{"id":99294,"date":"2020-12-07T15:57:10","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T20:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=99294"},"modified":"2021-03-13T13:16:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-13T18:16:13","slug":"matt-nagys-pleas-falling-on-deaf-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2020\/12\/07\/matt-nagys-pleas-falling-on-deaf-ears\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Nagy\u2019s Pleas Falling on Deaf Ears"},"content":{"rendered":"

The desperation was palpable in Matt Nagy<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s public pleas to the Chicago Bears<\/a> to \u201cwake up\u201d and play with \u201csome sense of pride\u201d following their 41-25 loss to the Green Bay Packers. After blowing a 10-point lead at home and losing 34-30 to the Detroit Lions for your sixth loss in a row, there isn\u2019t much left to say. The offense had its best day (really one half) in quite some time and it still wasn\u2019t enough. Things usually end in one way when the wheels come off as they have in 2020.<\/p>\n

Have Nagy\u2019s Pleas Been Tuned Out?<\/h2>\n

Bucking Trends<\/h3>\n

The Bears were 6-1 under Nagy when they scored 30-plus points entering Sunday. They had beaten the Lions in six straight, dating back to John Fox<\/a><\/strong>. Just like the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions can join the Packers in having figured out this iteration of the Bears. A lot of this team\u2019s warts were overlooked because they could count on the Vikings to implode against them. Or for Detroit to blow it like they are wont to do. Instead, the Bears have lost six straight for the first time since 2002.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all out the window now as Nagy once again fielded questions sans answers. And that\u2019s been the theme of Nagy\u2019s time at the helm. We\u2019ve come away each subsequent year since that squandered 2018 run knowing less about this team than we did going in. After that season it was whether or not the team was closer than we thought. After \u201819 we all wondered what they could do to fix an offense that was clearly broken (and wasn\u2019t great the year before). Now, as we see they have clearly wasted a once-mighty defense, the question has to be how to fix this.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChiSportUpdates\/status\/1335706240715026434<\/p>\n

We-fense<\/h3>\n

Nagy calling out his defense was odd. Not because they are above reproach. This unit, at its best, was several notches below the 2018 group. They have also been key figures in this current slide. But they have also been the reason the Bears have been in most games after kickoff. To not only single-out the defense in a way he has never done with the offense (his calling card) despite the former being the strength of the team is absurd. But to fault them for being picked apart by an MVP candidate in Aaron Rodgers<\/a><\/strong> (noted Bears killer) makes no sense.<\/p>\n

The Bears rank 21st in average time of possession in the NFL this season. Even worse, they’re 32nd over their last three games. Your defense cannot be on the field as much as the Bears group has and not get exposed. Sunday was just the fifth time the Bears have allowed 400-plus passing yards in team history and just the second loss. Had he gone and commented on specific moments and said those cannot happen, fine. But he didn\u2019t do that. He questioned pride and effort from the one side of the ball worth mentioning and this is what he got for it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Problematic Tackles<\/h3>\n

Chicago\u2019s defense shouldn\u2019t be absolved; they gave up those yards and points. The Lions drive that resulted in the Marvin Jones<\/a><\/strong> touchdown and cut the Bears lead to three started with four straight plays attacking Danny Trevathan<\/a><\/strong> and Buster Skrine<\/a><\/strong>. Both players have been in that position far too often to still be playing; contracts be damned. Detroit (smartly) went back to T.J. Hockenson<\/a><\/strong>, abusing a weakness of Chicago\u2019s defense, and finally caught rookie Jaylon Johnson<\/a><\/strong> flat-footed (likely thinking he had safety help) for the score. Adrian Peterson<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s go-ahead score was too easy, period<\/p>\n

Tackles weren\u2019t just an issue for the defense as Charles Leno<\/a><\/strong> and Germain Ifedi<\/a><\/strong> both played huge roles in the collapse. Leno had a holding penalty that stalled out a promising drive in Detroit territory that could have at least resulted in at least a field goal try in the fourth quarter. Ifedi whiffed on the block that allowed Romeo Okwara<\/a><\/strong> to strip-sack Mitchell Trubisky<\/a><\/strong>, leading to Peterson\u2019s score. They weren\u2019t alone in the degree or scope of their blunders, but theirs were among the most egregious.<\/p>\n

\n

Why have the Bears fallen apart over the last two seasons?<\/p>\n

"I don't know," Matt Nagy says.<\/p>\n

And that's why he's done.<\/p>\n

— Jason Lieser (@JasonLieser) December 6, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n