Assessing the Chicago Bears after a brutal Week 7 Loss

The Chicago Bears just lost 38-3 with the Buccaneers giving Chicago mercy by scoring only three points in the second half. Words cannot describe the pain and disappointment in the hearts of Bears fans like myself. The expectation should be that Matt Nagy is out of Halas Hall on the morning of October 25th as this loss is not surmountable, keeping Matt Nagy in the locker room is an indictment that ownership does not care about the team and players.

My prediction is that Matt Nagy is fired and Bill Lazor is promoted to head coach; however, if I was the ownership I would send not only Matt Nagy but Bill Lazor out of town. It is very clear that neither knows how to get the offense moving and how to develop Justin Fields, who should be the main priority of the franchise.

Bill Lazor has the Bears right back at rock bottom of the NFL in terms of offense and has failed to tailor his offense to fit the skill set of Justin Fields. When was the last time Lazor has called a screen to take the stress off Justin? When was the last time Lazor has called a max protection deep shot downfield to Allen Robinson or Darnell Mooney? When was the last time we saw some RPO work? Nothing that has been run this year has fit what Justin does well.

I saw a stat coming into Week 7 that 73% of Justin Fields’ yardage, comes before the catch which is an indictment on the scheme and play calling not knowing how to get their players into space. What is the point of bringing in speedsters like Marquise Goodwin and Dymiere Byrd if we don’t give them the ball in space and let them work?

Where do the Chicago Bears go now?

The Bears have many questions to answer as they go into a pivotal Week 8 matchup against San Francisco, who is a team in the wild card race that they need to beat to keep their season afloat.

What would I do?

I would fire Matt Nagy and Bill Lazor. Between them, the Chicago Bears have been one of, if not the worst offenses in the NFL. In response to those firings, I would promote Sean Desai to interim head coach as he has proved he is someone who deserves his job and should hold that job until next season.

To call the offense I would promote John DeFilippo to offensive coordinator because he has had experience calling plays for NFL teams such as the Jaguars and Vikings. Not only does DeFilippo have experience calling plays but he works the closest to Justin Fields who should be the number one priority for the Bears.

The Chicago Bears have another decision to make with Allen Robinson, as he looks tired of playing in Chicago and looks like his effort is not 100% like it used to be. Robinson and Fields have had miscommunications all year and have me wondering if the miscommunications have been just a simple lack of effort. Robinson slipped up on an interception today that could have been broken up if he had his footing and didn’t jump with Pierre Desir on an interception and choose to stare at it.

Allen Robinson has been asking for an extension for the past two years at least and the Bears have yet to extend him so that could be where the frustration comes from. I love Allen Robinson with all my heart but his effort has been disappointing this year. The Bears could opt to trade him to a place where he would be extended.

I would expect general manager Ryan Pace’s seat to be getting hotter as the team he put together has been failing Justin Fields all season. Between the line and the lack of talent in the receivers, this team is struggling horribly. Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet look to be among his biggest failures as general manager too.

Jimmy Graham could’ve been cut without any dead cap, yet Pace brought him back. Graham has seven times the veteran rest days than he has catches in 2021 and is being paid five million against the cap. Even worse, he will be getting paid more than four million dollars over the next four years. Kmet, who he had drafted at 43rd overall in the 2020 draft to anchor a struggling tight end room has been just as bad since he has arrived.

Big day at Hallas Hall looming as we could see some major changes on Monday. Or we hope.
Go Bears.