Matt Nagy

2019 Chicago Bears OTA’s – Part Deux

May 31, 2019 by Steve Leventhal

Khalil Mack and Mitch Trubisky were the story this week.

Last year, head coach Matt Nagy had to learn his new players, and the Chicago Bears in turn had to absorb his offensive scheme. In 2019, it is all about building on the success of the previous season.

Nagy talked about Trubisky’s growth. “He’s learning this offense. But now what he’s trying to do, is master it. Last year he learned it. This year he’s trying to really master it. He’s done a wonderful job right now at trying to get to some of the adjustment s we have withing the plays and the concepts and the schemes.” Nagy intimated that we would see that come to fruition in training camp and preseason games. He added, “He’s watching tape. He’s leading meetings. He’s vocal in the meetings that we have. He’s understanding that when we teach this offense that there’s different levels to it.”

When asked about having Mack for the entire offseason, Nagy commented, “It’s amazing how much he affected everybody (last year.) Now that he’s here, you get to see that he’s does things by his actions. He continues to do that. He shows some of these younger kids who want to be leaders. There’s different ways to do it, by showing up every day. By making plays.”

Khalil has been looking forward to the camaraderie, and getting a deep understanding of the defense early on. Unlike last year where, “having a one and a half weeks before the season wasn’t enough time to prepare.” As typical of his approach last season he vowed to let his play do the talking.

“It’s feels really great out there,” says Trubisky. “It’s a lot of fun to be back in Chicago, with the boys playing football again. Everyone’s on the same page. Everyone knows what they’re doing. Being year two in this offense. It’s a lot of fun going through it. Having fun executing it.” The third year QB was asked about the new acquisitions. “We got a ton of weapons on offense. It’s a lot of fun for a quarterback. We got a lot of talent around me in free agents we signed, that came in here and learned the offense. They picked it up real quickly. We continue to add great guys that contribute to our culture.” He went on to confirm Allen Robinson’s assessment that the team was way ahead of last year. “Everyone knows what they’re doing. We don’t have to spend a lot of time going in depth on each play, because we know most of the details. We’re helping the new guys, the rookies.”

Hear audio from Nagy, Mack, and Trubisky

Twitter: @radiomogul

2019 Chicago Bears OTAs check-in

May 24, 2019 by Charlie Bevins

The Chicago Bears begun 2019 organized team activities on Tuesday, kicking off the team’s first edition of on-field work as a team. Other than the imminent possibility of injuries, OTAs serve as an introductory and refresher period. It is a time for install and little else.

Last year’s session of OTAs focused on the installation of Matt Nagy’s offense. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky and the rest of the team got their first look at Nagy’s playbook, and some of them got their first look at each other. Trubisky got his first reps with a then-revamped receiving corps of Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Trey Burton. This season, however, Trubisky has an established connection with his targets and a familiarity with Nagy’s system.

“Versus last year, which is all I have to compare it to,” Nagy said, “The speed of the plays, especially offensively, breaking the huddle, they know where they’re going. Now they just get to play football. They don’t think as much.”

“Mitch is in and out of the huddle, he sees the defense, and so from the time that we’ve been out here, it’s exciting. You stay cautiously optimistic that he’s going to take that really big jump, which, I’ve been saying that since I got here that it takes time. You see the vision from him within the huddle and at the line of scrimmage.”

The above quote on Trubisky was an unprompted comment, highlighting how great of an offseason storyline the third-year quarterback has been. As great as the Bears’ defense was last year, and likely will be this year, it will keep that “next step” that Nagy referred to for the Bears to break through their ceiling and into the Super Bowl.

Along with the familiarity that comes with the second year of a new system, changes have been made on the offensive side of the ball, namely that James Daniels and Cody Whitehair appear amidst a position switch and that swing tackle Bradley Sowell is switching to tight end.

“We’re going to try it out and see what he can do,” Nagy said of Sowell’s position switch. “It’s a position right there of that Y-tight end type spot that we could use some more depth, and Bradley has shown us the ability, not just off a two-point play or a touchdown play, but he’s shown it repetitively in practice that he has the athletic ability, the hands, he’s very smart, he knows how to block, all that stuff. So let’s test it out and see. And when I tell you he’s all in, he’s all in.”

You may recognize Sowell more for his appearance in Nagy’s funky plays that turn linemen into receivers, and you may recognize him specifically for this touchdown celebration:

Another big man TD for #DaBears!@Mtrubisky10 finds OT Bradley Sowell for SIX.

📺: #LARvsCHI on NBC pic.twitter.com/KNP71AlBbG
— NFL (@NFL) December 10, 2018

However, Bradley Sowell’s position change signals a possible solution to the need for an in-line blocking tight end that Nagy refers to as the “Y.” Ideally, that role would go to Adam Shaheen, but durability and performance issues have necessitated depth. One of Nagy’s lynchpin philosophies is being as versatile as possible, and Sowell’s presence on the field may tell the defense a run is coming more than Shaheen’s presence. However, depth was needed at the spot and the in-house position change could be an answer to that need.

