Chicago Bears: 3 Observations from loss to Eagles in Week 9
Nagy needs to hand over the playcalling
Nagy is an offensive-minded coach who likes to use creative ways to move the ball. He did a great job of keeping defenses off-balanced with his calls last season. His creativity worked for the most part. Sure, there were some that didn’t work (the Wildcat against the Green Bay Packers comes to mind), but all in all, he succeeded way more than he failed.
Fast forward to this season and things are different. His creativity hasn’t worked as much. Against the Eagles, he tried to run Tarik Cohen up the middle. Cohen tried to go over the top but failed miserably.
Many fans crucified Nagy over that call, saying he was getting too cute. These are the same people who celebrated the “Santa’s Sleigh” play Nagy utilized against the Los Angeles Rams last season. You remember that play, the one that had six offensive linemen and four defensive linemen, the one that had Trubisky throw a pass to the end zone to offensive lineman Bradley Sowell.
What a difference a season makes.
One of the big differences in the struggling offense is that Trubisky appears to have regressed in his progress. He doesn’t have the ability to make even the basic plays on a consistent basis. Because of that, Nagy has a problem coming up with the proper plays that fit Trubisky’s abilities.
The time might be right for Nagy to hand over playcalling over to offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich. Helfrich has a similar offensive philosophy to that of Nagy’s. Helfrich also has head coach experience, albeit in college. He, however, understands what Nagy is going through and might see things a little differently. A pair of different eyes could make a big difference.
Nagy went through this in Kansas City with Andy Reid. Reid was in charge of playcalling last season in 2017 and the Chiefs struggled. They were in the midst of losing six out of seven games and had a record of 6-6.
In the final four games with Nagy’s playcalling, the Chiefs averaged 397 yards of offense per game (259 through the air and 138 on the ground). They also averaged 28 points per game.
Seeing how he went through this but on the other end, Nagy should turn playcalling over to Helfrich and see if the magic happens in Chicago like it did in Kansas City. It helped the Chiefs win their division. With eight games still left to play, perhaps things could turn around this season.