With retirement at hand, former Chicago Bears guard Kyle Long is looking for a transition to his next phase. It seems he’s already got some idea. One of them might involve sports talk radio. A job that would be an ideal fit given his personality, intelligence, and obvious connections to the team. Plenty of former Bears have followed this route to post-career success. Long took his first crack at it alongside David Kaplan on “Kap & Company” for ESPN 1000 as a co-host.
Needless to say, the number of juicy tidbits the two got to talking about was extensive. Perhaps none more so than the Bears’ ongoing problems at quarterback. Long made it clear that he remains an admirer and fan of Mitch Trubisky and still believes the kid has a bright future. However, he was quick to point out why things went downhill so fast for the 25-year old this past season. It was here veteran lineman dropped a not-so-subtle hint that his quarterback might be playing in the wrong offense.
“It’s also unfair to criticize a guy who was drafted to play in a system that runs the hell out of the ball and showcase his arm talent in the play action game outside the pocket. Because if you really watch the Bears, that’s not what we’re doing. That’s a byproduct of personnel…I couldn’t block. I wasn’t healthy enough. In the run game or the pass game.
When I was healthy? When Josh Sitton was here, when we were rolling, when we were putting up 300 rushing yards in Baltimore? That’s the offense Mitch was meant to play in. Pound the friggin rock and throw the ball downtown Julie Brown when everybody’s in the box and the next thing you know you’ve scored 40 points and that Bears defense has suffocated the life out of the opposition.”
Kyle Long was even more direct shortly after
Not enough to convince you that this is what he was driving at? Long went a step further when a fan called in to ask about why the Bears didn’t run more I-formation in order to help the running game. His reply was frighteningly direct.
“Matt Nagy was not brought in to run the I-formation and Mitch Trubisky potentially was brought in to run the I-formation. I think that’s where the miscommunication is.”
It’s easy to forget that Trubisky was drafted before Nagy was the head coach in 2017. He was viewed as a good fit for the type of offense the Bears ran at that time under head coach John Fox and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. One built around running the football with Jordan Howard. When Ryan Pace hired Nagy the next year, he felt he was doing the right thing putting a QB-centric system around his young quarterback.
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However, things are rarely that simple in the NFL. Nagy’s scheme required a quarterback well versed in reading defenses, going through progressions and delivering on time and on target. All things Trubisky hadn’t mastered in just one year of college as a starter. Now the Bears are paying the price for that oversight.