The other piece of big news was James Daniels and Cody Whitehair switching positions, sending Whitehair to guard and Daniels to center, where he played in college.

“That’s what we’re looking at,” Nagy said. “You know, we’re giving them a chance to look at it and see where it’s at. We feel comfortable with it”

The move was slightly clamored for last year in response to Whitehair struggling with snaps at times. But the chemistry between Trubisky and Whitehair was too important for the installation of the offense to be messed with. With the offense now familiar to Trubisky, existing quarterback-center chemistry is not as prioritized.

Whereas this year’s OTAs is a refresher for the offense, the defense will be introduced to a new coach and system in defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano.

Pagano, who was fired from the Indianapolis Colts’ head-coaching job is energized and excited to work with the league’s number one scoring defense from a year ago: “When what you have has been taken away from you, and now you have an opportunity to be back doing what you love, that’s coaching and being around great coaches and great players and guys that love ball, it’s really easy.”

Pagano has said in the past he won’t mess with a great thing in the Bears’ defense. Other than the language, the Bears’ defense will likely look similar to last year’s from a schematic standpoint. One of the anchors of that defense is second-year linebacker Roquan Smith, who led the team in tackles last year.

Bears offensive coordinator Chuck Pagano during OTAs

“You talk about football character and you talk about football IQ, we know the measurables, he’s one of the brightest, smartest guys I’ve been around for just a second-year player,” said Pagano, who coached Hall of Famer Ray Lewis in Baltimore.

The Bears drafted Smith with the eighth pick in 2018 with the hopes that he could be a dominant presence in the middle of the field for years to come, and so far, that seems like a wise investment. Smith had 121 tackles last year, despite missing all of training camp in a contract holdout. He now gets the experience of a full offseason without any contract stalemates, allowing maximum improvement.

“It feels great to be out here with my guys,” Smith said. “So I’m just focusing on getting better with the guys each and every day, so you can’t ask for more than that.”

OTAs are either the first taste of massive changes or a continuation of previous schemes and coaches. Fortunately for a still-growing Bears offense, they fall into the second category. The defense, with such stars Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Smith, is good enough that new terminology won’t be a barrier in its success. The Bears’ mandatory minicamp takes place June 11th-13th. We’re still months away from the Week One kickoff against Green Bay, but the Bears are in a good position after OTAs.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy, Chuck Pagano and Roquan Smith:

2019 Wild Card preview: Bears vs Eagles

January 4, 2019 by Charlie Bevins

The NFL playoffs are upon us, and for the first time since 2010, the Chicago Bears are among the 12 teams still standing. They will cap off Wild Card weekend with a faceoff against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. It’s a tough card to draw, but as the saying goes, to be the best, you have to beat the best.

A test on the secondary

The Philadelphia Eagles pose a number of problems for the Bears’ pass-rush, starting first and foremost with their rock-solid offensive line. Khalil Mack will have his hands full with Lane Johnson and Jason Peters and Lane Johnson bookending the Eagles’ line, so inside pressure from Akiem Hicks, and linebackers Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith will be of even further importance.

A second pass-rushing issue comes to the surface with Nick Foles at the helm, however, and that is his time to release. The Athletic’s Sheil Kapadia outlined Nick Foles’s recent adjustment to getting the ball out quicker, nothing that he has gotten the ball out in 2.46 seconds on average, a stark contrast to his 2.75 second average in last year’s Super Bowl run. Not only will Foles be protected by one of the NFL’s most well-constructed offensive lines, but he will likely have gotten rid of the ball by the time any rush got home.

“This is the best line we’ve faced lately,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “They’re a very good offensive line. Both tackles are good. They’ve got good interior people, you know, with (Jason) Kelce setting it up there. So, it’ll be a challenge for our front guys to play these guys vs the run and the pass.”

Nick Foles’s release time and a quick glance at his passing chart reveal that most of his success comes in the short to intermediate game, working off play-action, crossing routes and RPOs. This means the Bears will have to fly to the football and prevent any chunk yardage after the catch. Their safeties will have to patrol the middle of the field and limit the effectiveness of the crossing routes that Foles excels at, and Chicago’s cornerbacks will be tasked with owning the short game while still respecting the deep-ball threat that Foles presents.

“We can’t let them get behind us,” Fangio said. “Cause this guy does have a big arm. And he does like to throw the deep ball. So if there’s a chance that he can throw a deep ball and he sees it, he will throw it. And that’s his mentality. That’s Doug (Pederson)’s mentality. So they will do it. And a big part of this game will be how we defend the deep balls.”

