…and ownership let ’em off the hook. The late Dennis Green was spot on in his assessment of the Chicago Bears back in 2006; he was simply fifteen years too early.
Sunday night’s blowout loss in Los Angeles confirmed our worst fears:
- Matt Nagy’s brain remains broken.
- Ryan Pace’s roster configuration is one giant step toward failure.
Out of the gates, rookie running back and kick returner Khalil Herbert gave the offense tremendous field position, and a David Montgomery blast through a hole led to 1st & 10 inside the 20 in the blink of an eye.
Moments later Justin Fields bolted into the huddle, Andy Dalton rushed to the sideline, and Fields threw a bullet for 1st & Goal. The offense looked quick, refreshing and fun. Andy Dalton scurried back onto the field creating a confused and chaotic huddle resulting in a timeout called by the driving Bears. Before you knew it, a tipped ball, an interception, a touchback, a splash play, defensive meltdown, rinse, repeat, *deep breath* 34-14.
What Kind of Game Has It Been?
This was a perfect opportunity for Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace to reel in a wary fan base. They failed. The ice was thin last year. It cracked in the offseason when the rumor mill went from “Bears nearing deal for Russell Wilson” to “Bears signing Andy Dalton” in a one week span. The relationship between organization and fandom weakened upon the release of Kyle Fuller instead of the ancient corpse of Jimmy Graham being Weekend At Bernie’s-ed by Nagy in the first half of the 2020 season.
Head-Banging
But these are all things we know. It’s annoying. We’ve heard the same excuses and responses after every loss. We’ve already seen 4th & long play designs where the longest route run is still two yards shy of the line to gain. This is the norm under the direction of everybody’s favorite playcalling head coach.
We knew Matt Nagy’s playcalling was a problem well before he relinquished the duty to his offensive coordinator at the tail-end of last season. We knew Ryan Pace’s ability to build a roster was shoddy when he failed to do so for two consecutive seasons prior to the abomination of execution that occurred last Sunday.
It’s why we complained and complained and complained. But Chairman George McCaskey and Team President Ted Phillips refused to truly listen. Their unhealthy appreciation for Ryan Pace and their unwillingness to confront bad football in the name of a good culture *ahem, Matt Nagy* is behavior only describable as a cowardly failure.
The War At Home
At some point, a strong culture built on lies and mediocre results falters, resulting in a calamitous, truly abysmal collapse. Matt Nagy is not Marc Trestman. Nagy isn’t addressing the locker room from the back, out of view of the players. The current locker room doesn’t have biweekly tiffs resulting in alleged punches thrown between receivers and kickers.
But after a twenty-point loss on Sunday night, we’re expecting similar results to Trestman’s final campaign in Chicago, just without the infighting. The value of a healthy locker room becomes vastly overrated when execution and results take a back seat.
When Matt Nagy says “it starts with me” — or one of his other twenty-seven concocted automatic responses following a loss — it means nothing. If Nagy truly believed it started with him, maybe the offense would’ve shown even the slightest sign of improvement on opening night in his fourth year at the helm. Or maybe he wouldn’t have reclaimed playcalling responsibilities from Bill Lazor just in time for an embarrassing playoff performance in New Orleans last season.
It does start with Nagy, but don’t believe his fabricated attitude pushing remorse and accountability.
Let Fields Be Fields
But the true cherry on top of an offseason filled with disappointment, doped up on the luck-based availability of Justin Fields at #11 in the NFL Draft, followed by the dud on Sunday night — Andy Dalton is still the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.
Dalton’s claim that Nagy and Pace promised him the starting gig when he signed isn’t unfathomable. However, Nagy recently attempted to clarify that there was no specified promise… but that’s almost worse. Whether Nagy’s failed clarification is true, the recent admission would mean Matt Nagy truly believes Andy Dalton is more prepared to find success this season than Justin Fields.
When Fields fell to the Bears, local and national media alike heralded the selection as a franchise-saver. Maybe it is. God, I hope it is. But let’s not act like Ryan Pace had any confidence in landing one of the draft’s top quarterbacks. If Fields was always in the cards, why sign Dalton for $10 million? It’s a question management can’t answer truthfully because even management was pinching itself when the organization fell ass-backwards into trading up with the Giants for a legit stud at QB.
The Short List
With an audience and ownership seemingly pitted against one another, the collective groan grew louder and louder with each and every remotely questionable decision from the front office.
Just a few that come to mind?
- Signing Andy Dalton to a 1 year/$10 million contract on the first day of free agency, fearful another team might swoop in on the lackluster backup in Dallas from 2020.
- Cutting Kyle Fuller, an all-pro caliber defender, to create cap space for Dalton.
- Not releasing the aging Jimmy Graham instead of cutting Fuller. (Graham played fourteen snaps in Sunday’s season opener)
- (2020) Paying a hefty sum to Robert Quinn, this neglecting to find affordable and effective offensive linemen. (Quinn followed up the 5 year/$80 million deal with the least effective season of his career)
- The inability to extend the contract of the constant of constants in your offense for three seasons, Allen Robinson, likely because the salary situation isn’t great following the Graham and Quinn signings.
- (2020) Trading a fourth round pick for Nick Foles, too.
Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics
Or maybe we could attribute the loss of trust between fanbase and front office to the continuous stream of false hopes born in lies. Sean Desai is not Vic Fangio. Desai passed Vic Fangio in the hallways a few times at Halas Hall between 2015-2018. Sean Desai stuck around and championed one of the least impactful secondary groupings in recent memory under the direction of Chuck Pagano. Trumpeted as a Fangio disciple throughout training camp, Desai’s debut left a sour taste of disbelief and disappointment in the defense’s shortcomings.
What about Teven Jenkins — the supposed savior to the offensive tackle position’s extensive woes? I’m excited to learn when he’ll see the field again following back surgery — even though Matt Nagy promised us in training camp that Jenkins was progressing each day after missing two weeks due to a “strain.”
Let That Be The Next Guy’s Problem
It certainly felt like last season’s end would culminate in the departure of two of the three names running the show: Nagy, Pace, or Phillips. Instead, in a wild collaborative effort, collaborating to murder any shred of passion that remained in Chicago’s die-hard following, the Bears and McCaskey kept all three to provide some disillusioned vision of organizational stability. But that stability doesn’t exist. It’s a lie just like everything else you’ve heard from the three-headed roster monster in charge.
And not watching isn’t a wholehearted option, either. I, along with so many others, have become so far invested in the tribulations of the Chicago Bears. To give up ahead of the wishful triumphs would spur an outbreak of insanity. I love the Bears; I just want the Bears to love me back.