Allen Robinson is on his way out. Matt Nagy is also gone. So it seems as if the veteran wide receiver feels more comfortable airing his grievances about the former Chicago Bears head coach than he ever would have the past few years. Recently he hinted at the belief the staff phased him out of the offense, intentionally reducing his targets in the passing game. That is why his numbers were so terrible in 2021 after two 1,000-yard seasons.
During the scouting combine down in Indianapolis, the wide receiver took a chance to expand on what he meant. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune was there to capture it. Robinson seems to think the overall problem wasn’t simply him not getting the ball. Instead, it was more a symptom of the bigger issue. One of Nagy never being able to cement an identity for the offense.
“Not to get too deep into it, I think that we started to get away from the roots of what we started early on,” he said. “I had been there for four years and the past year and a little bit into 2020, we started to get away from the identity that we had been trying to create. It was a constant movement and shift of our identity, and at the same time we weren’t able to really grasp anything. So we’re trying to balance what we were doing and trying to establish and then we would try to shift a little bit with some new things. It was a scale that just wasn’t balanced.”
This was the same criticism others had of Nagy.
It felt like he was trying to be every successful offense in the NFL at times. He’d incorporate lots of Andy Reid’s style from Kansas City, and then he’d try to infuse some of Kyle Shanahan’s outside zone from San Francisco. The problem is when you try to be everything, you more often than not end up being nothing. This is why Bears players often suffered so many mental mistakes. They didn’t know what they were trying to accomplish half the time.
To hear Robinson himself give voice to that same criticism must seem like righteous validation for many Bears fans. They weren’t going crazy after all. It was apparent something was off with that entire offensive operation. This leaves many to wonder how different things might’ve been if more cohesion were there.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Allen Robinson will likely seek out a team with a clear identity
No doubt one that is ready and willing to feed him the football. There is still a chance that the Bears might lure him back to Chicago. GM Ryan Poles left that door open. It just feels like there are too many hurt feelings at this point. Robinson isn’t getting any younger and feels he must hunt for that elusive Super Bowl ring while he can. The good news is it appears new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has a plan in mind for establishing an identity. Everything will run through Justin Fields at quarterback and the strengths of the players on the roster.
This is a good thing.
The more challenging job will be replacing what Allen Robinson brought to the table at wide receiver. Despite his struggles last season, he is still a capable player. One that could’ve been a great safety valve for Fields. Now Poles must find a way to reinforce that position since Darnell Mooney is the only proven option. This could end up being a two-pronged attack via free agency and the draft. As for Robinson himself, don’t be surprised if he ends up taking a one-year deal elsewhere in hopes of reviving his high price tag.
