Matt Nagy: Bears New Head Coach

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Matt Nagy: Bears New Head Coach

January 9, 2018

The Chicago Bulls, though getting better, are basically a bad team. The Blackhawks, who usually provide Chicago with championship hopes are sputtering. With their most important player Corey Crawford out, making the playoffs is the one goal. Leave it to the Bears to grab the headlines and take our eyes off the winter warriors of the United Center.

The Bears search for the 16^th coach in history ended after one week of what was to be an extensive search. They did connect with 6 candidates, although only four were truly under consideration. They were all offensive coordinators whose main focus should be to develop Mitchell Trubisky.

Let’s look at the candidates. The Vikings' Pat Shurmur developed an unknown quarterback, Casey Keenum, to lead a very good offense. His hiring would also take something away from a division rival. Patriots' Josh McDaniels has previous coaching experience and oversaw the explosive Patriots offense. Eagles coordinator John DeFilippo developed second year quarterback Chris Wentz into one of the best in the NFL. He is in the picture when it comes to MVP voting.

If any of these three wanted the job, they were all better choices than Matt Nagy. Two of the other candidates developed a quarterback and the third grew with Tom Brady. There is no evidence to show Nagy can do this. His quarterback Alex Smith has been around since 2005, so no development was needed. His experience is limited to calling plays for a total of five games. Although they did average 28 points in those games, he was inept in his last game. He couldn’t put together any plays to score one point in the second half loss to Tennessee. Granted, he lost a key player, the team he is coming to loses multiple players.

In the long run, the coach doesn’t matter. In his introduction Nagy said he’s going to evaluate his players. What he’ll find is a lack of talent. They can’t catch passes or play on the offensive line, both of which are greatly needed for Tru

Na Na Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye

December 16, 2019

There are two meaningless games left in the Bears disappointing 2019 season. Losing 21-13 to the Green Bay Packers has ended their playoff quest. However, the Bears were essentially eliminated after back to back losses to the lowly L.A. Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. Think how much better you would feel if the Bears record was 9-5 not 7-7. For good measure, you can also look back to a costly loss against the Oakland Raiders.

The anguish from the Packers game came in the first quarter. The Bears had a fumble recovery on a punt at midfield. In one of the worst calls I’ve seen the Bears were penalized with a personal foul for interference. This gave the ball back to the Packers at the Bear 35 and from there they easily scored to take a 7-0 lead. Instant replay was installed to make sure the calls made on the field were correct. A personal foul is not reviewable. The refs have made a plethora of egregious calls over the past few years.  Here’s hoping at the next owners meeting they look at making more questionable calls reviewable.  I’m sure the networks televising the games wouldn’t mind the extra ad revenue for the delays.

The main reason for this disastrous season has been the offense. Sunday’s game was no different. Once again offensive guru Coach Matt Nagy’s offense failed to score 20 points. In seven games they have scored 16 or less points. In the two games against the Packers they have scored only one touchdown. Sunday the Bears had their highest yard output of the season but failed to score after drives that stalled in the Packers red zone, resulting in field goals. QB Mitch Trubisky had 29 completions in 53 attempts for 348 yards. Allen Robinson and Anthony Miller each had over 100 receiving yards.  The running game is pathetic. All year long I’ve watched David Montgomery have positive yardage in the “I” formation. Not once were the Bears lined up that way. Montgomery had 14 carries for a measly 39 yards. On one possession with four yards needed, Nagy inexplicably called two Montgomery runs for no gain. Trubisky has a knack for being good and prefers a moving pocket. Nagy rarely called a roll-out play although they worked. Play calling wasn’t the only problem. Nagy challenged a play; Packer running back Demonte Jones running out of bounds on his touchdown run. It wasn’t even close. So after burning one time-out, he couldn’t afford to challenge a close call when Robinson was ruled out of bounds at the one-yard line

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Overall, the defense was pretty good. After allowing a score on a brief drive they fell apart on two long touchdown drives. It seems the Packers always get receivers wide open. With no pressure, Packers QB Aaron Rodgers has no problem completing passes. By the way, there’s an APB out for Khalil Mack.  They ended up giving up only 21 points. They also completely stopped the Packer offense in the fourth quarter. The offense got the ball back a couple of times, once at the Bears 40-yard line. However, in a microcosm of the season, the Bears offense couldn’t capitalize on these opportunities.

