A team weaning itself off its first-round pick at quarterback settled on a replacement who’d worked with its play-caller before, only to have to play catch-up after NFL rules prohibited teams from meeting this offseason.
Sound familiar?
Teddy Bridgewater and the Panthers faced the same challenges that Nick Foles and the Bears have detailed since he took over as the starter. The Panthers, though, are weeks — maybe even months — ahead, the result of their immediate commitment to Bridgewater as the starter.
Bridgewater took every starting snap in preseason practice and has taken every one thus far during the season. Foles, by contrast, didn’t start his first game until Week 4. Once Mitch Trubisky was named the starter toward the end of camp, Foles hardly played in practice.
The Bears continue, in coach Matt Nagy’s words, to “calibrate” their offense to fit Foles. The Panthers, meanwhile, have already lived through those growing pains.
Bridgewater has thrown the second-highest percentage of passes to receivers deemed open, per Pro Football Focus, while Foles has thrown the second-fewest among starters.
Even without star running back Christian McCaffrey, who’s on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain, the Panthers boast Robby Anderson, the NFL’s fourth-leading receiver, and Mike Davis, who’s second in receiving yards among running backs.
Bridgewater’s 73.4 completion percentage leads the NFL, his 292 passing yards per game ranks sixth 101.9 passer rating ranks No. 11 in the league. Foles’ 63.7 completion percentage ranks 24th, his 226.7 yards rank 25th and his 83.9 passer rating 28th.
Sunday’s game, then, will be a matchup of where the Bears’ offense is now versus where they want to be.
“He’s a really good quarterback,” said Nagy, who noticed Bridgewater’s intelligence and charm during NFL Scouting Combine interviews in 2014. “I think those guys in Carolina are doing a really good job scheming for him, putting him in great situations, and he’s making really good plays. I have a lot of respect for him. I think our defense knows what they have in store with him.”
In a different world, the quarterbacks could be on the opposite team.
The Bears looked at signing Bridgewater — who torched them in a 36-25 Week 7 win last year — before he agreed to a thee-year, $63 million deal with the Panthers in March. That allowed him to rejoin offensive coordinator Joe Brady, with whom he worked in New Orleans.
The Bears zeroed in on Foles, who agreed to be traded from the Jaguars — and take a pay cut — because he wanted to reunite with three coaches he’d worked with before: head coach Matt Nagy, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo,
Those connections eased the transition for both quarterbacks. Both already knew the offensive terminology, which helped them study the playbook during a work-from-home offseason. Their personalities — charismatic, calm demeanors — have helped their teams move on from Cam Newton, who was cut in late March, and Mitch Trubisky, who was benched in Week 3. During summer camp, Bears pass game coordinator Dave Ragone said Foles was “gravitating to players” and “pulling guys aside.” First-year Panthers head coach Matt Rhule said this week that Bridgewater “gets guys to come along with him.”
Nagy has been clear that fine-tuning the offense to match Foles’ strengths is going to take time. The Panthers, though, have made it through to the other side.
Bridgewater had a head start that the Bears could have given Foles had they picked the right starter, earlier.
“Learning the players and learning the timing and building a chemistry on offense, that’s really hard,” Rhule said. “I think we’ve done it at a good level.
“It’s taken time. It’s taken some games, you know?”
