Chicago Bears: Blame Matt Nagy as much as Mitch Trubisky
Mitch Trubisky was not great in Week 1 of his third NFL season. However, his head coach struggled as well
It is going to be a long 10 days for Mitch Trubisky. After an up and down second NFL season, the direction of his third year really felt as though it could go either way. So, when he started his season with a lethargic 26-45 that included 5 sacks, fans, media and anyone in the football space is going to react.
For a divided player such as Trubisky, it will be easy to turn on him.
Let’s be upfront, he did not play well. The biggest issue was pocket presence, he never looked comfortable dropping back and playing inside of tight spaces. These are manageable issues for rookies but need to be ironed out by now.
So, yes, Trubisky did not play well. However, his head coach did not put him in the chances to succeed either.
From the first play of the game, Nagy was getting cute. The debate all week was how Nagy would split up the running back time. He started Tarik Cohen, Mike Davis, and David Montgomery for his first play.
That was not just a message that all would start at times. All three were key pieces and saw the field often-typically at the same time.
Nagy also played a ton of Cordarelle Patterson, whether motioning, running routes, or even taking hands offs in short-yardage spots.
On paper, some of these ideas are good. Patterson is versatile and should be used as such. Getting multiple running backs on the field forces the defenses to show run-stopping looks, while the Bears intend to pass.
Still, there is employing this strategy to get a few quick hitters, and then there is making this the face of your offense.
It got too gimmicky. Things got too compressed. Tarik Cohen was playing more slot than Anthony Miller. Patterson was running too many routes, and the short-yardage play is not a good use of his skill set.
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Nagy overdid a good thing. The Bears are going to rebound. The season is not over. However, while everyone will rightfully question Mitch Trubisky, Nagy was not sharp to start his second year, either.