Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains has played the political game well. He’s never lost his cool in front of the cameras. Every answer given is diplomatic and never designed to throw somebody under the bus. He at least deserves credit for that. Especially given the heat he’s received from all directions over the performance of his offense in 2017.
It hasn’t been pretty for long stretches. They rank 30th in the NFL overall and dead last in passing. Through 13 games they’ve scored just 26 touchdowns. Or two per game. That is not good. What’s even more frustrating is that the 2017 Bears offense looks nothing like the 2016 version. Granted there are some reasons for that including a somewhat handicapped receiving corps.
At the same time the aggressiveness that Loggains showed last year has almost completely vanished. It’s hard to understand why because it seemed to work. The Bears moved the ball well regardless of who was at quarterback. Instead they’ve gotten far more predictable and far more conservative.
Most believe this has everything to do with head coach John Fox.
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Fox conservative nature chaffing Dowell Loggains patience
Once again Loggains let it slip how much he’s walking on eggshells around Fox when it comes to his play calling during games. It took place when he was talking about one of the key plays during the Bears’ victory over Cincinnati. Mitch Trubisky took a snap at the goal line and fired a pinpoint pass to tight end Adam Shaheen for a touchdown.
Loggains was thrilled with the execution on that play, along with the outstanding accuracy of the pass. At the same time he also revealed just how closely monitored he is by Fox in such situations.
“You better draft the right guy because that’s dime-ball accuracy,” Loggains said. “There’s nothing I can tell him to make him a better thrower, to put that ball exactly where it needs to be. If that’s not a perfect throw, it’s incomplete and I’m going to have Coach (John Fox) yelling at me, ‘Why didn’t you run the ball?’”
That right there is a small but glaring indication of how short the leash is on the offense. Loggains is nervous about calling certain kinds of plays. He’s not allowed to execute his offense with free reign. While it’s Fox’s team and that’s his prerogative, it also can often lead to friction and a coaching calling scared rather than with natural instincts.
Last week felt like the first time Loggains got to be himself. The results were spectacular. One can understand why frustration is mounting with Fox.
