The Chicago Bears are nearly two weeks away from holding their first official training camp practice of 2022 and kicking off Matt Eberflus’ tenure as new head coach. Although little is expected from Eberflus in 2022 with the team embarking on a rebuild, there are high expectations for second-year quarterback Justin Fields. The Bears’ new head coach will begin his coaching career the same way Matt Nagy did back in 2018, which was to oversee the development of a second-year first-round quarterback.

“It’s going to be very quarterback friendly for him.”
-Matt Eberflus on Justin Fields’ & Bears new offense

Listen & download: https://t.co/rWXU45IeKE pic.twitter.com/WXZ30WDgf8

— Cris Collinsworth (@CollinsworthPFF) April 14, 2022

Nagy’s Biggest Mistake With Trubisky Was Limiting Live Reps For The Quarterback

Similar to Eberflus, Nagy took over a Bears team with the sole focus of developing a talented quarterback prospect. Chicago’s former general manager Ryan Pace drafted quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with the second overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Trubisky started 12 games during his rookie season as former head coach John Fox was on the hot seat as his team only won three games in 2016. The 2017 Bears would finish with only five wins resulting in Pace firing Fox following the end of the season with the desire to hire an offensive-minded coach to develop Trubisky.

Pace believed the best coach to oversee the development of Trubisky would be Nagy, as Chicago hired the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator almost one week after the head coaching vacancy became open. The Bears believed they had the next great offensive mind to help develop their young quarterback. Nagy implemented an offensive scheme similar to Andy Reid’s offense as the scheme was viewed as the best offense for Trubisky to be developed in by Chicago’s new head coach.

Unfortunately, one of Nagy’s biggest mistakes when trying to develop Trubisky into an elite quarterback was his choice to limit the live rep his quarterback received during the preseason. During the 2018 Bears’ preseason, the team was scheduled for five games as they participated in the Hall of Fame Game against the Baltimore Ravens. Of the five preseason games of 2018, Trubisky only appeared in two games, playing one offensive series against the Cincinnati Bengals and one half against the Denver Broncos.

In the important “Dress Rehearsal” game of the preseason, in which the exhibition is treated like a regular-season game with projected starters playing into the second half, Nagy chose to rest the Bears’ offensive starters, something which is rarely done by first-year head coaches. NFL analysts and fans questioned the head coach’s decision as the preseason game gave the offensive players, including Trubisky, to better chance to learn and execute the offensive scheme before the regular season began. Many were fearful that the Bears’ offense would struggle to start the season.

After their best week of practices so far in 2018, Matt Nagy met with the team today to inform them most starters, including Mitchell Trubisky, will not play in #KCvsCHI. Coach Nagy and his staff had planned for this all week, giving starters on both sides of the ball extra reps.

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 25, 2018

Those fears were confirmed as the Bears did struggle to score points during their first three games of the 2018 season. Despite scoring touchdowns on the first offensive drive of their first two games, Chicago’s offense only scored four touchdowns in the first three games. Although Trubisky had successful moments, the second-year quarterback struggled significantly during most of the first three games.

Trubisky and the offense would have success in their Week 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the quarterback threw six touchdowns in the game. Additionally, the Bears’ offense under Nagy would score 25 touchdowns in their next six games. Despite Chicago’s offensive success through parts of the 2018 season, there were moments where Trubisky still seemed to struggle with Nagy’s offense.

The Bears last played the Bucs in 2018, a 48-10 win at Soldier Field. Mitchell Trubisky was 19-of-26 for 354 yards and six touchdowns. That feels like a long time ago.

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) October 6, 2020

A year later, in 2019, Nagy would again not give his offensive starters any significant reps during the preseason games. Trubisky didn’t attempt a single pass and only appeared in one of the four preseason games. The quarterback and the offense would struggle significantly with Nagy’s offensive scheme in 2019, as the Bears won four fewer games than the year before. In 2020, Trubisky again did not receive preseason game reps as the preseason schedule was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This might be the result of Matt Nagy refusing to play this starters in the Preseason. This offense is running in quicksand.

— Brad Evans (@NoisyHuevos) September 6, 2019

Matt Eberflus Can’t Make The Same Mistake With Justin Fields

This upcoming preseason, Eberflus will find himself in the same position that Nagy was in back in 2018. Chicago’s new head coach needs to make the correct decision with Fields and provide his quarterback with as many live reps as possible to become better acclimated to new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s offense. Getsy’s offense is designed to highlight the Bears’ young quarterback’s strengths with giving him the option to run or pass.

Eberflus doesn’t need to play Fields every offensive snap of the Bears’ three preseason games this year, but he can’t afford to sit his second-year quarterback out of any games. Nagy made the mistake of sitting Trubisky out due to fear of his quarterback suffering an injury in a meaningless preseason game. Although the preseason games hold no real value, the live reps against an opposing defense are invaluable for players trying to learn a new offensive system.

Fields, similar to Trubisky in 2018 and 2019, struggled last season as a starter partly because Nagy didn’t give the rookie quarterback reps with the starting offense in training camp and during preseason games. The rookie quarterback last season appeared confused by the Bears’ offensive scheme and had to build timing with his receivers as the weeks progressed during the season. Eberflus and Getsy can ensure that Fields is better prepared to execute the new offensive scheme by allowing the young quarterback to take snaps during the three preseason games against the Chiefs, Seahawks, and Browns.