So many things about last week’s loss to Washington felt wrong. It was evident that the Commanders weren’t a far superior football team. The Chicago Bears played them tough all game, slowing down their supposedly unstoppable offense. Unfortunately, it became evident early that Washington had a far better game plan from the coaching staff. Then, right as the Bears rallied to get the lead with 25 seconds left, head coach Matt Eberflus made two baffling decisions that helped lead to the now infamous Hail Mary.
He refused to play tighter coverage on the play prior, giving the Commanders a free 13 yards. Then he didn’t call a timeout when it was clear Tyrique Stevenson wasn’t paying attention to the final play, resulting in a coverage breakdown. Eberflus dodged any responsibility after the game, saying they needed better execution. However, he seemed to change his tune three days later at his Wednesday press conference. His opening monologue was the usual stuff until he stated this line.
“Again, it’s all about accountability and execution, and that starts with me. The game didn’t finish the way we wanted it to.”
Sound familiar? It should. Bears fans have heard those exact words before.
Matt Nagy in 2019 after loss in London to the Raiders
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“It’s a situation where, for me as the leader, everything starts with me. So with these players, with the coaches, it all begins there”
Matt Eberflus is starting to dangerously mirror Matt Nagy.
Specifically, he is developing a habit of talking about accountability and never actually taking any. That became a trademark of Nagy’s time in Chicago. Too often, he blamed players for many of the problems that befell the Bears during the three seasons following his great first year in 2018. It soon led to guys questioning decisions out in the open, undermining the authority and credibility of the coaching staff. It seemed like problems that bedeviled the team early in the season never got fixed.
These are all things that are becoming a habit for Matt Eberflus as well. It starts with the constant breakdowns late in games to give up leads, the lack of identity or cohesion on offense, and now, players are speaking out against the decisions made by the coaches. Not just any players, either—the actual team captains like D.J. Moore, Kevin Byard, and Jaylon Johnson. Problems that haunted this team in October of 2023 are still haunting them in October of 2024. Eberflus says it starts with him, but he isn’t doing anything to fix it.
Just like Nagy.
Is progress being made? While Eberflus is still learning, I see the Bears moving in the right direction. Poles has built a playoff level roster, and the defense is elite. Waldron is still tweaking the scheme to his talent, and Caleb Williams is indeed learning. By the time we reach the divisional games, that is when we will see if these first 7 games were just an illusion or not. A .500 record the rest of the season puts them at 9 wins, and a good chance to be in the playoffs. Patience is key. It’s not time to freak… Read more »
Another thought as I read all these posts. Everybody’s crying about the quarterback. Does anybody recall if this guy is a rookie even Jesus Christ and all his glory was still Jesus, the carpenter in his youth within an occasional miracle performed he was still a carpenter before he became Jesus. The Same principles adhere to Patrick Mahomes type players they don’t become truly awesome right away, so I don’t know what the people writing in here are expecting out of this guy. He doesn’t have his proper apostles in front of him blocking on the front line. He’s got… Read more »
Of course Eberflus is starting to mirror Nagy. That’s how it sounds when they’ve lost control of the team and actually I’ve learned something from this. This goes back to Bears ownership. This is the only constant that’s been going on for the last 80-100 years since the ownership group is pretty much the same. All the principles that are being run out there to the executives and umbrella down to all the coaches Are the same. This basically means that they’re constantly hiring the same type of coaches why? Because this is what ownership wants. It’s coaches who are… Read more »
Yeah it was eerily similar in that the Chicago media is trying to run him out of town because the qb sucks
Chicago coaches seem to go through an inevitable cycle where they will all be fired sooner than later. De ja vu anyone?
For those of us who have had multiple romantic relationships they seem parallel in some way. Everything is fun in the beginning and so novel. Not much goes anywhere for the first year with low expectations. The following year there are some complaints that are easily overcome with some platitudes and snack bones thrown out there.
In that 3rd year though, there are questions if it’s really going anywhere? Haha.