The Chicago Bears committed to some hardcore changes on offense during the offseason.
The offensive coaching staff was reshuffled, GM Ryan Pace traded for Nick Foles, and spent the team’s first draft pick on tight end Cole Kmet. The Bears gave big money to Jimmy Graham, added Ted Ginn, and turned Cordarrelle Patterson into a running back.
All of this was done with one simple goal: be better than the bottom-five offense that they were in 2019.
Has it worked?
Nope. At least, not yet.
Check out these stats shared by The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain:
How the Bears stack up with the rest of the NFL on offense…
4.97 yards per play (26th)
4.15 yards per carry (16th)
5.72 yards per pass (27th)
5.53% sack rate per pass (18th)
33.3% on third down (t-29th)
53.3% in the red zone (25th)
21.0 points per game (27th)— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 14, 2020
The running game has improved to the middle of the pack and the Bears’ pass protection is close to that mark, too. But the rest of the offense is among the 10-worst teams in the NFL. Not great.
So much for Matt Nagy being an offensive innovator, right? Let’s face it: it’s Year 3 of the Nagy regime and the offense still looks like it’s being coached by John Fox and Dowell Loggains.
OK, maybe it isn’t that bad.
The good news? Chicago is 4-1, stealing victories from the jaws of defeat while figuring out this whole “scoring points” thing.
The Bears’ offense should slowly but surely look better with every rep Foles takes as the starter. At least, it better. Otherwise, wholesale changes will be coming in the not-too-distant future.