This plan almost cost Chicago Bears vs Seahawks

Chicago Bears - Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bears - Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

Matt Nagy has shown that he is much more worried about winning each and every week that he has as a coach, and is not as worried about the development of young players for next season. This was apparent when he decided to start Germain Ifedi over Larry Borom, and went on to affect the Chicago Bears secondary as well.

The team saw Thomas Graham get called up from the practice squad and he performed well against Minnesota, which made fans assume that he would be locked into snaps moving forward. However, with Artie Burns off of the COVID list, the team went right back to another veteran, putting the rookie on the bench.

As it turned out, the team implanted a three-man rotation, as Burns, Graham, and Kindle Vildor all took 2/3 of the defensive snaps. There is a lot to question about why they implemented the rotation, and when they decided to give certain players their chance, but in the long run it did work.

In the short, it almost blew up in their face. Graham did not play for the first series but then was thrown out there for the second. This is a bit of a disadvantage considering the Seahawks offense was able to get into a rhythm of sorts while Graham came in fresh.

Of course, Seattle saw someone new on the field and decided to test them. D.K. Metcalf beat Graham clean off of the line. It looked like he was not given any over-the-top help as Eddie Jackson dropped into a robber role over the middle of the field. The result was a quick score and a lead that Seattle took into the closing seconds.

Graham eventually settled in, and once again was the Bears’ best cornerback. Still, the early rotation showed a player out of sorts for his first snap, and a big play resulted.

It makes little sense to keep a rotation unless you have specific personnel for specific alignments. It is so much easier to stay in the game mentally when you are playing every snap, or at least in a specific role. When you are being pulled in and out and are trying to make every play a highlight to end a rotation you press and big plays can be allowed.

The Bears should just Graham on the field, and they should decide on two cornerbacks that start and stick with them.

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