A good pass-rush and a good secondary often go hand-in-hand, one often covering for the other. The sign of a truly elite defense is whether or not those units can work independently of one another. This is a game in which the Bears may not be able to lean on the pass-rush, so the secondary will have to step up and keep the Eagles air attack at bay. The Bears have done an excellent job at rallying to the ball this season, making plays in space preventing teams from nickel-and-diming them. That success will have to continue. Chicago’s heir pass-rush has a higher chance of getting into the backfield, the longer Foles holds the ball, and the secondary can do that by taking away his passing options. Marrying the pass-rush to the secondary will be crucial in defeating the Eagles and Nick Foles, but the Bears’ secondary is a unit that is more than capable of doing so. It is now a matter of doing it when the stakes are the highest they’ve been.

Tarik Cohen’s impact

The Eagles’ defense is strong in many areas, but one of their biggest vulnerabilities is their struggles against pass-catching running backs. Saquon Barkley had 99 receiving yards against them, Christian McCaffery had 57 yards and Todd Gurley notched 76.

The Bears feature one of the league’s best backfield receiving threats in Tarik Cohen. He is second on their team in receiving at 725 yards. His speed and suddenness make him a matchup problem for nearly any opposing defense, and the Eagles are no exception.

The Eagles tend to match linebackers with opposing running backs, and there isn’t much reason to think that won’t continue this week. Tarik Cohen obviously gives up size to opposing linebackers, but his long speed and suddenness give him an enormous advantage. Matt Nagy has had no problem turning to Cohen when he has an advantage (See the Giants game), and he will probably go to him both in the short game to get Trubisky going and in the deep game on wheel routes to gain chunk yardage.

Working the deep game

Chicago Bears DC Vic Fangio – photo by SRN Broadcasting

Coach Matt Nagy emphasizes staying aggressive with deep shots, but the Bears have struggled to execute said deep shots. The Eagles’ secondary is massively depleted though, with three cornerbacks listed on IR and two more marked as questionable, meaning Nagy may have a little more reason to go long.

“It’s all predicated on what the defense gives us,” Nagy said of the deep game. “We’re always in attack mode. We want to be aggressive. I think people could see that throughout the beginning of the year. We had some opportunities. Teams had decided to try to take some of that away and now we got to be able to take advantage of other things because of that.”

The Eagles have allowed the third-most receiving yards in the NFL, and much of that is due to their struggles with allowing chunk yardage through the air to which they have been made vulnerable by their injuries. The Bears have the personnel to take advantage of that, particularly with Taylor Gabriel and Allen Robinson, but it is a matter of Trubisky executing his throws.

“We played in a lot of big games this year,” Robinson said of why he is confident in Trubisky. “You know so throughout four quarters, you know, we’ve always been in a position to win the game. You know and that’s the thing, I’ve never seen him flustered one time at all this season. You know, we’ve always been able to bounce back and make plays and most of those plays translate to a lot of wins.”

Trubisky’s 2018 passing chart reveals that he is below the league average in passer rating on throws 20 yards or further. The Bears are good enough to beat the Eagles without hitting their deep throws, but that doesn’t erase the fact that there is a clear area of weakness the Bears can exploit. The Eagles’ rush defense is seventh in the league, so if the Bears can’t slow down their offense, Trubisky will have to step up in a big way.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins 11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy, Vic Fangio, Akiem Hicks, Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller

Monday Mulling: 2018 Bears knock out Minnesota Vikings

December 31, 2018 by Charlie Bevins

The 2018 Chicago Bears closed out their season with a 24-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, setting up a playoff matchup with the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. Their Wild Card showdown will take place Sunday at 3:40 CT, but there’s a whole week before then. For now, it’s time to unpack the Bears’ dominance over the Minnesota Vikings.

A thriving run game

Jordan Howard has not thrived this season the way he has in years’ past, but he’s been an available go-to when the Bears have felt the need to establish physicality or drain some clock. Sometimes both. He was that and more Sunday, rushing for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries.

The offensive line, bolstered by the temporary insertion of Kyle Long, controlled a fearsome Vikings’ defensive line at the point of attack. Long’s impact was felt early by his down block that sprang Jordan Howard for a 42-yard run, setting a quick tone that would carry throughout the game.

“We were moving around and creating holes so that the defense could not keep the line open,” Trubisky said on the team’s run game. “We did that which created one-on-one matchups on the outside which allowed us to change up our plays. For us, our goal is to keep the defense off balance.”

“You have to be able to run the ball, especially when you’re in the environment we’re in with the fans being so loud,” coach Matt Nagy said. “They have 33-out-of-50 sacks this year at home, on the turf with the crowd noise. If you can’t run the football you’re in trouble for being one-dimensional. We did not want to be one-dimensional.”

Howard read the holes set up by his line better than he has all year, and that resulted in his 5.2 yards per carry. Tarik Cohen was a similar beneficiary, totaling only 24 yards but averaging 4.8 yards per carry and a touchdown.

