Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky tape breakdown gives hope

Maybe the Chicago Bears will be OK? Maybe not. Either way, it could be far too early to tell.

Former NFL player Anthony Herron went on 670 The Score this week to break down the game tape from the Chicago Bears loss to the Green Bay Packers on Opening Night, and it was eye-opening, so to speak.

Many fans, pundits, and observers pounced on Mitchell Trubisky’s performance, and while it was less than stellar, and perhaps even signaled a regression for the still-developing third-year quarterback, Herron’s breakdown of the tape indicates that perhaps it wasn’t quite as bad as it looked.

At least not Trubisky’s performance. Head coach Matt Nagy’s play-calling and game management, however, may have come across as even worse.

“Aside from Allen Robinson, there wasn’t another individual on the Bears’ offense that I thought played as well as Mitch did,” Herron said. Earlier in the show, he said “Offensively, it might’ve been the least effective game that Matt Nagy’s had as a play caller, since he’s been the Bears’ head coach.”

Herron said he initially thought Trubisky played under control in the first half before pressing in the second half, but upon another look, he thought Mitchell was actually better in the second half.

He blamed penalties that had little to do with Trubisky for the third-and-40 the Bears faced (Charles Leno was guilty of multiple penalties) and reminded us fans that Taylor Gabriel pushed off.

Herron also suggested the delay of game penalties (including the one that happened after the Bears had just 10 men on the field) are on the coaching staff.

In fact, Herron said he saw improvement overall from Trubisky. He pinned the loss on Nagy and the offensive line, at least in part.

“Matt Nagy might have had his worst game calling plays as a coach of the Bears,” Herron said. “The offensive line was just in shambles with what Green Bay continued to throw at them.”

Herron’s criticisms of Nagy were familiar. Herron wondered why Nagy abandoned the run, and why Nagy coached the offense as if they were trailing by more than one possession.

All this could give a Bears’ fan hope going into Week 2. Not only is it possible that Trubisky played better than we realized, it’s also possible that Nagy will understand his own failings and be more willing to commit to the run against the Broncos.

Not to mention, it’s possible the penalties could be the result of Week 1 rust (especially since starters are playing less in preseason than ever before). At the very least, most of the Bears’ offensive problems seem fixable.

Herron did say Leno and Massey might not be all that talented at tackle. If he’s right about that, well, that’s scary. But if most of the issues are fixable, and if the tape shows that Mitchell Trubisky is actually still improving and not regressing, and if Nagy can adjust his play-calling mindset, perhaps the loss to the Packers won’t be the bad omen that so many Bears fans thought it was.