Matt Nagy is getting a lot of hate from critics over how ineffective the Chicago Bears offense is this year. That’s not something he can hide from. They’re arguably the worst in the NFL. Part of that responsibility falls at his feet. However, one must at least ask an important question. Is this actually his offense? For weeks people have speculated about whether Nagy and the coaching staff have been forced to scale back their complex system. This due in large part to Mitch Trubisky being unable to grasp it.
No proof had surfaced though. Until now. Credit for this must go to Bears fan J.J. Porretto on Twitter. He found two notable photographs of Nagy on primetime games holding up his call sheet to his face. On the left side is from 2018 and it’s filled up with several plays. Then on the right side, one will notice far more empty white space, clearly indicating that several plays were basically thrown out because Trubisky can’t execute them effectively.
It gets better though. Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog who’s shown to have some credible sources in the past was told just how incredibly deep the cuts have gone. Pretty much to a point where this can’t even be called a pro offense anymore.
“They are down to the bare bones. I’d be surprised if they are running 25% of the playbook.”
That’s not a typo. Nagy has closed the door on three-quarters of his playbook because the quarterback is simply incapable of grasping it.
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One could argue Matt Nagy has never run his offense
Nagy has said from the beginning that he runs a variation of the West Coast offense. For those who don’t know, this is a highly-complex system invented by Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh back in the 1970s. It’s built around rhythm, timing, and a full understanding of situations. It demands a lot from the quarterback in terms of mental capacity. He has to understand what the defense is showing him, understand what play needs to be run and also what routes his receivers are running as well.
It’s not an easy offense to learn and a lot of guys just aren’t able to process it. By the look of things, Trubisky is proving to be one of those guys. While nobody questions his athleticism or work ethic, his ability to retain and process that high volume of information just isn’t there. So Nagy has been forced to dumb things down to a point where he can at least function. Yet even that isn’t working. There comes a time when a team has to realize a quarterback can’t be who they need him to be.
If Trubisky were a top-shelf QB, he wouldn’t be forcing his coach to do something like this.
