Matt Nagy has watched his offense flounder for the better part of a year and a half. Too many times its been held in check by average defenses. Penalties have gone up. Execution is down. The mistakes are mounting and it's clearly starting to affect the psyche of the players. After replacing quarterbacks, many thought things would change. It didn't. So that only left one man.
Nagy himself. He'd been the play-caller for this team since he arrived in 2018. However, as things continue to spiral out of control he was forced to confront an uncomfortable reality. Maybe he's part of the problem. Too often it seemed like he lacked a good feel for games, made questionable calls in key moments, and didn't seem to have a strong grasp of what his players could and could not do.
Yet he continued to resist the idea of giving up the call sheet.
Everything seemed to change after last Sunday though. Facing a frankly bad Tennessee Titans defense, the Bears managed just three points until well into the 4th quarter. It was as ugly as it could get. Looking lost and defeated afterward, Nagy admitted for the first time that he was seriously considering any and all options on the table.
Then on Friday ahead of the Bears' Monday Night Football clash against Minnesota? He made the fateful
decision. He would hand play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. It's the logical move. Lazor has the most experience calling plays of anybody on the staff. He did it for two years in Miami and then two more in Cincinnati.
Did Matt Nagy choose correctly with Bill Lazor?
That's hard to say. Neither offense he coordinated at previous stops could've been called juggernauts. Miami finished 11th in points scored his first year in 2014, after that each offense ranked 27th, 26th, and 17th respectively in that category. Not something that inspires a ton of confidence that he can suddenly turn this thing around. Then again it would be unfair to have
expectations that high.
The Bears offense is still an injury-riddled mess. Their offensive line is missing three starters and two primary backups due to injuries or COVID-19. Or both. This isn't counting
Cole Kmet or David Montgomery who have both yet to practice this week. So Lazor has his work cut out for him. His goal can't be to light up the scoreboard. That just isn't happening. His job is to find a way to manufacture some sustained drives and put up about 20-23 points.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUdKnZrrvbE&ab_channel=NFL
If he does that with this strong Bears defense? They can win some games.
Minnesota has a well-coached defense coming up but also one that is banged up. Their secondary is missing a lot of guys and their pass rush is decimated. If Lazor can get the offensive line to at least function, Nick Foles can have a solid game through the air. It comes down to whether he can establish a rhythm and flow to this group. Something that hasn't been there all year.
Credit to Matt Nagy for being unselfish. It couldn't have been easy doing this considering that system was his baby. He's doing what is best for his team like a good leader should.
