Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy is under no illusions. He knows he’s under the gun to help quarterback Mitch Trubisky become the player the organization feels he can be. So far the results haven’t been ideal. The 24-year old QB has two touchdowns to three interceptions through three games and has looked a bit overwhelmed at times.
Don’t count Nagy among those who are surprised though. He stated that Trubisky is right about where he expected him to be to this point in his development. Considering he knows more about the quarterback position than most, it’s probably wise to take him at his word. Still, the facts don’t change. If this team is going to compete for the playoffs, they need more from Trubisky.
The question is how do they get it? It’s not an easy thing to answer. Often one of the best routes for a coach is self-reflection. Everybody loves to blame the QB for the problems, but the man calling the offensive shots deserves a share of the criticism. If his player is struggling, it’s his job to find a way to fix it.
This is not something new to Chicago.
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Matt Nagy can take notes on another mind who started roughly in Chicago
People never fully understand how key the relationship between quarterback and coach is. A great example that some might remember is the one between Jay Cutler and Mike Martz back in 2010. During there first weeks together that season, it was a disaster. Cutler struggled with Martz’ pass-happy system and it nearly got him killed.
Then, ever so suddenly, something changed after the bye week and the offense got on a roll.
Jay Cutler games he started and finished pre-Bye (5 games)
- 34 passes per game
- 1,440 yards
- 7 TDs
- 7 INTs
- 18 sacks (he was sacked 9 times vs. the NYG, which he did not finish)
Jay Cutler games he started and finished post-Bye (9 games)
- 27.88 passes per game
- 1,791 yards
- 16 TDs
- 9 INTs
- 25 sacks
It’s clear the efficiency Cutler played with during the homestretch of the season went up in a big way. So what did Martz do differently? The simple answer is he ran the ball more. In the first five games prior to the bye week, the Bears averaged 19.8 rushes per game on the ground. After the bye? That number jumped to 28.66 times. It’s clear there was a far greater commitment to pound the ball and keep it out of Cutler’s hands too much.
Note in this clip below. Cutler throws four touchdowns against the Eagles. Three of them came off play action fakes.
The Bears won seven of those nine games to finish the season. It feels like Nagy is going through a similar crisis of conscience that Martz was. He’s a quarterback specialist. He wants to win games through that position. So far he’s stuck to his guns because he trusts his system will eventually see Trubisky through the struggles.
It hasn’t happened though.
Martz needed the bye week eight years ago to truly evaluate where things were at and accept what he was doing wasn’t working. Adjustments were made after that. Nagy needs to do the same. His fix isn’t as easy as running the ball more. The Bears have been doing that enough the past three weeks.
His answer may lie a bit deeper. In fact, he may already have a grasp of what it must be.
“What’s neat is that there are concepts that weren’t as good to us in Kansas City that are good here, that are working,” Nagy said. “I’m learning that, and now those are the ones I’m going to start to go to because I see that. And vice versa, there’s some that we did well in Kansas City that might not be as efficient now. So I have to adjust to how I do that, and that’s OK.”
It’s clear the 39-year old coach is still learning about his young quarterback and is aware adjustments are needed. They will come. It’s all about constant finetuning.