Bears Quarterback Mitch Trubisky: SRN Broadcasting

The strong showing from the run game allowed the Bears to bully this game away. The Vikings’ front was unable to contain Howard and his relentless, efficient running allowed the Bears to dominate the possession time battle (37:08 to 22:52). He often set his team up with second and five, or second and four, allowing the playbook to fully open up (Though, it couldn’t be fully opened up, as Nagy didn’t want to give too much away before the playoffs). The old-school style of football, running the ball and playing suffocating defense, has prevailed in even the modern NFL’s playoffs. That formula was executed against the Vikings, and sets up the potential to do it again throughout the playoffs.

The monsters came to play

The Bears had far less to play for than the Vikings, but you wouldn’t have been able to tell from the way the two teams played. Especially as it became apparent the Rams would win their game and get the second seed in the NFC. The Bears’ defense came out with an intensity the Vikings simply could not match. Their defensive line completely overpowered a woeful Vikings’ counterpart for a four-sack performance. Kirk Cousins’s inability to improvise when things broke down along the offensive line was exacerbated by a Bears’ front that simply wanted it more, and it made Cousins look far less than the $84 million man he is. He finished his day 20 for 33 with a touchdown and a quarterback rating of 17.7.

“Collapsing the pocket, getting hands up,” Nagy said on how they pressured Cousins. “That green grass we always talk about. Being able to make sure he can’t see where he is throwing. The guys just kept going all the time. Forced him sometimes out of the pocket, to throw on the run.”

The Vikings’ offense placed more emphasis on the run game, upon the firing of former offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. Minnesota’s success in establishing a ground game with Dalvin Cook made opposing teams respect the run, thus opening opportunities for Cousins as a passer.

That strategy is moot when you can’t run the ball, however, and the Bears made sure the Vikings would not get the ground game going, allowing only 63 yards on 15 rushing attempts. The Vikings’ offense was completely anemic, and the Bears’ defense was dominant to the point of causing a screaming match between Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielen along the sidelines. While turmoil bubbled over for the Vikings, the Bears rode happily into the playoffs.

Getting up to play

The two seed and a first-round bye were still in play entering Sunday, although the probability of a Rams loss to the lowly 49ers seemed unlikely. Any hopes of that were quickly dashed by the Rams’ outpour that took them into halftime up 28-3. The Vikings, on the other hand, were playing for their playoff lives. A loss meant they were out with a likely Eagles win. They had far more on the line than the Bears, so it speaks to coach Nagy and his staff’s ability to get their players up to play so well against the Vikings.

“What do they know, right?” Akiem Hicks said when asked about the pundits thinking the Bears should take the foot off the gas. “What I will say is this, coach has a great plan in place for us. I believe in him. He has done us right so far, going through OTAs, training camp and now in the regular season. If he feels like it is time for us to play, we are going to go out there and play ball.”

Yes, Club Dub was alive in Minnesota, and Nagy’s trademark “BOOM” was screamed for the last time of the regular season. That’s who this Bears team is. They were simply better than the Vikings and they played like it in what could be seen as the bow on top of Nagy’s Coach of the Year case. They dominated their opponent when they didn’t have to, and as WBBM’s Jeff Joniak would put it, it was a fade to black moment for the Vikings. The Bears now get ready to face the Eagles in a matchup of familiar foes in Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy, both of whom were members of Andy Reid’s staff. To be the best, you have to beat the best, and the Bears will have to do so against the defending champs.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

The Sports Report – Christmas 2018 Edition

December 24, 2018 by Steve Leventhal

with Packer Dave and Steve Leventhal

Here’s a little bonus Sports Report for you. Dave laments the end of the season for Packer fans, while discussing the playoff scenarios in the NFC and AFC. Steve reports from Halas Hall on the latest Chicago Bears news as the team begins to prepare for the final game of the season, and their first taste of post season in eight years. This includes audio from Bears head coach Matt Nagy.

In addition, we break out an oldie, but goldie, former show producer Ira Tating’s twisted version of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’. Lastly, Steve interviews Chicago Cubs play by play announcer about his newest project, Baseball Voices, recorded in the SRN studios. Happy Christmas, and Merry New Year to all!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:20 — 36.0MB) | Embed

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2018 Bears @ 49ers preview

December 21, 2018 by Charlie Bevins

The newly crowned 2018 NFC North Champion Chicago Bears will be in San Francisco this week to face the 49ers. The 49ers carry with them unfamiliar momentum, having won their past two games. The Bears will play for seeding this week, with a first-round bye still very much in play after the Rams loss to the Eagles. A win over the 49ers could end up as the deciding factor between the two seed and the three seed.

Controlling Kittle

The 2017 Draft, the year where John Lynch was thought to have fleeced Ryan Pace, has yielded poor results two years later. If there is a diamond to be found in the rough, however, it has been tight end George Kittle. Kittle, who served a mostly limited role last year, has blossomed in his sophomore campaign, being selected to his first Pro Bowl after hauling in 72 receptions for 1,154 yards. He moves exceptionally well for a player his size (6’4, 250 pounds) and has become the go-to option for 49ers quarterback Nick Mullens.