I never thought the Bears would win their last three games to reach the playoffs. Even if they did win all three, they were going to need some help. One thing needed was the Rams losing two games. The Rams were upset by the Dallas Cowboys. There is a good chance they will lose again against the San Francisco Forty-Niners. The other was the Minnesota Vikings losing one game, which could happen against the Packers. Alas, if the Bears were only 9-5 it would a much different scenario.       

Will this win start a streak that will get the Bears tn the playoffs? Nah

December 6, 2019

The Dallas Cowboys received the opening kick-off and promptly went 75 yards for a touchdown. On the Bears first possession, quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw an errant pass that was intercepted by the Cowboys at their one-yard line. My first feeling was this would be another embarrassing Bears performance before a national television audience. However, in what perhaps was their best game of the season, the Bears pulled off a stunning 31-24 upset. This game was not as close as the final score indicates. The Bears totally dominated this game.

I have to give credit where credit is due. Bears coach Matt Nagy installed a perfect game plan as the Bears racked up the second most points in a game this year. Trubisky had an even better game than last week when he threw for over 300 yards. With Nagy getting him out of the pocket, he completed 23 of 31 passes for 244 yards with 3 touchdowns. What is more remarkable is the Bear tight ends combined for 7 catches.  Receivers were gaining multiple yards after the catch. This was partially due to the Cowboys bad tackling.

The first touchdown drive ended in a 5 yard touchdown pass to Allen Robinson, who had another excellent game. The drive was highlighted by the best call play I’ve seen this year. A screen pass to tight end J.P. Holtz for 30 yards. The second touchdown was an 8 yard pass to Robinson, making another great catch in the end zone. This drive was highlighted by a 21 completion to Anthony Miller. Miller would later score a touchdown on a 14 yard completion with 10 yards coming after the catch. Sandwiched between these scores was an Eddy Pineiro field goal. The Bears scored 24 straight points after falling behind 7-0.

 Despite his fumble, David Montgomery had his best game. He rushed 20 times for 86 yards, more than the entire Dallas team. The Cowboys star running back Ezekiel Elliott gained only 81 yards. Trubisky ran for 63 yards including a nifty 23 yard touchdown. Kudos to the offensive line for their run blocking and pass protection.

 After allowing an opening touchdown, the Bear defense kept Dallas off the scoreboard until a third quarter fumble gave them good field position. There were about 5-6 minutes left in the third quarter. Dallas used up a lot of time and didn’t score until the beginning of the fourth quarter. This cut the Bears lead to ten before Trubisky’s touchdown restored the Bears 17 point lead. Elliott had gained 56 yards on the first drive and the Bears shut him down the rest of the game. Dallas had to discard their running game making life difficult for Dallas QB Dak Prescott. The Cowboys struggled, using up time before scoring with a little over 4 minutes left. Then the Cowboys used two timeouts as the Bears were trying to run out the clock. After gaining only 3 yards on two runs, Nagy called for a roll-out for Trubisky. He completed a pass to tight end Jesper Horsted for a first down. This pretty much sealed the Cowboys’ fate.I thought the Cowboys were good but I guess I was wrong. They were supposed to have a really good defense and one the best offenses. Is it possible that the Bears are that much better?

 Nothing is impossible, although it’s highly unlikely the Bears will make the playoffs. What will be interesting to see the rest of this season, is if Trubisky continues to grow. Akiem Hicks returns to bolster the defense, which will be needed against the Packers, Chiefs and Vikings. However, the defense lost their best tackler, Roquan Smith, for the remainder of the season.

