Chicago Bears fans are embroiled in a hot debate lately. It centers around one question. Who is most responsible for the ugly offense this team is putting on the field each week. Is it quarterback Mitch Trubisky or is it head coach Matt Nagy. Many argue that Trubisky’s shortcomings as a passer, specifically in his regards to reading defenses and field vision are holding back how good this passing attack could be. Others say Nagy’s often-nonsensical play calling and lack of balance are contributing to his quarterback’s problems.
It feels like a classic case of chicken or the egg. It’s impossible to determine who is the source of the issues. Not unless the two are separated and given opportunities elsewhere. Trubisky under a new coach and Nagy with a new quarterback. That doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon. The two are basically stuck with each other. People still want to know though. Who is the bigger source of the problem?
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune spoke to a defensive coach from another NFC team. His answer was telling.
“It seems the last two weeks there has been a public-relations push in support of Trubisky and how he’s getting better. Anyone watching on a weekly basis can see he’s nowhere near where he needs to be. More and more people are blaming Nagy. He hasn’t done a great job managing the offense this year, and I think he’d probably admit that, but he’s playing with a bottom-tier quarterback.
One NFC defensive coach told me last week the only quarterback in the conference he would take Trubisky ahead of is Kyle Allen of the Panthers. Consider that for a moment. I’m not shifting blame from Nagy, but he’s very limited with what he can call with Trubisky.”
Mitch Trubisky still doesn’t pass the eye test
People continue to point to 2018 as the reason Nagy is the problem and not Trubisky. Except the situation last year was about as perfect as one could hope for in regards to a quarterback. The offensive line was really good and the Bears had a top-ranked rushing attack. It’s not hard to have a decent year from a quarterback perspective under those conditions. What truly separates the good QBs from everybody else is when the situation around them gets challenging.
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Like the offensive line struggling at times. No running game. Receivers dropping too many passes. Good quarterbacks can’t fix everything but they are often able to at least cover some of those problems up. Trubisky has done none of that. If anything, the problems elsewhere have only magnified his own inadequacies. Nobody is saying the kid doesn’t work hard. He does. He also plays through pain and embraces his role as a leader. That’s all fine and good.
The problem is this is a results-based business. None of that matters if he’s not making enough plays on Sunday. Nagy admits he could be better with his own duties, but the truth is he can only do so much when the quarterback position can’t function with any degree of consistency. Even the best play callers in the world can’t overcome that sort of problem.
