Chicago Bears vs Vikings: What to expect with Bill Lazor calling plays
The Chicago Bears have switched things up prior to the game vs the Vikings
The Bill Lazor era as the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator will start against the Vikings Monday night. Lazor should have a few things working for him in this new role. What he won’t have working for him is that he will be in the spotlight Monday night almost as much as Diana was when she was a princess. The point-counterpoint of body language between Lazor and Matt Nagy could be mentioned more than a few times by the voices of Monday Night Football.
One of the major narratives that I have often written about the last two years will be put to the test in this game. I am quite convinced that Nagy’s very flawed play-calling has, consistently, demoralized his players on offense but most especially the Bears offensive line.
I believe it is not possible to truly get an accurate read on their level of competence if these players do not trust their head coach as a play-caller. Urban Meyer, recently, talked about this issue. He identified the three most critical problems a football team can have. Number one on his list is if the players do not trust their coaches and vice versa.
At this point, can anyone say they trust Matt Nagy as a play-caller — be it fan, media or someone who has worked as a professional in football? If what I believe is true, then both Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles are better quarterbacks than what we have seen with Matt Nagy calling plays for them.
With this in mind, I fully expect to see a more energetic and focused group of blockers against the Vikings than we have seen since, at least, the second game of this season. Surprisingly, in 2020 there have been a few important games where the whole team came out flat. The Colts and Rams games stand out as the most blatant examples of this.
However, in this big game, I expect the exact opposite. I believe Bears players on offense will feel like they got let out of prison so they should be quite ready to go full steam ahead.
The tell on all of this will be how long the linemen stay engaged with the guys they are blocking. What we have seen up to now, most of this season and much of last season is many of the offensive linemen will make initial contact, then the defender bounces off of them free to roam. If the Bears offensive linemen stick like glue to the guy they are blocking, it will be a fun game to watch for Bears fans. We should know from the offense’s first play from scrimmage if this is in play.
As psyched up as I believe the offensive linemen will be to have a new play-caller, I believe the happiest guy in Soldier Field will be Nick Foles. It has been clear to me that Foles does not respect Matt Nagy’s play-calling. We should see the good version of Nick Foles without Nagy pulling his strings from the sidelines and Foles feeling very annoyed about this arrangement. I expect Nick Foles to have his best game with the Chicago Bears on Monday night.