Post by papabear7 on Apr 3, 2018 11:48:09 GMT -6
Real Talk: The Bears are back! At Halas Hall anyway. So now what?
Dan Wiederer and Rich CampbellContact Reporters
Chicago Tribune
School’s back in session, kids! Bears players will officially be allowed to return to Halas Hall on Tuesday as Phase 1 of the team’s offseason program begins with strength and conditioning work. Here’s your snapshot of some of the key dates on the spring syllabus:
April 17-19: Voluntary veteran minicamp
May 11-13: Rookie camp
May 15-June 1: A series of 10 organized team activities and practices
June 5-7: Mandatory full-team minicamp
With a new head coach, an infusion of talent and a new energy at 1920 Football Drive in Lake Forest, the Bears must find a way to ride the wave of optimism toward training camp in Bourbonnais. But there is a lot of work to be done in the short term with Matt Nagy installing a new offense, familiarizing himself with the roster and learning to juggle the many demands of his new role.
So what is generating so much enthusiasm within the team right now? And what must the Bears aim to accomplish before reporting to training camp in mid-July? Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Rich Campbell sound it all out in this “Back to school” edition of Real Talk.
Dan Wiederer: General manager Ryan Pace has had a glow about him the last two months, emanating an energy I personally have never seen out of him before. And that’s saying something given how naturally positive and optimistic Pace always is.
The GM’s enthusiasm stems from three primary things. First, he’s encouraged by the combination of youth, talent and potential on the roster. Second, he’s convinced second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky is a star in the making. And third, and perhaps most notably right now, he’s head over heels about his connection with Nagy and the contagious passion the new head coach is bringing to his new job.
What’s that, you say? Of course Pace feels that way. And he’d better. If, after going all-in on Trubisky and then Nagy and taking three-plus years to overhaul the roster to his liking, Pace was feeling glum right now, there would be major issues.
Still, for our purposes, let’s filter through the Bears’ positivity for legitimate reasons for optimism. And let’s start with why the Pace-Nagy connection is meaningful.
Rich Campbell: As Pace explained last week at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, his connection with Nagy — i.e. their honest communication and shared vision — has helped Pace and the personnel department scout players. Everyone is clear about what traits to seek in players and how those players will be used. That operational synergy is an improvement over the dynamic last season, when Nagy’s predecessor, John Fox, wasn’t entirely clued in on Pace’s obsession with quarterback Mitch Trubisky until just about when the commissioner called Trubisky’s name.
Furthermore, Pace believes in Nagy’s acumen and work ethic, which has spawned a new and improved confidence at Halas Hall from the top down. After spending some time last week with Pace and Nagy, the description that comes to my mind is refreshing.
This connection we’re talking about doesn’t guarantee wins, but it should help.
Wiederer: Obviously, finding that right balance is key. It is, I believe, possible to acknowledge legitimate reasons for optimism while still retaining a healthy skepticism as to whether things can come together exactly as the Bears envision. After all, it was only three short years ago that Pace was touting John Fox as “an ideal fit” to lead the team. “Players want to play for him,” the GM said then. “Coaches want to coach for him. He just has this charisma, this presence that’s hard to find.”
And two years before that, it’s easy to recall Bears players expressing belief in the offensive ingenuity of Marc Trestman. This was from Matt Forte in Week 1 of 2013: “He is the mastermind of the offense and all its ins and outs. He knows so much about different coverages, about teams’ tendencies. We have to trust in him that he’s going to put us in the best position to make plays.”
And, well, you know the results. The Bears are 27-53 over the last half-decade, losing twice as often as they’ve won.
Translation: At this point, any buy-in on Nagy requires a leap of faith. He’s not yet 40 years old. He has called plays on the NFL level for a little more than a month. He’s never been a head coach. At any level. So the immediate challenges and inevitable growing pains will be obvious.
Still, Pace continues to laud Nagy as creative and innovative, two perks for an offense that needs a boost. The new head coach has also generated a stimulating idea exchange at Halas Hall, confident in his own philosophies but not too stubborn to let his assistant coaches help mold everything.
Campbell: The sobering reality is that the odds are against Nagy. At least that’s what we can conclude from data about hiring and firing of coaches, both as it relates to the Bears and the entire league.
We’ve laid it out in this space before, but for those who need a refresher: In 2012, seven coaches were hired. All seven have since been fired. In 2013, eight coaches were hired, including Trestman. Six have been fired. In the seven-man 2015 class that included Fox, four are already fired.
