The Chicago Bears (4-1) have gotten off to their best start in eight years, following another comeback 20-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But it hasn’t distracted from the concerns on offense.
On Friday, Matt Nagy criticized the offense for its lack of details, and you could tell he was visibly angry about the continued ineffectiveness of an offense he was brought in to jumpstart.
But the feeling is mutual between Nagy and his offensive players, who agreed that they have to get better at the details in order to be successful on offense.
Receiver Allen Robinson told reporters Monday that the offense knows they simply have to get better, and, if they can, they’ll finally reach a milestone that’s eluded them as long as a contract extension has eluded Robinson. They’ll finally be the offense they know they can be.
“I think everybody should be fired up about that,” Robinson said. “That’s what also makes the players that we have in this locker room special, is we don’t have any complacency. None of our quarterbacks are complacent. Our receivers aren’t complacent. Nobody is walking around here satisfied.
“Yeah, we fortunately have started 4-1. It’s tough to win in this league. But at the end of the day, we’re not sitting back waiting on praise or thinking that we have arrived or anything like that. We know we have a long way to go, and we also know the capability [of the offense] if we reach that point and if we are the offense we say we want to be. So again, everyone should be fired up around the offense.”
Right guard Germain Ifedi didn’t take any offense to Nagy’s criticism, agreeing that they have to be more detailed as an offensive unit, particularly on the offensive line, which has struggled in the run game over these last two games.
“He’s completely right,” Ifedi said. “I’ve seen what he’s said and it’s completely right. If we don’t embrace what he said, if we don’t take that as a great challenge and something we should wear every day, then we’re wrong. We have to be better. We have to be more detailed.”
The Bears have faced two talented defenses over these past two weeks, but this offense has been disjointed from the start against some pretty poor defenses.
Luckily for the Bears, they had an extra few days to hammer out the details they need to perfect in order to be even just an average offense, which would go a long way for this team.
They’ll get a chance to rebound against a Carolina Panthers defense that’s allowing the fourth fewest passing yards in the league (222.2) but also a defense that this offense can find success against.
Then again, it’s all in the details.
