The game against the Buffalo Bills truly showed how much Matt Nagy holds back the Chicago Bears. The Bears got absolutely handled by the Bills and their former quarterback Mitch Trubisky who threw for over 200 yards in a single half.
I get it. It’s just a preseason game. However, everything looks exactly the same as the past two years for the Bears’ offense. We are seeing the same concepts, play calls, and sloppy play. The fact that Nagy couldn’t generate any sort of rhythm in a preseason football game is pathetic.
Matt Nagy continues to hold back the Chicago Bears
People can blame the offensive line or say how they were without Allen Robinson. That isn’t an excuse for the Bills though as the Bills played without their top three wide receivers in Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley, and Emmanuel Sanders. Additionally, Josh Allen did not play.
I’ve been clamoring for the Bears to move on from Nagy since the 2019 season. Last season, I wrote how he has failed the Bears and Trubisky in general. It was even featured on Bleacher Report following the 2020 season. Everyone is starting to see that now and will continue to see it this season with how he will mishandle the development of Justin Fields.
The sad thing is, Fields may save his job. Nagy can use the excuse that their offense was lacking because of a rookie quarterback if it does badly. If it does well, he takes credit although essentially, Fields will make it look better. Regardless, he’s been incompetent for a multitude of reasons.
Chicago Bears hurt by Matt Nagy: Mitch Trubisky showed that coaching matters
This past Saturday, Mitch Trubisky looked more comfortable in the pocket than he ever did when he was on the Bears. He showed poise, escapability, and command in the pocket to make plenty of accurate throws. Trubisky threw his wide receivers open and looked incredibly impressive.
Brian Daboll hasn’t even had him a full season and it looks like he’s done more for Trubisky than Matt Nagy ever did. It wasn’t like they ran a “vanilla offense” either as Trubisky threw the ball 28 times and they hardly ran it. The Bills ran mainly shotgun with Run-Pass Options and plenty of quick throws and hurry-up offense.
The offense looked exactly like what Bears fans have been begging Nagy to run for the past two seasons. Instead, Nagy continued to try and run his weak schemes and horrible play calling and force Trubisky to fit it. Daboll, on the other hand, continues to show what makes him such a great coach by making his quarterbacks look lights out.
Hopefully, the Bears were paying attention to this game, and they saw the team across the field. This should have been a tryout for the man running the Bills offense. The way Daboll helped Allen become the player he is should be a priority for naming him head coach next season.
Chicago Bears hurt by Matt Nagy: Andy Dalton played way too much
This isn’t a knock on Andy Dalton. I think he is a fine quarterback additionally hindered by his incompetent coach running the offense. A ten-year veteran quarterback should not play an entire half in a preseason game when the Bears have a first-round rookie.
What’s a good comparison? The Houston Texans. Tyrod Taylor has thrown nine total passes this preseason despite joining a new team. On the other hand, their young rookie quarterback has been playing the majority of the time. How about the New England Patriots? Cam Newton hasn’t thrown double-digit passes yet in a preseason game.
Let’s make this even worse. Matt Nagy even said that this preseason means nothing to the quarterback competition and they need to see Dalton in the regular season. So, I have to ask: why is Dalton playing then? It doesn’t mean anything. It’s not like he can develop chemistry with his starters as Allen Robinson and Marquise Goodwin aren’t playing. David Montgomery has played one snap all of the preseason as well.
Why on earth would you not let your rookie play basically the entire second quarter and the majority of the fourth quarter? It’s not like Nick Foles needs practice either. He’s a veteran as well. Fields should be getting as much experience as possible.
Chicago Bears hurt by Matt Nagy: Not helping Justin Fields’ development
Matt Nagy is essentially having Justin Fields only play with cut candidates. The only players who should make the roster that Fields is throwing to are Rodney Adams and Riley Ridley. After that, the wide receivers he is targeting continue to drop passes, don’t create separation, and hinder him.
This is normal in preseason games. However, this isn’t in practice. Fields hardly sees time with the starters and because of this, he never gets to throw to Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, and Marquise Goodwin in live practice.
So, what happens when Dalton sucks? Fields is going to get thrown into the offense with only a week of preparation with the first team. How does that help at all? Unless the plan is to sit Fields all season, which would be even more moronic, Fields needs to see more time with the first team.
If Nagy cares at all about developing Fields correctly and saving his job, he needs to get him more time with the first team. Dalton doesn’t need the practice. He’s a ten-year veteran who knows his place this year as a bridge quarterback. So, let Fields throw to the players he will be throwing to this season and likely next as well.