So, discussing optimism about the Bears really is a conversation about the quarterback. It begins with: Do you believe Mitch Trubisky can consistently be successful? Then, take a closer look at what Pace has done to help Trubisky ascend.
There’s far less value in predicting Trubisky’s ultimate level of stardom than there is in recognizing whether he has skills and traits to validate Pace’s plan to build the organization around him. After getting to know Trubisky last season and watching him start 12 regular-season games, I happen to believe he does. He can play from the pocket — read the field and physically make the throws. His athleticism and personality add to my belief.
I also think it’s clear how Nagy can aid Trubisky’s growth. It’s the openness to other ideas that you mentioned. It’s his own expertise as a former pro quarterback. It's everything he has learned as an NFL play designer and offensive strategist from Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
Wiederer: Pace has been upfront about his two biggest missions over the last year-plus. First, get the quarterback. Then, get the quarterback help. And then, of course, pray that the quarterback you got is the right quarterback.
Along those lines, the Bears are convinced Trubisky has the ideal makeup to be a big-time success. And you know where I point in this discussion. To Nov. 26 of last year. The Bears had their doors blown off that afternoon in Philadelphia, fell to 3-8 with a performance that may have been without a single bright spot. And I openly wondered about how Trubisky would handle the season’s final five weeks.
Here he was, a rookie quarterback for a last-place team with a lame-duck coaching staff and a group of receivers that was going to be cast aside at season’s end. It could have been excused as human nature if Trubisky had shrugged, went through the motions in December and simply saved his energy for the reboot.
But he didn’t. More important than his numbers down the stretch — the 2-3 record, a .671 completion percentage, 212 passing yards per game with three TD passes and three interceptions — was Trubisky’s investment in the grind, the way he stayed locked in and pushed himself to make progress on every day. You can’t fake that. And teammates definitely notice and respond. It keeps a locker room energized. And it sets a standard that needs to be matched.
Campbell: That was a positive, no doubt. But that has to be only Step 1. As a performer, Trubisky is unproven — at least by the standard against which he eventually will be judged. And the same adjective could be applied to Pace and Nagy. There’s a triangle of influence leading the Bears, and all three parts are unproven in their current roles. That’s why skepticism is fair, even healthy.
Trubisky has to be more consistent mechanically than he was even late in his rookie season (at the Lions, for example). And from a mental standpoint, we’ve already heard how intense Nagy’s scheme is for a quarterback. Adjustments and critical details are layered into every play.
Will Trubisky gain command of the scheme? How quickly can Nagy go from Offense 101 with him to more advanced levels? Will the new receivers around him help? It will be fun to learn the answers, but it would also be naive not to expect more growing pains.
Wiederer: So here comes the most important part — Trubisky and Nagy forging a bond and then getting to work to get on the same page. And quickly. The clock is ticking.
Because the collective bargaining agreement prohibits coaches from interacting with players from the end of the season until April, Trubisky will be getting his new playbook for the first time Tuesday. Training camp begins in 15 weeks. The regular season arrives about a month and a half after that. In other words, there’s a critical game of catch-up that needs to start immediately.
It’s a situation the Rams found themselves in a year ago with new coach Sean McVay pushing to accelerate the growth of Jared Goff. I asked Rams general manager Les Snead last month what the keys were for Goff and McVay in getting in sync once they were officially allowed to begin working together.
“In their cases,” Snead said, “Jared was itching to come back to continue getting better; and obviously Sean was itching to install his offense and do his part in helping Jared improve. But it was really two human beings who were passionate about getting better.
“Once that occurs, (it’s big). I don’t know if they took any time off. So Jared was then working weekends per se.”
As Trubisky’s roommate in California these past few months, Goff likely reminded the Bears quarterback to keep his spring calendar clear. Now, Nagy’s prowess as a teacher will get its first big test.
Campbell: That’s another thing about Trubisky with which Pace is not only comfortable, he’s, ahem, fired up.
The GM believes Trubisky’s obsession with turning the Bears around matches his own. Along with Nagy, their burning commitment is an encouraging starting point. This is why you change coaches — to create the energy, synergy and potential the Bears have as they report Tuesday for 2018.
