Watching the Chicago Bears offense over the past two years was a chore for fans. They’ve been exposed to bad passing games for a long time. However, there was just something unique about this time. Much more frustrating. It is one thing if the quarterback just isn’t any good or the head coach has zero background in coaching the position. Yet this time felt like it should’ve been different. The Bears had a #2 overall pick under center in Mitch Trubisky. Not to mention a former QB-turned-head coach in Matt Nagy.
It felt like this combination should’ve had success. Things started off with such promise too. In 2018 Trubisky made the Pro Bowl as an alternate, delivering one of the best passing seasons as Bears QB has ever had. After that? Things just kind of slowly fell apart. Trubisky regressed and no matter what Nagy tried, the passing game floundered. This led to a major divide among fans trying to determine who the source of the problem was.
Nagy’s coaching or Trubisky’s play?
It has to be Nagy. His stubborn refusal to consistently run the ball. His baffling usage of personnel and unwillingness to mold his system more towards the strengths of his quarterback. It has to be Trubisky. His inability to process defenses before or after the snap. The inconsistent footwork and lack of comfort inside the pocket. He just seems to make even the easy plays look difficult.
Even with Justin Fields arriving to usher in a new era, the debate still hasn’t died. So maybe it’s time to provide some closure. Brett Kollman, one of the best tape analysts on YouTube was just the man to do it. Using a single play from last season, he manages to settle the debate once and for all about who the real problem was in Chicago.
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Matt Nagy has his faults but Mitch Trubisky was the problem
The simple reality is the quarterback made it where every single play call needed to be perfect in order for the passing game to function. Trubisky just didn’t have the ability to diagnose defenses when plays had to progress past his first read. This is why he either started scrambling to buy time, threw it into thick coverage, or took a bad sack because he held the ball too long.
Defenses began to understand this by the start of 2019. They realized if they worked to keep Trubisky in the pocket and “forced” him to play quarterback? The end result wouldn’t be favorable for the Bears more often than not. Matt Nagy started to realize that by 2020 as well. Watching that play above with more context? It is easier to see why the head coach finally broke and decided to bench Trubisky in favor of Nick Foles.
Enough was enough.
Of course, the problem became that Foles, while better at seeing the field, simply couldn’t move. His inability to escape pressure led to different problems. In the end, Trubisky was the one to finish the season and with help from a reinvigorated running game, the Bears managed to make the playoffs. That wasn’t going to change Nagy’s ultimate goal though. Changes were needed at quarterback. Three years of the Mitch Experience was enough.
Fields and Andy Dalton arrived and with them came the decision by Nagy to reclaim play calling duties. If that wasn’t a signal of his feelings on the debate, nothing ever will be.