Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy attacks Jamal Adams early

Matt Nagy knew that dealing with Jamal Adams would be a challenge, so he attacked him early into the game to try to keep him in check

Earlier this week, the site broke down Jamal Adams and what he brought to the back end of the New York Jets defense. What was noted was how aggressive he was. Matt Nagy noted that as well. He attacked off of the edge and shut down any run that tried to break outside. However, there was one play in which Ryan Tannehill got him to over pursue on a play fake and took the football for himself out into the open space. The play is linked here.

The team took advantage of his aggressiveness and turned it into over-aggressiveness. Matt Nagy saw that and knew that he needed to implement a similar strategy early into the game. The last thing he wanted was Adams feeling confident at pursuing hard into the backfield. So, to get him to think twice before jumping into the backfield, Matt Nagy threw a play fake at him, similar to the Tannehill play on the first play of the game. The play is linked here.

Props to Mitch Trubisky on a great play fake. You can see Jamal Adams flies into the backfield, biting on the handoff. However, he holds up as he notices Trubisky burst into the open field. On the first play of the game, Trubisky got a first down and made Jamal Adams think twice.

These are the plays that lead to a screen pass for 70 yards. These are the plays that lead to Jordan Howard consistently picking up yards as he churns out the clock. It is a momentum starter in that it got the offense started with a quick hit and it got one of the better defenders to hesitate before doing one of the things he is best at.

Matt Nagy is not a perfect coach. He has shown game management, clock, and strategic issues throughout his early tenure. However, one thing is for sure. He knows how to scheme a game plan around a defenses weaknesses.