Chicago Bears: Matt Nagy’s comments the most concerning at press conference

A lot was said at the Chicago Bears end of year press conference but it was the head coach’s comments that were most troubling.

The Chicago Bears held their end of year press conference on Tuesday morning and much was made about Ryan Pace’s comments. However, it was a few of Matt Nagy’s comments that should be the most concerning to Bears fans. Let’s take a look at what was said before we analyze why it’s a huge concern.

Nagy was asked by Dan Wiederer what is at the top of Mitchell Trubisky‘s checklist to continue his growth.  Nagy stated number one on the list was “decision making” but that he wanted Trubisky to be a “master at understanding coverages.”

He continued that in his first year in Chicago, he thought Mitch did a “really good job at understanding the importance of getting in and out of the huddle with the verbiage that we have.” In year two (level 202) Nagy talked about Mitch “seeing the defense.” Now, he wants Mitch to put it all together and understand how the defense might try to “trick him.”

Nagy was asked the follow-up question ‘how far Mitch was away from mastering reading coverages’ and Nagy replied “not far” but underscored the importance of hammering that point home this offseason and continuing with his commitment to learning how to do it and then actually do it.

Nagy also discussed Mitch’s need to be better in the pocket with his footwork, as too often, he failed to climb the pocket and tried to escape. While in the pocket, Nagy wants to Trubisky to process what he’s seeing better. Easier said than done coach.

Which brings us to why those comments are such a concern.

We are now 41 games into his NFL career in which he has thrown 1,280 passes and taken more than twice as many snaps (2,595). At this point, we should not be lauding his ability to master “verbiage.” We certainly shouldn’t still be stressing his need to understand how to read defenses and coverages, one of the most critical skills of playing the position. He has now had three full seasons to learn that as well as clean up his footwork and he hasn’t done it.

And it’s not as if Trubisky isn’t putting in the time, as he is known as one of the hardest, if not the hardest worker on the team. So this isn’t about effort, it’s about comprehension and an ability to actually do the things Nagy is asking him to do, and what he must do to be a successful quarterback. In that regard, one has to wonder whether fans have to simply hope things magically “click” for Trubisky, which doesn’t seem like a tenable strategy.

And so Trubisky will enter year four with deficiencies that are entirely independent of the rest of the team’s issues and have to hope that the light bulb magically goes off. That should be a huge concern for all fans.