Matt Nagy asked for the trust of Chicago Bears fans when he made the momentous decision to bench Mitch Trubisky for Nick Foles. He’d given the former #2 pick more than enough time to show he deserves to be the guy. It didn’t work out. Now the head coach could go to a veteran who is far better at reading defenses and operating a professional offense.
Except it didn’t go as planned. Against the Indianapolis Colts, the Bears looked every bit like the unit they were back in 2019: listless, predictable, and sloppy. Since Trubisky was no longer on the field, that left the fans with just one conclusion to draw. Maybe he wasn’t the only problem with. Nagy’s play calling, which was always an issue hovering in the background, came screaming back to the forefront.
Foles was quick to defend his head coach though. He openly admitted that the chemistry between him and the receivers wasn’t where it needed to be.
“You know what it wasn’t the best game. I think the Indianapolis Colts are a great team but I didn’t execute well enough and we didn’t execute well enough…We’ll look at it, we’ll move on, we’ll improve. This is part of football. This is part of building those relationships and understanding plays and continue to grow. I have to be better. I have to be more crisp. It’s as simple as that.”
And the perceived issue with Nagy’s play calling? Foles didn’t see any.
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“I felt great with coach Nagy calling the plays. It’s as simple as we just have to execute better. I have to execute better. If we do that, we’re going to be in a position to win the game.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DwgR37ubDU&ab_channel=ChicagoBears
Nick Foles wasn’t just covering for his coach
While the play calling didn’t exactly stand out, Foles wasn’t lying. There were a number of missed opportunities in that game the quarterback failed to take advantage of. His interception in the second half should’ve been a huge completion to Anthony Miller but the ball placement wasn’t great. There were also three big misses to Darnell Mooney. Two on 3rd downs in the 1st quarter and a big one in the 3rd quarter that might’ve gone for an 84-yard touchdown.
Opportunities were there. The Bears just couldn’t take advantage.
In Foles’ mind, that falls on him and the players. Nagy dialed up enough good play calls to give them a chance. As he said, they didn’t execute. One could then argue Nagy didn’t have his guys better prepared but honestly, criticisms like that are always warranted after a loss.
While he understands the offense has to be better, Foles isn’t about use his coach as a shield for he and his teammates not doing their jobs.