What Matt Nagy Just Doesn't Get About Offense in the NFL

The Bears beat up on the Texans 36-7 and it provided instant relief.

In the process they only showed why they'll most likely lose to Minnesota or stumble somewhere along the line in their playoff bid after recovering from a six-game losing streak.

Sadly, the problem is in coach Matt Nagy's thinking and the way their offense is applied.

This season seven of the top 10 teams in the NFL in rushing attempts are in playoff positions and seven of the bottom 10 teams in rushing attempts have losing records.

Last season, eight of the top 10 teams in rushing attempts made the playoffs and nine of the bottom 10 teams in rushing attempts had losing records

In 2018, eight of the top 10 teams in rushing attempts made the playoffs and seven of the bottom 10 teams in rushing attempts had losing records.

No need to go on, because it simply goes the same way every year.

A team with more rushing attempts makes the playoffs. Teams with losing records don't rush the ball enough. They are usually bad at rushing and fall behind but it's not always the case. Sometimes they foolishly pursue the pass more. Either way, they lose.

There is one major exception in all of this. Each of those three years the Kansas City Chiefs ranked in the bottom 10 in rushing attempts and they either made the playoffs or are in position this year to do it again.

Coming from Kansas City, perhaps Matt Nagy simply fails to understand the rushing statistics because the Chiefs bely logic thanks to Patrick Mahomes.

On Sunday, the Bears gave the ball to David Montgomery and he ran 80 yards for a touchdown. Then he got it 10 more times the rest of the game. That's it.

"I thought that in a perfect world, you'd love for him to get a few more, but we're scoring 36 points," Nagy said. "Just the way it went, I think probably when you look back at the fourth quarter, there's a couple times there, whether it's him and (Cordarrelle Patterson) where you're handing the ball off."

Then, these nine words explain the Nagy approach, the Matt Nagy experience, better than anything else:

"We were trying to stay a little bit aggressive," Nagy said.

They can only be aggressive if they're passing? Running is not being aggressive?

The Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens both pitted powerful running games against each other Monday night in one of the more entertaining and high-scoring games of the season.

They both looked pretty aggressive. The Ravens ran it 32 times and Browns 28 and neither had control of the game until the final gun.

The Rams sure looked aggressive running it right down the Bears' throats and the Packers did it for 182 yards. That's aggressive running.

Nagy says he has a number in mind for ideal carries for Montgomery: "I think probably 15 to 20 is a really good number for David," Nagy said.

Maybe 20 to 25 times, but 15 to 20 is too low when it works. And in only four games did Nagy get the ball in Montgomery's hands for at least 15 runs. He had 14 or fewer in the other eight games he played.

So let's not try to kid anyone.

The ideal number of carries in Nagy's mind is low, 15 or less for Montgomery. He's a player who seems to gain even when there is no path to gain. His fight when he runs excites teammates. His linemen get fired up when he's breaking tackles.

Yet, they gave it to him 11 times and said they wanted to be aggressive instead.

Montgomery looks pretty aggressive when he runs.

"That's just kind of how it went," Nagy said. "I felt David played really hard and played really well and the line blocked well," Nagy said.

Apparently he didn't run hard enough and the line didn't block well enough to push those carries up to a level where teams in the top 10 in attempts are.

Giving it to the running back 11 times is what losing teams do, except for the Kansas City Chiefs.

There is no Mahomes coming to suit up for the Bears, so giving it to Montgomery 14 times a game like the Bears average simply is going to help make them a non-playoff team and maybe a losing team again.

Matt Nagy makes so much sense so often, and as a coach he has a real handle on how to lead men and this team.

Yet he doesn't understand this most basic rule of offense. He is still the Arena League quarterback winging it all over the field.

Running is just as aggressive as passing. It isn't a passive attack method. If it was, then seven, eight, nine of the top 10 teams in rushing attempts every year would not be in the playoffs.

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