Chicago Bears: 3 burning questions following loss to Dolphins

Be true to yourself

By now you have probably noticed the all-caps message on Matt Nagy’s colorful, laminated playsheet. BE YOU. It’s obviously a reminder to be true to yourself and who you are as an individual. So who is Matt Nagy? Not to get too much into the existential but at least as a play caller, he is creative and aggressive.

Unfortunately, during the overtime period, he was neither of those things. Earlier in the week, I wrote that the only way the Bears could lose to the Dolphins was to beat themselves by straying from who they are as a team. I emphasized that they needed to stay true to who they were as an offense and remain aggressive throughout the whole game. I had no idea that notion would come back to haunt me as a fan because it is exactly what happened.

Perhaps it was an overcorrection for the Green Bay Packers game when Nagy should have run the football more and was roundly criticized for abandoning it in the second half. Whatever it was, it led Nagy to uncharacteristically get conservative. He effectively took the ball out of the hands of his young quarterback who had a heck of a game up to that point.

It reminded me of when a manager takes out an effective starter early to “give him a win” and build his confidence. In this case, Nagy ensured Trubisky would not lose the game by throwing an interception. Unfortunately, by doing that, he ensured the Bears would lose. While Jordan Howard ripped off some since runs in overtime, the 3rd down play absolutely called for a pass. No one on this green earth believed Cody Parkey was making a 53-yard field goal.

It’s critical to understand that Nagy is a brand new head coach. Although talented as a play caller, he is light on experience. Just as you must expect growing pains from a young quarterback, so too must you expect from a young coach. The question is whether he learns from his mistakes and gets back to being who he is because that’s who the Bears need him to be.