“I think they do a good job, and Kyle [Shanahan] in particular, of understanding how teams are playing certain coverages,” defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said. “And maybe where the weaknesses are or where they can pop a guy free. And they’ve been able to do that here lately, more than a few times.”

One of Kittle’s biggest advantages over competition is the guy calling his plays. Head coach Kyle Shanahan has kept his offense steady (13^th in yards) despite the absence of Jimmy Garoppolo. He throws a heavy dose of play-action at opposing defenses, giving his receivers an extra step against hesitant defenders preoccupied with the run. Kittle is one of the biggest beneficiaries of this, and he has taken full advantage of it this season

“It’s a very good offense from a scheme standpoint,” Vic Fangio said. “(Shanahan) does a good job of calling the game. They marry their run game and their passing game together very well. Even if they were to put in a new play, new running play, they’re going to have some form of play-action pass off of it.”

Discipline will be of the upmost importance against play-action. The Broncos failed in that regard, and it resulted in 210 yards for Kittle. The Bears had no issue keeping everything in front of them against the Rams, a team even more reliant on play-action. They will slow down the 49ers’ offense if they are able to repeat that discipline.

Possible air-show

While the 49ers have a young defensive line that features DeForest Buckner, their secondary leaves an awful lot to be desired, even with the addition of Richard Sherman. Though they have performed respectably against the past (13th in yards allowed), the defense has failed to take the ball away, ranking dead last in the NFL with only two interceptions.

Taking care of the football is always a priority, but the 49ers’ inability to take the football away will allow room to be more aggressive and throw the ball into tighter windows. The playbook will likely open up more and we could see coach Matt Nagy at his most creative.

“I think just as far as, you know, an offensive stand point, there’s still things we want to get accomplished,” WR Allen Robinson said. “You know, and continue to try to build this momentum, you know, going into the playoffs.”

We’ve seen what Trubisky can do against defenses that struggle to force turnovers; His two best games came against the Lions and Buccaneers, who are 30th and 24th in interceptions, respectively. He is at his best when playing loose and not concerned about interceptions, and he can very well play like that on Sunday.

Staying focused

The Bears have clinched the NFC North and come off a great win over their rival, so the 49ers may be looked at as a letdown spot. The season is not over, and as Nagy put it, resting starters “is not even in the world of consideration for us. We’re trying to win.”

He added Thursday, “I think that’s what separates the good teams from the great teams is they know how to focus each week and not make any game more significant than the other. And that’s where we’re at right now.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be on other teams where we’ve won division championships,” he said Wednesday. “And it’s nice. It’s important because, you know, it gives you advantages. It gives you a home game in the playoffs… But you can’t be satisfied. And that’s who our guys are.”

The Bears have the edge over the 49ers across the board. San Francisco is simply a lesser team than the Bears and their already precarious situation was worsened with the injury to Jimmy Garoppolo and eventual insertion of Nick Mullens. Their offensive line is 7th in sacks allowed and their receiving corps is average at best. Mullens is young and limited, and the degree of separation between the 49ers’ offense and Bears’ defense is too big for even Kyle Shanahan to overcome. The 49ers can only win this if the Bears make preventable mistakes. Avoid those errors, and this will turn into a warmup for the playoffs.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy, Vic Fangio, Allen Robinson and Roquan Smith

2018 Bears vs Packers preview

December 13, 2018 by Charlie Bevins

The 2018 Chicago Bears face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday for the second time this year, but this time, a lot more than pride is on the line. A Bears a win clinches the NFC North and, combined with a Vikings win, would eliminate the Packers from postseason contention.

A chance for the run game

The Packers enter Sunday with the 29^th ranked run defense by FootballOutsiders, allowing 1,641 rushing yards (24^th) and 12 touchdowns (21^st). The Bears’ run game has struggled at many points this season, but one of its best days came the first time these teams squared off, a game in which Jordan Howard averaged 5.47 yards per carry, his highest mark of the season. The Packers are without Mike Daniels, Mohammed Wilkerson and Nick Perry, and Mike Daniels is questionable for Sunday. Jordan Howard will have his chances to get some big yards on inside runs against a depleted Packers front.

Howard got going against Los Angeles, collecting his first hundred-yard game of the season, and looking like the effective runner he usually is. “It was really good,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “Sometimes that’s how it goes. We have a mindset that we want to establish the run and the other team made a decision that they were going to take away our pass and kind of zone us out and that opened up the run game.”

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy: SRN Broadcasting

In week One, Tarik Cohen was not used as heavily as he has been of late. He had five carries for 25 yards and three receptions for 16 yards. He has had at least 10 touches in his last five games, however, and the Bears are 4-1 in those games.

The Bears have a third element to their run game, and that is in their quarterback Mitch Trubisky, who is fifth in the league with 386 QB rushing yards. Trubisky had 32 yards on seven rush attempts and a fumble in Week One and has only grown as a runner since. Trubisky and Josh Allen are the only true run-threat quarterbacks the Packers have faced this year, so it is hard to have a feel for their ability to stop a mobile quarterback. Regardless, his legs will be a threat against the Packers, as they will against any team.

