When you averaged 1.1 yards per play and get your quarterback sacked nine times in a game? There really isn’t much to say. Matt Nagy insisted everything would be fine when he resumed play calling duties to start this season. After scoring just 14 points and 13 points the past two weeks, things hit rock bottom in Cleveland where the Browns laughed at his so-called game plan for 60 minutes.
In fact, it was so bad that a lot of people were starting to think there was an element of intent behind it. There is no way Nagy could possibly be this dumb. No way he could be this stubborn. He has to be doing it on purpose. Sabotage Fields this week, make him look lost, and that justifies his decision to stick with Andy Dalton. It sounds farfetched, but when several experts all say in the same span of time?
It’s difficult not to take notice.
Move on from Nagy right now. This is embarrassing and it feels purposeful
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 26, 2021
just letting MYLES GARRETT tee off for free all game. arrest Matt Nagy! fight back! https://t.co/14o3UQ9prb
— Derrik Klassen (@QBKlass) September 26, 2021
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Is this Nagy’s way of getting Dalton back on the field when he’s healthy? That’s really messed up, if so. Coaching malpractice.
— dan durkin (@djdurkin) September 26, 2021
“Matt Nagy should not have an office tomorrow. He should be fired tomorrow.” @thekapman pic.twitter.com/x9QitRf5mE
— Bears Talk (@NBCSBears) September 26, 2021
When watching the game, everybody has a point. It seemed tailor-made to play right into the strengths of the Browns defense. Constant straight drops in the pocket. No creativity. Where were the moving pockets, RPOs, screens, and quick passes? Plays meant to help diffuse a strong pass rush and ease the burden on a young quarterback. Nagy barely tried any of those things. Cleveland wasn’t fooled by any of it.
Thus the only thing left to do was let Fields sit in that pocket and get crushed. Nine sacks in his first NFL start. That is inexcusable. What hurts the most though? It also isn’t a surprise. These sorts of offensive duds have become a common occurrence under Nagy over the past two years. Fans were already tired of it back in January. Then George McCaskey decided he wanted more. This entire mess is on his head.
Matt Nagy can’t hide behind the quarterbacks anymore
He did that for three years since arriving in 2018. Whenever anything went really wrong with the offense, it was always Mitch Trubisky’s fault. That narrative has shifted. Trubisky is gone. Now it’s Fields. Yet the offense doesn’t look any different. The quarterbacks change but the scheme doesn’t, and the scheme is terrible. That is where the true source of this farce comes from. The Bears wanted that flashy Andy Reid-style system in Kansas City.
The problem is Matt Nagy couldn’t bring Reid with him. He’s all alone out here and found out that he wasn’t the reason for the Chiefs’ success. Despite his continued insistence otherwise. Nagy should’ve had a clue he might not be good running an offense when he had to give up play calling last year and it improved almost instantly without him. How ironic that seizing back control may end up costing him his job.
Nobody is going to blame Fields for this.
It’s all on the head coach. Unless he looks in a mirror and accepts responsibility, there is a good chance he may not survive to see 2022. Maybe not even the second half of the season. That is how bad the Browns loss was. Nagy may not have sabotaged his quarterback intentionally, but he did it anyway. If the Bears want Fields to be a success, they have to get him away from that man.