Another Meaningless Win

November 30, 2019

 

Turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and string bean casseroles are all parts of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Another Thanksgiving tradition is watching the Chicago Bears play the Detroit Lions. The Bears disappointing season has made this game lose some of its luster though it was still entertaining. The Bears came back to beat the Lions 24-20 and reach .500 with a 6-6 record. If anyone is thinking about the Bears winning out, finishing 10-6 and making the playoffs, let me assure you, it’s not going to happen. Of the 6 Bear victories, 5 have come against last place teams. I don’t see any left on the schedule.

The game had an auspicious start. I have never seen offsetting penalties on the opening kick-off. The game officially started when Cordarrelle Patterson fielded the ball 7 yards deep in the end zone. Most returners would take a knee for a touchback. However, the Bears offense has been so inept it is better for Patterson to run it out. He ended up returning the kick to midfield. From there it took the Bears less than 4 minutes to score a touchdown, a 10 yard pass to Allen Robinson. Robinson has been the Bears best player on offense this year. It was the Bears first touchdown of the year in the opening quarter. Of course from then on they could only manage a measly field goal at the end of the half.

Injuries on the Lions forced them to start third-string rookie quarterback David Blough. He and the Lions carved up the Bears defense. The Lions third play was a 75 yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay. On their next possession, the Lions drove 75 yards and scored on an 8 yard pass from Blough to Marvin Jones. The Lions added a 25 yard field goal by Matt Prater.

The Bears were down 17-10 at halftime. It seemed liked they had reached a new low. Unbelievably, Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky engineered a comeback. After several pitiful starts, this was one of the best games in his brief career. He completed 29 of 38 passes for 338 yards.* One was a beautiful 18 yard touchdown pass to rookie tight end Jasper Horsted to tie the game. The Lions went ahead by 3 points on another Prater field goal.

Bears second year wide receiver Anthony Miller was invisible the first 10 games of the year. He was another player in whom Coach Matt Nagy had lost faith. Last game against the Giants he had 7 catches for 77 yards. Being the beneficiary of double coverage on Allen Robinson, he had a career best game Thursday. He had 9 catches for 140 yards. On the winning drive he caught a 35 yard pass on a third and four at the Bears 16-yard line. Four plays later, third and 5 at the Lions 34, he caught a 32 yard pass at the two yard line. On first down Matt Nagy called a run up the middle for David Montgomery.  The Bears committed a penalty negating his net rush of zero yards. When is idiot coach Nagy going to learn this play never works? When is Nagy going to learn that Montgomery’s best runs come in the I-formation with a fullback blocking in front of him? In a single back formation, he goes nowhere. However, on the next play had a huge 5-yard run and caught a two yard touchdown pass to give the Bears the lead.

After getting torched in the first half, the defense only allowed 3 second half points. They made a couple of clutch plays that contributed to the win. With the Lions having a third and one inside the Bears 10 yard line, Kyle Fuller made an ankle tackle on running back J.D. McKissie to force a field goal.  After the Bears go-ahead score, the Lions got the ball back with a little over two minutes left. At the Bear 27 yard line, linebacker Roquan Smith had 13 yard sack. On the next play under pressure, Blough threw a desperation pass that was easily intercepted by Eddie Jackson. Game over.

*This is only one game against the 30^th-ranked pass defense.

Bears Find a Team That's Worse

November 25, 2019

One of my followers feels reading my posts on Chicago sports teams is depressing. He suggested I write about a global climate catastrophe. Since this may be a hoax, I will stick to the Bears. Last week I posted the Bears are a bad team. However, there are teams that are even worse. The New York Giants is one of these teams. In a game with low entertainment value, the Bears won 19-14. If you thought the Bears should have had an easier time, you haven’t been watching. The Bears have won 5 games. Four of those wins came against teams with a combined record of 10-33-1 record. The only victory against a winning team was game 4 against the Minnesota Vikings. Maybe Bear fans can take solace in the San Francisco Forty-Niners 37-8 drubbing of the Green Bay Packers Sunday night.

