Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy’s two decisions make no sense

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced that quarterback Justin Fields is too banged up to play against the Seattle Seahawks. Nick Foles will get the start instead because Andy Dalton is also out with an injury.

Talk about ruining Christmas.

Nagy made one other questionable decision and one head-scratching comment. No surprise, though, because mind-boggling decisions have been characteristic of Nagy during his Chicago Bears head coach tenure.

The questionable decision…

Germain Ifedi will be one of the team captains and start at right tackle over rookie Larry Borom.

Borom is returning after missing the Vikings matchup due to being on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Instead of being returned to the starting lineup where this year’s fifth-round pick has held his own, he is being sent to the bench because Ifedi needs to get revenge on his former team. Maybe it is because Borom has never played in a noisy stadium–even though he played in the SEC.

My guess is that Nagy knows he is probably going to be fired at the end of the season and wants to reward a loyal player.

The decision does not make sense unless COVID-19 really wiped out Borom’s strength. Otherwise, Borom needs every rep he can get at right tackle because he is part of the Chicago Bears’ future–whereas Nagy and Ifedi will probably be looking for work elsewhere once this season concludes.

Borom has had a solid rookie season at right tackle. He has allowed one sack and committed four penalties in 414 snaps. He has shown improvement every week. Yet, he is sent to the bench for a veteran who is not very good at right tackle.

Nagy is taking away important reps from the Chicago Bears’ future at right tackle because, well, there does not seem to be a logical explanation.

I am certain Nagy’s decision-making process looked something like this…

Nagy’s head-scratching comment

Nagy did say Fields could still be a game-time decision to be the backup. Fields is too banged up to start but possibly healthy enough to backup Nick Foles. We are not talking about the Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles either. Nagy’s comment was like his play-calling against the Vikings last Monday–disjointed and lacking reasoning.

One semblance of reason was that quarterback Ryan Willis was recently added to the practice squad and not familiar with the playbook.

Yep, Ryan Willis cannot be called onto play because he just started reading the Matt Nagy offensive playbook that generated just nine points last Monday despite being in the redzone five times. I guess you must have to recite chapter and verse before you can be considered to be qualified in Matt Nagy’s offense to be a backup in a meaningless game.

The idea that Fields is too injured to start but healthy enough to be counted on in the case of if–but most likely when–Foles gets hurt to play is preposterous.

Fields should not have been discussed as a backup option. Either he is healthy enough to start and continue to get valuable playing time in his development or his ankle is too injured and he needs to sit.

You do not debate the merits of having him fill a backup role. He is your starter, period, end of story no matter how many sacks he takes or fumbles he has. If he cannot go, he is in street clothes on the sideline.

I guess Matt Nagy thinks maybe some gamesmanship is in order. You know Pete Carroll, a Super Bowl and National Championship winning head coach, will be completely unprepared for Fields being the backup.

Willis is on the active roster for the game so it shows that Fields will probably not be in uniform. The idea that Fields could be the backup should not have been approached.

The bigger picture of these decisions

This shows that the Chicago Bears power structure loving collaborative efforts is still a joke. Some one needs to be in charge of playing time for future pieces and it cannot be Matt Nagy.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace, team president Ted Philips, or chairman George McCaskey needs to be the boss and lay down the law on Borom starting. Unless Borom is feeling side effects from COVID-19, he should be starting. If he is feeling weak from the aftermath of COVID-19, he should not even be active.

Otherwise, he needs the playing time, especially in a silent snap count environment.

If Fields is not healthy enough to start as deemed by team doctors, he does not suit up at all. Tell Nagy if Foles goes down, have 10 plays ready for Willis to run because this game counts for nothing with the Bears are out of playoff contention.

This is the other reason Matt Nagy should have been fired after Thanksgiving. The Bears have been blown out by Green Bay and looked undisciplined against Minnesota.

Now he is taking away valuable playing time with a potential future offensive line anchor and making silly suggestions with the franchise quarterback that he has helped get injured with the protection schemes being called.

This was a meaningless game, even more so with a piece of the future not playing.