“It would be really big for us to (establish the run game,)” coach Matt Nagy said. “Any quarterback you talk to will tell you that, to have that run game going, man, it makes things a lot easier. It opens up the play-actions. It opens up the shots downfield.”

The Bears have trended towards a pass-first offense, currently with a pass-rush ration of 429 to 374 attempts. Some of this is by design and the nature of today’s NFL, but much of it has simply been in response to an inability to establish a run game. They currently rank 20^thin the league in yards per rush attempt, and that ranking includes Mitch Trubisky’s scrambles. Howard is coming off his first 100-yard game of the season, and Sunday will give the Bears an opportunity to continue their success in the run game.

Stopping Aaron Rodgers

The Bears have an advantage over the Packers in nearly every aspect of the game. But, like every other NFL team, the Packers have an edge at quarterback with Aaron Rodgers. So long as Rodgers is in the game, the Packers have a chance.

Chicago Bears QB Mitch Trubisky: SRN Broadcasting

“He’s a guy that’s seen a lot of different defenses, he’s been in that offense for a long time, so the game’s slow to him,” Nagy said of Rodgers. “And then he’s got that extreme talent. He has some of the best arm talent that this game has ever had.”

We saw the sheer dominance Rodgers is known for Week One. It seemed the Bears were to start 2018 on the best foot possible, a convincing victory over their rival Packers at Lambeau. Rodgers trotted out at halftime on his injured knee and ripped the Bears’ hearts right out of their chests, mounting a 20-point comeback victory.

“We came out strong in the first half on offense and then second half we didn’t come out as aggressive and didn’t finish,” Trubisky recalled.“So, the theme for this week is just finish as a team, have a great week of practice and then we’ll get our opportunities in the game.”

Though there was a thought that such a comeback was going to be emblematic of the teams’ seasons, wherein the Packers ride a wave of Aaron Rodgers magic to the playoffs and the Bears continue their rebuilding ways, the Bears and Packers have gone in completely different directions. Packers coach Mike McCarthy lost his power struggle with Rodgers, and the team is now led by Joe Philbin. Green Bay has toiled their way to a 5-7-1 record with a mathematically impossible chance to win the division, while the Bears have gone against the grain of the modern NFL, winning nine and losing four with a dominant defense that is third in points allowed and yards per game allowed, and first in takeaway differential.

“They’re a different team,” Nagy said. “You know, they’ve had some injuries. Again, the course of the season, you run the course of the season and you kind of create the identity of who you are. And same with us too, you know. So, every game is its own game.”

It is fair to say that the Bears and Packers are different teams than they were week one, but the most important constant is Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers has dominated the Bears his entire career with a 16-4 record in 20 regular season games. Chicago has enjoyed a degree of success that’s been unheard of for most of the last decade, but they have not yet shown they can defeat the thorn that pricks them in the side twice a year. Sunday is not only a chance to clinch the division for the first time since 2010, but, given the sustainable model for success Ryan Pace has built and the state of disarray thePackers are currently in, it could be a catalyst for a swing in the oldest rivalry in the NFL.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky:

The Sports Report – December 2018

December 11, 2018 by Steve Leventhal

with Packer Dave, Steve Leventhal, and John Poulter

Dave and Steve discuss the Chicago Bears’ stunning win over the Los Angeles Rams. What was defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s role in the victory? We also get commentary from Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune. John joins us with his insights into the NHL and English Premier League soccer. Plus, can the Green Bay Packers keep winning and make the playoffs. All that and lots more NFL talk. Hear interviews from Matt Nagy, Mitch Trubisky, new Packers coach Joe Philbin, Aaron Rogers, and Sean McVay.

The Packers come to Soldier Field for the second meeting of the 2018 season!

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Monday Mulling: 2018 Bears’ defense dominates Rams

December 10, 2018 by Charlie Bevins

The 2018 Chicago Bears made a statement against the Los Angeles Rams. A game many picked to be another victory, the Bears’ defense showed out and put a boot on a prolific Rams’ offense.

Stopping the Rams’ offense starts with Gurley

The modern NFL offense revolves purely around the quarterback. While the Rams have a top-10 quarterback in Jared Goff, running back Todd Gurley is the heartbeat of their offense. He is second in the league in carries and leads the NFL in rushing/receiving touchdowns with 19. He is a dangerous runner with 1,202 rushing yards entering Sunday, but is used well as a receiver, as evidenced by his 49 receptions for 504 yards. The Rams spend virtually every play in 11 personnel (One running back, one tight end and three wide receivers), which means he is constantly on the field and the threat of him is always imminent. They tend to get him going early so they can lean on play-action to open up throws for Goff.

Coach Matt Nagy explained part of what makes Gurley so dangerous: “The one thing with Gurley is that a lot of these mid-zones and outside-zones, there’s a cutback. He cuts back. And I thought we did a good job of containing that.”

