The Chicago Bears played the Cincinnati Bengals in their second preseason game, after giving an almost completely meaningless performance in the Hall of Fame Game a week ago. So far it seems the Bears are content to waste their time, and our time, this preseason. They are basically halfway through their preseason schedule already, and so far they don’t have much to show us, for installing a playbook with a 1,000 plays.
This game was similar to the Baltimore game as it provided the same, “you’re wasting my time” feelings when it was over, with the Bengals on top 30-27. The Bears number one offense played two series, nine plays generating a total of four yards.
Evaluating the Chicago Bears Second Preseason Game
Sloppy Joes
Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky said of the effort, “We just came out here and were sloppy,” after he claimed they were practicing their butts off all week.
Head coach Matt Nagy was more forgiving saying, “It was hard to judge off of eight plays.”
Frankly, that’s the problem. Inept sloppy play has been their hallmark on offense so far, with receivers out of position and blocking assignments being missed on most plays. Why only eight plays? It kind of defies explanation that a unit like the Bears first-string offense isn’t getting more work against their contemporaries. Whatever work that is being done in camp is either flawless or flawed in its evaluation. The Bears need more work like a supermodel needs a sandwich.
Regrets?
Everyone in Chicago is praising Nagy as a breath of fresh air for his candor, openness, and enthusiasm. However, I wonder if he will be as candid if the Bears get off to a 0-2 start on their way to Arizona in desperation mode, and heading into the easiest four weeks of their schedule.
Will he regret not playing his first-team offense more in these first two pre-season games?
If the Bears get off to a slow start to their regular season, will he and the organization be as cheerfully candid, when the softball questions turn into heat-seeking lasers?
Taking the Over…
After two pre-season games, it is impossible to judge how this season and the careers of Nagy and Trubisky will turn out. But all around the city there is near hysteria for this duo and the expectations surrounding the Bears. From social media to the actual media, people are calling for anything from 13-3 to 9-7 seasons.
Know your history.
In the past, quick turnarounds started becoming the norm around the NFL. Five-year plans suddenly became three-year plans, after expansion franchises like Jacksonville and Carolina started showing up in conference championships years ahead of schedule. The pressure to win on NFL franchises is enormous, especially when you have droughts of playoff football that stretch into decades. For the Bears, being in one of the largest markets isn’t easy, especially with the Cubs now being perennial winners.
Winning isn’t just expected, it’s demanded by the fan base. That’s why around the league things aren’t built like New England or even Dallas and Pittsburgh anymore. Owners are constantly tearing things down to rebuild as the Bears have done with this fifth coaching regime in 15 years.
What many of today’s fans forget is that the league and the game have changed. In Chicago, we remember Mike Ditka taking over and almost instantly creating a winner. Nagy will not be able to do that… at least, not in that time frame.
If you remember Ditka, then you remember two-a-day practices, right? You remember “the hill,” suicides, and the “Nutcracker” too, right? All of that is gone and has been gone for a while because of the new collective bargaining agreement. When Ditka came to Chicago he was probably allowed over 50 practices in a month to get the Bears ready. What the average fan doesn’t understand is that the new collective bargaining agreement between the players and the NFL doesn’t allow it.
Nagy will get less than half of that time to get this year’s version of the Bears ready. That is half of the preparation time in today’s game, which is far more complicated than it was 20 or 30 years ago. It doesn’t help Nagy, that he said his playbook contains over a 1,000 plays. How long does it take to install a 1,000 plays? I don’t know, but it’s a lot longer than a couple weeks or even months…maybe season’s.
Disappointed!
That’s why these last two preseason games have been so disappointing. I thought the first-string offense would get more work and there would be signs that I could point to, and understand why general manager Ryan Pace brought Trubisky here when he did. So far through these two games, I’ve seen nothing I didn’t see last year. I hope that my a-ha moment is coming, but I fear that it is not.
People are going to point to three games being left on the schedule, and they would be correct. But what makes anyone think Trubisky and any other starter who matters, will play in the final pre-season game? They will not for fear of injury. That leaves two games left to prepare the Bears and Trubisky for the regular season opener, Sunday night September 9th in Green Bay.
So the Bears, with an exemption from the league to start camp a week early, with a new coaching staff and Hall of Fame Game invitation, have largely wasted the extra practice time and game time they have been given.
Nine Plays. Nine?!
The nine plays we witnessed against Cincinnati do not make for great preparation for Green Bay. The first play was a simple go route overthrown and out of bounds to Kevin White. The next play was a Run-Pass-Option, or RPO, a staple of the Nagy offense you’ve heard so much about. From a shotgun formation, Trubisky holds a handoff in the belly of Taquan Mizzell for a beat, then gives it to him, a run for no gain. Trubisky had the option to run or pass out of that play but it was covered, and quickly snuffed out.
The third play was a three-step drop out of a shotgun spread formation with five receivers wide. Fullback Michael Burton goes in motion back into the backfield to block, Trubisky took the snap and threw to White on the money, except he dropped the pass. Burton ran back out as a receiver and did not stay in to block. Cincinnati’s defensive end Carlos Dunlap hit Trubisky late, which resulted in the only first down Trubisky would get.
There are two problems with that play. First, the outside receiver was fullback Burton, the slowest receiver on the field. Second, the Bengals dropped everyone into coverage, Trubisky took three steps and got rid of the ball before he would’ve gotten murdered by Dunlap who beat Bobbie Massey with a spin move.
Later in the season, teams might look at that personnel group, decide to take their chances by leaving Burton and the other receiver paired to his side with zone coverage, and decide to blitz Trubisky, or overload Massie’s side to shorten his already short drop.
The Bears continued alternating between RPOs that didn’t work, with Mizzell getting stuffed at the line of scrimmage, and standard dropbacks, that also didn’t work because someone (Cody Whitehair and Trey Burton) didn’t know their blocking assignment’s.
What’s the point?
The most basic point, with 1,000 plays and 11 players on the field at all times that are new to the system, is that the Bears need as much work as possible to get ready. They instead have said, “No, I’m good,” to playing their first-string offense, like they were being served watery vegetarian lasagna.
Excuses
Fear of getting important players hurt. Don’t want to show anything. Need to evaluate all of the players. The games don’t count. We’ve installed most of the offense already. The goal is to be ready when the season starts. It’s a long pre-season… that’s getting shorter every day.
Please Be Patient
When Mitchell Trubisky was drafted, he was the least experienced quarterback drafted. Compared to this years five quarterbacks selected in the first round, Trubisky still– has less experience. Every first-round quarterback drafted this year played more this past weekend than Mitchell did. He also has a head coach who has only called games since last Thanksgiving.
Fan expectations probably need to be tempered a bit. Nagy could be a real good coach if he’s given enough time to do his job. But similar to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his defense, systems take time to be installed and developed. During and after this season the Bears may realize that certain players may not be the best fit for this offensive system. They will need time to work it out, and it may be as long as two or three seasons. Will the fans and the media allow Nagy the time to do the job? Especially if the Bears get pasted on national T.V. against the Packers?