If they win eight or more games this season, we’ll look back and see that as the foundation for their improvement. If the loss column shows double digits again, all this offseason talk would be exposed as hot air, just as it has been all too recently at Halas Hall. At least the start of the offseason program brings us one step closer to finding out.
dwiederer@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @danwiederer
rcampbell@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rich_Campbell
Dan Wiederer and Rich CampbellContact Reporters
Chicago Tribune
School’s back in session, kids! Bears players will officially be allowed to return to Halas Hall on Tuesday as Phase 1 of the team’s offseason program begins with strength and conditioning work. Here’s your snapshot of some of the key dates on the spring syllabus:
April 17-19: Voluntary veteran minicamp
May 11-13: Rookie camp
May 15-June 1: A series of 10 organized team activities and practices
June 5-7: Mandatory full-team minicamp
With a new head coach, an infusion of talent and a new energy at 1920 Football Drive in Lake Forest, the Bears must find a way to ride the wave of optimism toward training camp in Bourbonnais. But there is a lot of work to be done in the short term with Matt Nagy installing a new offense, familiarizing himself with the roster and learning to juggle the many demands of his new role.
So what is generating so much enthusiasm within the team right now? And what must the Bears aim to accomplish before reporting to training camp in mid-July? Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Rich Campbell sound it all out in this “Back to school” edition of Real Talk.
Dan Wiederer: General manager Ryan Pace has had a glow about him the last two months, emanating an energy I personally have never seen out of him before. And that’s saying something given how naturally positive and optimistic Pace always is.
The GM’s enthusiasm stems from three primary things. First, he’s encouraged by the combination of youth, talent and potential on the roster. Second, he’s convinced second-year quarterback Mitch Trubisky is a star in the making. And third, and perhaps most notably right now, he’s head over heels about his connection with Nagy and the contagious passion the new head coach is bringing to his new job.
What’s that, you say? Of course Pace feels that way. And he’d better. If, after going all-in on Trubisky and then Nagy and taking three-plus years to overhaul the roster to his liking, Pace was feeling glum right now, there would be major issues.
Still, for our purposes, let’s filter through the Bears’ positivity for legitimate reasons for optimism. And let’s start with why the Pace-Nagy connection is meaningful.
Rich Campbell: As Pace explained last week at the NFL owners meetings in Orlando, his connection with Nagy — i.e. their honest communication and shared vision — has helped Pace and the personnel department scout players. Everyone is clear about what traits to seek in players and how those players will be used. That operational synergy is an improvement over the dynamic last season, when Nagy’s predecessor, John Fox, wasn’t entirely clued in on Pace’s obsession with quarterback Mitch Trubisky until just about when the commissioner called Trubisky’s name.
Furthermore, Pace believes in Nagy’s acumen and work ethic, which has spawned a new and improved confidence at Halas Hall from the top down. After spending some time last week with Pace and Nagy, the description that comes to my mind is refreshing.
This connection we’re talking about doesn’t guarantee wins, but it should help.
Wiederer: Obviously, finding that right balance is key. It is, I believe, possible to acknowledge legitimate reasons for optimism while still retaining a healthy skepticism as to whether things can come together exactly as the Bears envision. After all, it was only three short years ago that Pace was touting John Fox as “an ideal fit” to lead the team. “Players want to play for him,” the GM said then. “Coaches want to coach for him. He just has this charisma, this presence that’s hard to find.”
And two years before that, it’s easy to recall Bears players expressing belief in the offensive ingenuity of Marc Trestman. This was from Matt Forte in Week 1 of 2013: “He is the mastermind of the offense and all its ins and outs. He knows so much about different coverages, about teams’ tendencies. We have to trust in him that he’s going to put us in the best position to make plays.”
And, well, you know the results. The Bears are 27-53 over the last half-decade, losing twice as often as they’ve won.
Translation: At this point, any buy-in on Nagy requires a leap of faith. He’s not yet 40 years old. He has called plays on the NFL level for a little more than a month. He’s never been a head coach. At any level. So the immediate challenges and inevitable growing pains will be obvious.
Still, Pace continues to laud Nagy as creative and innovative, two perks for an offense that needs a boost. The new head coach has also generated a stimulating idea exchange at Halas Hall, confident in his own philosophies but not too stubborn to let his assistant coaches help mold everything.
Campbell: The sobering reality is that the odds are against Nagy. At least that’s what we can conclude from data about hiring and firing of coaches, both as it relates to the Bears and the entire league.
We’ve laid it out in this space before, but for those who need a refresher: In 2012, seven coaches were hired. All seven have since been fired. In 2013, eight coaches were hired, including Trestman. Six have been fired. In the seven-man 2015 class that included Fox, four are already fired.