Many coaches have scripted the first 15-20 plays. This allows them to foresee what calls to make later. Bears coach, offensive guru Matt Nagy, has a script of 3 plays. The usual results are the Bears league leading three and outs. The Bears had only 3 first half points. With seconds remaining, the Bears kicker, Eddy Pineiro, reacted like he had made a Super Bowl winning kick from a whopping 26 yards out. The Bears trailed 7-3 at the half.

Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky was both good and bad. He completed 25 of 41 passes for 278 yards. He had some completions gaining over 20 yards. The Bears got a break when the Giants kick-off went out of bounds to start the second half. With the ball at their 40 yard line, the Bears quickly scored on a 32 yard pass to Allen Robinson (6 catches, 131 yards). Khalil Mack forced a fumble, giving the ball to the Bears offense at the Giants 3-yard line. Nagy calls two runs up the middle for David Montgomery, netting one yard. When is this idiot coach going to learn? This hasn’t worked all year. Trubisky runs the ball in from two yards on a pass option play.

Next on the funniest thing since Curly of the Three Stooges running while dropping banana peels, was the Bears extra point. Lining up for a two point conversion, a completion was negated by a penalty.  Lining up for the extra point kick, the coaching staff sends a 12^th man on the field costing them another five yards. This made the extra point try coming from 48 yards. Being way out his range, Pineiro misses the try. The Bears would return to normal, scoring no points the rest of the game.

The defense gave up a 92 yard scoring drive, keeping the Giants hopes alive. The Giants scored a touchdown on a 23 yard pass on 4^th and 16.  Inexplicably, the receiver was uncovered in the end zone. This points to another coaching problem. If the pass rush isn’t working, why not blitz, especially a rookie QB?

The Bears would eventually win thanks to the Giants having a worse field goal kicker than Pineiro. Aldrick Rosas missed 2 field goals. The Giants would have scored 20 points. Matt Nagy’s offense,for the 17^th time in 28 games, failed to score 20 points.

Up next is the Detroit Lions. The Bears may win this one, but after that it will get ugly.

Bears Worse Than Mediocre

November 18, 2019

Came home from a Blackhawks game for a late night viewing of a recorded Bears game. I would have  been better off going to bed, as the script remained the same. The Bears lost to the L.A. Rams 17-7. The Bears continue to lose to mediocre teams. This can only mean that they are just plain bad.  The players and more so coaches shoulder the blame.

We’ll start with the offense. Even if Eddy Pineiro hits his field goals, guru coach Matt Nagy’s offense failed to reach 20 points for the 16th time in 27 games. Problems in running the football are partially due to the coaching.  In past games, David Montgomery has looked good with a fullback leading the way. I may have been blurry eyed but I don’t recall seeing this formation once. Montgomery is not in the weak Big 12 college football conference anymore. He seems to have no vision and isn’t quick to the line. He averaged less than three yards per carry. Contrast this to Tarik Cohen who averaged over 4. It didn’t help that Nagy called a run on almost every first down.

QB Mitch Trubisky didn’t look too bad. He also had his usual struggles. Nagy’s first down calls were setting up 2nd and long for first downs. Trubisky was able overcame this to put the Bears in field goal position. Pineiro missed badly on a 47 yard attempt. Nagy, who weekly loses more trust in his players, eschewed the field goal from the same spot on the next possession. He later let Pineiro try from 48 yards. While the first one was wide left, this was way off to the right.  This led to the Bears being shut out in the first half.

Trubisky looked really good and directed an 80-yard touchdown drive on the Bears first second half possession. After that, the Bears reverted to their three and outs. Nagy, who had no trouble calling first down runs, lost faith in his running game and was sending in pass plays in short yardage situations.  My favorite was the pitch option that Trubisky completely botched.

