It’s not easy being a Chicago Bears wide receiver. That position group is unique to pro football because it is wholly dependent on another position for success. That of course being the quarterbacks. Everybody knows that story by now. The Bears haven’t had a credible quarterback under center in many years. Some have come close like Jim McMahon and Jay Cutler. Yet something always seemed to hold them back.
GM Ryan Pace endeavored to change those fortunes in 2017 when drafted Mitch Trubisky 2nd overall. Sadly, that gamble didn’t pay off. The quarterback mostly disappointed the past three years. Now he’s on the bench sitting behind veteran Nick Foles whom the Bears traded for this offseason to compete with him.
Yet even Foles is struggling.
Through just over five games, the 31-year old has thrown for 1,411 yards, eight touchdowns, and seven interceptions. This has inevitably led many Bears fans to clamor for Trubisky’s return. Something that isn’t likely to happen. Both because the quarterback is hurt (injured his throwing shoulder vs. the Saints) and because the coaching staff has zero desire to go down that road again.
So where do Chicago’s wide receivers stand on all this? They’re the ones who are at the mercy of Foles. Are they getting frustrated with his inconsistent play to this point? Not according to ESPN insider Dianna Russini. Based on her sources and interactions with the players, she’s getting the sense they don’t see Foles as the problem.
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It is more the man who runs the offense in Matt Nagy.
Chicago Bears receivers seem to back their QB
This is an interesting revelation. Remember this. A couple of weeks ago against the Los Angeles Rams, Monday Night Football analyst Brian Griese said Foles told him that Nagy would sometimes send plays in the quarterback knew for a fact weren’t going to work. Most often because the offensive line was incapable of giving him the necessary time to execute it.
This started to raise questions about whether Foles and his head coach were on the same page. Something that continues to be a topic of discussion after more communication issues surfaced in the overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints last week. The quarterback was sacked five times in that game and after a solid start, the playcalling seemed to get considerably worse as the game went along.
Nagy just doesn’t seem to grasp his situation.
In other words, he has a reputation for not being able to put his quarterbacks in the best position to succeed. The Chicago Bears head coach is undoubtedly smart, but intelligence alone doesn’t make quality play callers. There must be an understanding of both situations and personnel. Nagy routinely shows a lack of grasp on both.
The wide receivers aren’t dumb. They’re on the field for all of that. They hear the calls in the huddle. If they feel Nagy isn’t giving Foles a proper chance to help them excel? That is further confirmation the head coach may have to consider surrendering the play sheet to somebody else.