Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy says time is now for offense

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy says the time is now for the offense to produce. It’s a good idea, considering his job is likely on the line.

One of the disappointing things about the Chicago Bears over the years is their offense. The franchise has never had a consistent high-powered unit. Well, there was that one season in 2013 that had their fans in a tizzy.

The Bears have had some seasons in which they had a decent offense. With their history of great defenses, they only need a little contribution from the offense to succeed. However, in the last decade or so they haven’t had much of any contribution from the offense.

Over the last decade, the Chicago Bears’ offense finished in the top half of the league only twice. That incredible 2013 season (that still didn’t succeed because the defense finished dead last) and 2018.

The Bears had a legitimately great offense in 2013. That team finished second in the league, behind only the record-breaking offense of the Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos.

In 2018, however, the offense was helped by the defense. The unit ranked ninth in points. The defense scored six touchdowns. The Bears offense got credit for those points. Take away those points and the offense would rank 14th. Also, in terms of total yards, the Bears ranked 21st.

Matt Nagy has a clear message for the Chicago Bears: The time is now

Matt Nagy has been the head coach of the Chicago Bears for the past three seasons. He came in as a great offensive mind and quarterback whisperer. The team’s offensive woes make it even more frustrating because of it.

In an interview with the Under Center Podcast, Nagy recently spoke about the offense.

"The time is now, we know that and we’re looking forward to it. Now we’re just really excited to see our players grow. We think we did a great job in the draft and bringing in some young talent, in particular on the offensive side of the ball. So we’ll see. But we’ve got to do it. And it’s only a couple of weeks around the corner."

It’s good to see how the time is now. Yes, it is time now because his job is on the line. If the offense struggles once again, he’ll likely be shown the door. The offense needs to step up or he’ll be looking for another job.

I get that with new players on the roster Nagy feels more confident in the offense. He didn’t have the offensive line to help his quarterbacks. Even when they could, the quarterbacks, specifically Mitch Trubisky, just could not handle what Nagy wanted from the offense. Despite being a “quarterback whisperer” he couldn’t get Trubisky to do what he needed to succeed.

Now Nagy has not only Andy Dalton, who has had a pretty good career, but also Justin Fields, a rookie with tons of talent. Fields will eventually become the starter. The only question is when it happens. Dalton is a good enough quarterback to be an effective bridge to Fields. He’ll be a great mentor to Fields and help the rookie get his feet on the ground.

Matt Nagy has to take some of the blame

While a bad offensive line and an ineffective quarterback hurt Nagy in running his offense, he has to take some of the blame. In order for the passing game to succeed, it needs an effective running game as well as an effective offensive line.

Nagy spent so much of his time trying to fix the passing game that he failed to run the ball. Last season, the Bears ranked 22nd in rushing attempts. IN 2018, when the offense was decent, they ranked sixth in attempts. You can see how the running game helps the passing game.

David Montgomery is a dynamic runner. He has incredible balance and is tough to bring down. We see how many tackles he broke just getting to the line of scrimmage. In his two seasons with the Bears, he ranked seventh and third in broken tackles.

Nagy knows he has to use more of Montgomery. He has to have the confidence in him to help whoever is at quarterback. When he gave up playcalling he saw Montgomery thrive. Now he has to give him the ball the way offensive coordinator Bill Lazor did.

It seems Nagy does realize that he needs to involve Montgomery more in the offense. He said that he expects Montgomery to get 20 rushes a game. That is great news for Montgomery and Chicago Bears fans.

Last season, Montgomery didn’t get to 20 carries in a game until Week 8. He didn’t get it again until Week 15 when Lazor was calling plays. In fact, he had 20+ carries from that week through the final regular-season game, covering three straight. Ne never had consecutive games in which he had that many carries while Nagy was calling plays.

We’ll see if Nagy is true to his word on Montgomery. The coach needs to do whatever he can to get the offense playing to his standards. If things don’t change this season, then the Chicago Bears will be looking for their sixth coach in the past 20 seasons.