The Bears, however, took away Gurley completely. He had only 28 yards with his longest rush coming on a 12-yard burst in the fourth quarter. The interior, led by another great outing from Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman managed a consistent push all night, collapsing the pocket and for Goff and forcing a wall Gurley was unable to run through. Roquan Smith, who had an interception, flew around the field to make plays on the perimeter and collect seven total tackles. The Rams only handed Gurley the ball 11 times, and their need to pass the ball essentially nullified the purpose of play-action, which is how their offense reaches its peak effectiveness.

“I really think, based on some of the different things that they presented to us they had an outstanding game plan and really didn’t have,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “I didn’t really put us in the good spots based on what they were presenting to be able to get going.”

Goff, without the easy throws and added time that play-action creates, struggled mightily, and the Bears’ relentless pass-rush compounded that to force bad throws and four interceptions.

Eliminating Aaron Donald

The Bears and Rams feature two of the best player in football with Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald. Donald is truly a game-wrecker with his NFL-leading 16.5 sacks. He can dominate a run game working from the interior and destroys double teams. The expectation was that he would do at least something remarkable Sunday night, but he registered only two tackles and a quarterback hit.

“We had a plan for him,” quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. “They got a good defense all the way around. We had a plan for Donald. The O-line did a great job keeping him in check all night.”

Rookie left guard James Daniels’s performance against Donald cannot be overlooked. He worked with very good technique, keeping Donald’s elite hand-fighting at bay, and rarely lost leverage against arguably the league’s best player. Daniels performed so well that he often went one-on-one with Donald, an enormous vote of confidence for the rookie that has struggled at times.

“That was one of the biggest challenges that he is ever going to have, going against Aaron Donald,” Nagy said. “Not all the time, he’s not going against him every play but there’s times when he’s out there and Aaron just has so many great moves. But I thought his technique was really good last night. He never lunged too much, he stayed balanced.”

The Bears often double-teamed Donald when he was lined up away from Daniels, blocking him with center Cody Whitehair and guard Bryan Witzmann.

Nagy’s game plan involved getting the ball out quick with Donald on the field and running where he was not. He also used prioritized the run-pass-option, which he explained by saying, “They wanted to play a certain way last night and so we wanted to make sure we adjusted the right way and getting into some of those RPOs was what we felt, in that situation, was the best thing for us. And, you know, they were working.” Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen took advantage of the holes created by the offensive line, and it allowed the Bears to run the ball while their quarterback struggled.

A run game to lean on

The Bears’ offensive identity switched to a pass-first approach with the arrival of Matt Nagy. Trubisky struggled against the Rams, throwing three interceptions, but Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen produced enough on the ground to sustain offensive drives.

“The run game, the guys were executing it,” Nagy explained. “We were getting some repeated plays in there which is always good… And then the guys were executing it.

“All things considered, the passing game wasn’t really there, so, you know, we decided to go that route and it worked.”

Jordan Howard had only his second 100-yard game of the season, and it came at a great time. He averaged 5.32 yards per carry on 19 attempts, running hard behind an offensive line that managed to contain both Ndamukong Suh and Aaron Donald.

Howard’s 5’6 counterpart, Tarik Cohen had a similar impact, taking nine carries for 69 yards, a 7.67 yards per attempt mark. His work in the pass game (four receptions for 20 yards) and the threat that his history provides, kept the Rams’ defense off-balance and opened things up for him as a runner.

Sunday night’s game was to be a clash of mentalities; a battle between a team that has helped define modern football, and a team looking to be a part of that following. Ultimately, it was good old-fashioned, physical football that won out, and the Bears have put everyone on alert that elite offense isn’t the only way to win in the NFL. They showed that their defense makes them not only a playoff contender, but a Super Bowl contender as well.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy and Sean McVay:

What 2018 Bears vs Rams can teach about today’s NFL

December 6, 2018 by Charlie Bevins

One question will be on everyone’s mind this Sunday night when the Los Angeles Rams take on the Chicago Bears.

Can you still win with defense?

The phrase “defense wins championships” has long been a saying your high school football coach barked at you, or your dad called out from the recliner in the living room. But this notion has been dispelled by today’s NFL, a league in which the three best teams, the New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams, produce offensively at an astonishing rate of over 34 points per game. 300-yard passing games have reached a point where anything below is considered an off day for the likes of Drew Brees, Jared Goff and Pat Mahomes II. Teams are increasingly turning towards innovative, offensive-minded head-coaching candidates. Names like Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and former Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury are popular names in NFL circles that have become open to blurring the line between college and pro-style offenses. Primarily-shotgun offenses, jet-motion, an increasing reliance on play-action; these are the new norms of the NFL. As evidenced by the standings, the top of the league’s food chain shares a common thread: Explosive offense.

