The Chicago Bears offense has undergone a drastic transformation this offseason. Even more than a lot of people expected. Perhaps nothing stands out more about it than the fact that the quarterbacks are constantly looking to take shots down the field. Last year in the first two preseason games, the Bears threw five deep passes. This year they’ve already thrown 11. That’s not an accident either according to head coach Matt Nagy.
The first day of joint practices with the Denver Broncos took place on Wednesday. The Bears offense had a strong showing. A reporter afterward brought up how quarterback Mitch Trubisky constantly threw the ball down the field against the Broncos secondary. Rather than call it a coincidence, Nagy simply nodded.
It doesn’t get much clearer than that. Nagy has said from the start that this offense is going to be aggressive in the passing game. He’s had plenty of opportunities to beg off from such a statement and won’t budge even a little bit. So what exactly does this mean for the Bears offense?
Chicago Bears offense may be onto something with aggressive approach
It’s clear Nagy is not what one would call a traditionalist when it comes to the West Coast offense. According to the original designs of the scheme, an offense uses the short and precise passing game to set up the longer plays. By the sound of this, Nagy has designs on more of a vertical offense intended to attack defenses down the field.
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The question is whether he has the right idea with something like that. So I dug into last year’s quarterback stats. Specifically, I was looking for an offensive impact based on those who tended to attack more often down the field. I found an answer via the NFL.com NextGen stat called “Intended Air Yards.”
The stat is simple enough. These were the quarterbacks who threw the ball furthest on average during the season. Just look at the list of starter names involved. Deshaun Watson, Carson Wentz, Russell Wilson, Ben Roethlisberger, and Tom Brady. Four of those names were in contention for NFL MVP last year and the other would’ve been Rookie of the Year had he not torn his ACL. Marcus Mariota, who is also on the list, made the playoffs.
The idea behind an aggressive vertical attack is simple: force the defense to respect the fact you’re willing to do it. They will have to leave defenders further back in coverage, and by consequence out of the box. This, in turn, could have a hugely beneficial impact on the running game. Don’t forget last year Kareem Hunt was the NFL’s leading rusher in Nagy’s offense in Kansas City.
Just imagine what Jordan Howard might be able to do in this sort of system. Both Super Bowl participants, the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots, were top 10 in rushing last year despite not having star running backs. This offense may be about Mitch Trubisky, but it can be good for everybody if executed well.