So, discussing optimism about the Bears really is a conversation about the quarterback. It begins with: Do you believe Mitch Trubisky can consistently be successful? Then, take a closer look at what Pace has done to help Trubisky ascend.
There’s far less value in predicting Trubisky’s ultimate level of stardom than there is in recognizing whether he has skills and traits to validate Pace’s plan to build the organization around him. After getting to know Trubisky last season and watching him start 12 regular-season games, I happen to believe he does. He can play from the pocket — read the field and physically make the throws. His athleticism and personality add to my belief.
I also think it’s clear how Nagy can aid Trubisky’s growth. It’s the openness to other ideas that you mentioned. It’s his own expertise as a former pro quarterback. It's everything he has learned as an NFL play designer and offensive strategist from Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
Wiederer: Pace has been upfront about his two biggest missions over the last year-plus. First, get the quarterback. Then, get the quarterback help. And then, of course, pray that the quarterback you got is the right quarterback.
Along those lines, the Bears are convinced Trubisky has the ideal makeup to be a big-time success. And you know where I point in this discussion. To Nov. 26 of last year. The Bears had their doors blown off that afternoon in Philadelphia, fell to 3-8 with a performance that may have been without a single bright spot. And I openly wondered about how Trubisky would handle the season’s final five weeks.
Here he was, a rookie quarterback for a last-place team with a lame-duck coaching staff and a group of receivers that was going to be cast aside at season’s end. It could have been excused as human nature if Trubisky had shrugged, went through the motions in December and simply saved his energy for the reboot.
But he didn’t. More important than his numbers down the stretch — the 2-3 record, a .671 completion percentage, 212 passing yards per game with three TD passes and three interceptions — was Trubisky’s investment in the grind, the way he stayed locked in and pushed himself to make progress on every day. You can’t fake that. And teammates definitely notice and respond. It keeps a locker room energized. And it sets a standard that needs to be matched.
Campbell: That was a positive, no doubt. But that has to be only Step 1. As a performer, Trubisky is unproven — at least by the standard against which he eventually will be judged. And the same adjective could be applied to Pace and Nagy. There’s a triangle of influence leading the Bears, and all three parts are unproven in their current roles. That’s why skepticism is fair, even healthy.
Trubisky has to be more consistent mechanically than he was even late in his rookie season (at the Lions, for example). And from a mental standpoint, we’ve already heard how intense Nagy’s scheme is for a quarterback. Adjustments and critical details are layered into every play.
Will Trubisky gain command of the scheme? How quickly can Nagy go from Offense 101 with him to more advanced levels? Will the new receivers around him help? It will be fun to learn the answers, but it would also be naive not to expect more growing pains.
Wiederer: So here comes the most important part — Trubisky and Nagy forging a bond and then getting to work to get on the same page. And quickly. The clock is ticking.
Because the collective bargaining agreement prohibits coaches from interacting with players from the end of the season until April, Trubisky will be getting his new playbook for the first time Tuesday. Training camp begins in 15 weeks. The regular season arrives about a month and a half after that. In other words, there’s a critical game of catch-up that needs to start immediately.
It’s a situation the Rams found themselves in a year ago with new coach Sean McVay pushing to accelerate the growth of Jared Goff. I asked Rams general manager Les Snead last month what the keys were for Goff and McVay in getting in sync once they were officially allowed to begin working together.
“In their cases,” Snead said, “Jared was itching to come back to continue getting better; and obviously Sean was itching to install his offense and do his part in helping Jared improve. But it was really two human beings who were passionate about getting better.
“Once that occurs, (it’s big). I don’t know if they took any time off. So Jared was then working weekends per se.”
As Trubisky’s roommate in California these past few months, Goff likely reminded the Bears quarterback to keep his spring calendar clear. Now, Nagy’s prowess as a teacher will get its first big test.
Campbell: That’s another thing about Trubisky with which Pace is not only comfortable, he’s, ahem, fired up.
The GM believes Trubisky’s obsession with turning the Bears around matches his own. Along with Nagy, their burning commitment is an encouraging starting point. This is why you change coaches — to create the energy, synergy and potential the Bears have as they report Tuesday for 2018.
If they win eight or more games this season, we’ll look back and see that as the foundation for their improvement. If the loss column shows double digits again, all this offseason talk would be exposed as hot air, just as it has been all too recently at Halas Hall. At least the start of the offseason program brings us one step closer to finding out.
dwiederer@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @danwiederer
rcampbell@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @rich_Campbell