Last year the defense was scoring on takeaways or setting up short scoring drives. The 17 points they gave up Sunday were good. However, this year’s team needs to limit opponent offenses to 12 points.  There were a couple of unexpected glaring weaknesses. Cornerback Kyle Fuller let a pick- 6 interception go right through his hands. He also made a bad decision in coverage that led to the decisive touchdown. Making matters worse, Khalil Mack is akin to finding Waldo.  He has been invisible as of late. The Bears figured out how to stop running back Todd Gurley. Rams erratic QB, Jarrod Goff, was forced to pass and had no pressure on any of his throws. I’m not sure if the absence of Akiem Hicks is the problem. It is inexcusable for Mack and Leonard Floyd not to have any tackles.

The Bears Harry Hiestand is supposed to an excellent offensive line coach. If so, why can’t he teach them how to block on a running play? Maybe they need to reconstruct the offensive line. Eddy Pineiro has joined the likes of Cody Parkey, Connor Barth and Cairo Santos. Since Robbie Gould’s departure the Bears have missed 19 field goals. In that same time span Gould has missed only 3.  Bears have no first round pick to draft a quarterback. Therefore, with their second pick they should choose the best college kicker. Availability will not be a problem.        

A Hollow Victory

November 11, 2019

The Chicago sports scene is dire. Despite the dismal starts of the Bulls and Blackhawks, I find them more entertaining to watch than the disappointing Chicago Bears. Don’t get me wrong, I’m overjoyed they found a team worse than them, beating the Detroit Lions 20-13. However, even in victory, the problems that have plagued the Bears continue to persist.

If the Lions starting quarterback, Matt Stafford, wasn’t injured, the Lions would have won this game. While also missing their two best running backs, Stafford was replaced by Jeff Driskel. Driskel was drafted in the sixth round in 2016 and had started only 5 games. The Bears defense seems to have lost their mojo.  On their first possession the Lions easily moved the ball downfield to the Bears 10 yard line. The Bears held them to a field goal. For the remainder of the game, Driskel continued to make plays. Without Akiem Hicks, the running defense has suffered. The Lions were getting 4-5 yards on first down running plays. Luckily for the Bears, inexperienced quarterbacks have trouble with consistency and Driskel wasn’t able to always come up with first downs. On another possession in the first half the Bears stymied the Lions in Bear territory. On a third down, the Lions committed a 5 yard penalty. Coach Matt Nagy, who has lost confidence in his team, declined the penalty. The Lions Matt Prater kicked a 54 yard field goal to put the Lions up 6-0. For the most part Driskel eluded the Bears pass rush and completed 27 of 46 passes for 269 yards, more than the Bears total offense. Even with a 14 point lead the Bears defense wasn’t applying pressure.

The Bears offense continued to struggle. The Lions are ranked 31st in total defense and 31st against the pass. Until the final drive of the second half, the Bears had a total of 29 yards with a plethora of three and outs resulting in punts. The offense finally clicked on an 80 yard drive, capped by a 27 yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Braunecker. On their first possession of the second half, passes to Allen Robinson and a pass interference at the 10 yard line set up a Mitch Trubisky touchdown pass to Tarik Cohen. An interception by linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski, replacing injured Danny Trevathan, put the ball on the Lions 25 yard line. Trubisky connected with Taylor Gabriel for a 24 yard touchdown pass. That was it for the Bears offense, as it reverted to the three and outs. The Bears scored only a lowly 20 points. The only team they scored over 21 points against was the Washington Redskins, who like the Lions, are a bad defensive team

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The Bears had a chance to ice the game running out the clock out with two minutes left. Good luck with that. The hand-offs to Montgomery were as usual, unsuccessful. (I don’t know why Nagy hasn’t figured out they can run the ball with a fullback in the backfield with Montgomery). Nagy has lost so much confidence in his offense; on third down with the Lions having nine people on the line, he chose not to pass. Another punt gave the Lions a chance and they came up just short at the Bears 25 yard line when an incomplete pass in the end zone ended the game.

For those of you who think the Bears can turn things around, there are some swamp lands in Florida you may be interested in. After Sunday night’s game in Los Angeles against the Rams, you can turn off the lights on the Bears’ season. So come on Bulls and Blackhawks, make me feel better.

P.S. Baseball starts March 26th