LAKE FOREST, Ill. — After two seasons as Chicago Bears coach, Matt Nagy has faced the reality that quarterback Mitchell Trubisky is ill-equipped to run Nagy’s scheme. Now, Nagy appears ready to change things.
“Whatever we need to do, you want to do that,” Nagy said.
Trubisky performed at an acceptable level in 2018 — aided by a defense that scored touchdowns in bunches and often gifted the offense with advantageous field position. He also regressed in a big way in 2019. That was apparent in grueling losses to the Packers, Saints, Chargers and Rams where Trubisky’s limitations as a pocket passer showed.
For the team to move forward with Trubisky in 2020 — and as general manager Ryan Pace said on multiple occasions, the organization intends to do — the offense has to change.
For Nagy, that has already started.
Prior to arriving in Indianapolis for the NFL scouting combine, Nagy spent several weeks meeting with the offensive staff — including new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo, tight ends coach Clancy Barone and freshly elevated passing game coordinator Dave Ragone — to devise a better plan of attack for the season.
Nagy wasn’t about to divulge any specifics in front of reporters, but made it clear that he’s receptive to the idea of reinventing the scheme to boost an offense and quarterback that ranked near the bottom in many important statistical categories last season.
“Now that I’ve had two years with this personnel and kind of building it and knowing who we are, it’s so much easier to watch scheme evaluations and know what this guy does well, his weaknesses and his strengths, and so now, with that, it’s not fair to force them into something that I do,” Nagy said.
Part of the problem last year was that the Bears lacked an offensive identity. Were they a passing team? No. Were they a running team? No. Were they a physical team? No. What did the Bears do well? Well, not much.
Chicago finished the regular season 29th in points per game and total yards per game, 27th in rushing yards per game and 25th in passing yards per game.
“I think more specifically, too, in the run game, we struggled there,” Nagy said. “So we got to figure out what our identity is, and that’s going to be an objective for us.”
The Bears have clear offseason needs on offense. Chicago is expected to pursue a veteran quarterback to push Trubisky and could draft a developmental quarterback. The Bears will surely add help at tight end, offensive line and wide receiver.
None of that will matter unless the Bears maximize Trubisky’s strengths.
The former second overall pick struggles in the pocket against good teams, but Trubisky, who played a good portion of last season with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, has above-average mobility. After suffering multiple injuries since being drafted, Trubisky can’t run 15 times a game. That doesn’t mean Nagy can’t use Trubisky better with misdirection and play-action.
For that to work, two things have to happen: Trubisky has to hit open receivers on deep balls — something he failed to do early last season but got better at as the year went on — and the Bears have to establish a consistent rushing attack.
Chicago never truly committed to third-round pick David Montgomery, who rushed for 889 yards and six touchdowns on 242 attempts. All year, the ground game felt forced and uninspired. The blocking wasn’t great, either.
Pace reaffirmed that Montgomery can be a feature back.
“That was the view on him coming out of college and we could see that,” Pace said at the combine.
But the Bears didn’t treat Montgomery like a feature back, and without the illusion of a steady run game, Chicago was not a dangerous team on play-action.
On play-action passes last year, Trubisky ranked 20th in completion percentage (65%), 22nd in yards per dropback (7.1), 30th in TD-INT ratio (3:3) and 27th in total QBR (49), per ESPN Stats and Information.
Couple that with Trubisky’s overall numbers — 28th in total QBR (39.4), tied for 27th in touchdown passes (17), 21st in passing yards (3,138), 32nd in yards gained per pass attempt (6.1) and 28th in traditional quarterback rating (83.0) — and the fact he rushed for a career-low 193 yards, it’s safe to say whatever Trubisky does well was not properly showcased in 2019.
“To me, the fun part is making sure that you’re able to [change],” Nagy said.
“… And now having new ideas from new offensive coaches and what they have, I’ve got to tell you, I’m absolutely loving it right now.”