and execute so many new plays.
This led to a number of moments where he held the ball too long and either made a late throw in traffic or took a sack. It also explains why he started to rely so heavily on Allen Robinson rather than moving on to other reads. He wasn't comfortable.
There were also a number of delay of game penalties, suggesting the rest of the offense wasn't having an easy time understanding their assignments either. Nagy's deep desire to throw new wrinkles at Green Bay seemed to get a little too carried away. So much that they forgot what they did best from last season.
Trubisky never found a rhythm. The offensive line allowed five sacks. Receivers dropped passes. It was a mess. Hearing this from Nagy, it clarifies a lot of things. It's possible their heads were swimming in an effort to remember all the unfamiliar things they were trying. When stuff like that happens, execution suffers.
The good news is Matt Nagy is clearly aware of the problem, as is Helfrich. So it wouldn't be a surprise if they work to streamline the game plan this coming Sunday against Denver. Sure they'll still include new things. Just not nearly as much as last week.
Comments
Join the discussion below. Keep it civil and focused on the content.
Loading comments...