Super Bowl 52 was a 41-33 fireworks display that saw over 1,000 yards of total offense, despite the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles came in with a defense that was fourth in the league in points allowed per game. Though they lost, the Patriots’ offensive explosion in Super Bowl 52 and their AFC Championship victory over a historically great Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense foreshadowed what was to come in 2018: Teams don’t win with defense; the top five defenses in defense-adjusted value over average, or DVOA*, are a combined 29-31 (Bears, Broncos, Bills, Ravens and Jaguars), while the top five offenses by the same metric are 47-12-1 (Chiefs, Rams, Chargers, Saints and Steelers). The evidence that an offensive-first philosophy is the only way to keep up in today’s NFL is overwhelming, and it was why hires the hires of Frank Reich and Matt Nagy were lauded, while defensive-minded hirees like Steve Wilkes and Matt Patricia were met with raised eyebrows.

And yet, the Cowboys still beat the Saints on Thursday night last week.

It was bizarre to watch the Saints muster only 10 points and lose to a flawed Cowboys team. There probably wasn’t anyone out there who thought 13 points would be enough to beat the Saints, but the relentless defensive effort Dallas trotted out was just that, and it surely put a smile on the face of your uncle who spent 25 minutes complaining about “what happened to the game he loved” at Thanksgiving dinner.

Bears coach Matt Nagy. Photo: SRN Broadcasting

The Cowboys’ victory raised the question we started with: Can you win with defense in today’s NFL? Is it a sustainable model? We won’t truly find out until the Lombardi Trophy is hoisted, but Sunday Night Football’s matchup with the Rams and Bears may further illuminate the answer to that question.

This past offseason, Bears GM Ryan Pace appeared to take a page from a growing trend the Rams helped start: Pair your young quarterback with a savvy, play-calling head coach. It took only one year for Rams head coach Sean McVay to turn Jared Goff from an all-time bust to top-10 NFL quarterback. Like the Rams, the Bears surrounded their young quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, with as many weapons as possible, from coaches to personnel. It was clear this team was to be built around the quarterback.

That philosophy didn’t stop Pace from building an elite defense, however, and he completed that construction with the trade for Khalil Mack. The Bears’ defense has blossomed into a top-flight unit that leads the league in takeaways and defensive DVOA, and is top five in sacks, team defense and points allowed. The offense, on the other hand, has shown flashes but has yet to truly set into a groove.

Nagy talked about the growing process on Thursday: “I’m learning too. I’m not where I was, football-relationship wise with Mitch right now… than I was in year five with Alex (Smith). That takes time. When you get to that point, that’s when the well-oiled machine starts rolling.”

The Bears may end up like the Seattle Seahawks did, in that they rode a dominant defense until their quarterback became the team’s identity. For now, however, this is a team defined by its defense, not its offense that is ranked 20th in yards per game and DVOA.

The Bears should still be able to move the ball though. The Rams’ defense, despite having one of the NFL’s best players in Aaron Donald, is vulnerable; they are 18th in yards allowed per game, 19th in points allowed per game, and 15th in defensive DVOA, just a tick above league average. The Bears appear to be getting Mitch Trubisky back this week, and the added layer he brings will let Nagy call the plays needed to get this offense going.

“It’s like riding a bike,” Nagy said. “You just get right back onto it, so it’ll be interesting to see as he continues to feel good, how that works with the players too.”

The real strength of the Rams lies in their second-ranked offense. Not much can be said about the Rams’ offense that hasn’t already been said. Sean McVay, at the young age of 32, has transformed Jared Goff and Todd Gurley into two of the biggest weapons in the NFL. He is one of the best play-callers in the league and he knows how to exploit any weakness he sees. Goff executes the offense to perfection and Gurley’s versatility as a rusher and receiver makes him the focal point of an offense that shreds teams off play-action.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio summed it up: “They got really good scheme, really good players, really good play-caller. It’s a tough assignment, no doubt about it. But we got to show up.

“I’ve never bought into you know, there was a couple questions in here a couple weeks ago after the 54-51 game that, ‘Is this the new way of the NFL?'” Fangio later said before a chuckle. “You guys heard my answers. That was the talk of the week.”

This all gets us back to an extension of our earlier question. Does the Bears’ elite defense place them in the NFL’s elite? This musing applies to any defensive-first team, not just the Bears. How viable of a model is this? It wasn’t enough for the Jaguars last year. We won’t truly know the answer to this question until the playoffs, but Sunday will at the very least give us some clarity. Signs have pointed to defense not being an answer to sustainable success. But if the Cowboys could put a boot on the Saints, perhaps the Bears can do the same to the Rams. Maybe their defense can, in fact, carry them on a deep playoff run.

Maybe defense can still win championships.

*DVOA: An advanced metric created by Football Outsiders that rates a team’s efficiency by measuring the success on a given play compared to the league average.

Follow on Twitter: @crbevins11 @radiomogul

Hear audio from Matt Nagy, Vic Fangio, Trey Burton and Roquan Smith

2019 Chicago Bears OTA’s – Part Deux

2019 Chicago Bears OTAs check-in