A few short weeks ago Chicago Bears Coach Matt Nagy benched starting quarterback Mitch Trubisky in favor of backup Nick Foles.
It appeared everyone was blissfully happy while the Bears were winning.
Nick Foles was cruising, and Matt Nagy was calling the plays.
After the Bears’ 26-23 Week 7 loss to the Saints in overtime, it seems things are not copacetic in Chicago.
As with anything, there are two sides to the story so we will try to shine the light on both sides here.
Nagy’s Side
Coach Nagy did not appreciate the team’s lack of discipline and wasn’t shy about telling the media.
“There’s issues there. That’s what bothers me and that’s what pisses me off, is that there is that issue still going on. Excuse my French. But, you know, we’re reading it from a wristband, I just, I’m struggling with that right now. It’s getting you into a hole. And so that has to change.”
Foles’ Side
Nick Foles was a little more diplomatic postgame when discussing the problem, calling it a communication issue.
“We just need to communicate better, and that’s something that we’ll have to talk about as we go forward. That’s something that we as players and coaches will get together and figure out where the issues are lying because I don’t have an answer for you. I know that each game, we’ve had a couple instances that hasn’t — the communication has been lost, so we need to figure out what’s going on … The wristband is basically for unique plays that maybe there are different tags that become little stories of themselves. It’s just easier to have it on the wristband to make sure. I like it because it allows me more time at the line of scrimmage to see things … so there is a purpose for it. I believe in the wristband. I’ve done it for a lot of my career. The communication thing — great teams communicate well, and that is something we’re working toward.”
To be fair, this issue has been festering for a week or so which means tempers may be flaring behind the scenes.
Brian Griese just said that Nick Foles told the ESPN crew that sometimes Nagy sends in a play call and Foles already knows it won't work because he won't have enough time after the snap. That's something.
— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) October 27, 2020
What Is The Problem?
Whatever it is, it created two delay of game penalties and one false start penalty on the offense.
There were times when the offensive line and Foles looked out of sync, and he was skimming his wristband.
Tackle Charles Leno even yelled: ‘Hurry up” at one point.
And at another time, someone ran out a new helmet to Nick Foles between plays while the offense was on the field.
It’s not clear if he couldn’t hear the plays coming through the helmet, or if the Bears were calling plays unfamiliar to him, but whatever it is, the team needs to come together and fix it.
High school teams have more organization on offense than the Bears showed at some points on Sunday.
NEXT: Matt Nagy Hints At Expanded Role For Mitch TrubiskyFitting that Matt Nagy has to yell the plays in to Nick Foles. I've seen high school offenses that do that and are higher scoring. Talent gap, sure, but still.
— Aaron Ferguson (@Sports_Aaron) November 2, 2020