Tom Thayer recently brought up a comparison for Matt Nagy
Former Chicago Bears standout guard Tom Thayer had some harsh comments for former head coach Matt Nagy and he mentioned a name that fans would like to forget.
In an interview with Bernstein & Holmes on 670 The Score, the topic of discussion turned to why Matt Nagy failed as head coach of the Bears, specifically on offense. He didn’t hold back and offered up an interesting, and brutal, comparison: former offensive coordinator Terry Shea. Here’s a quote from the interview:
“Terry Shea, he used to carry this playbook that was the size of, you know, three thick books together. “Oh, I’ve got 1200 plays in here.” And then Matt Nagy, “I’ve got 800 plays.” Anybody who’s got more plays, they know less about football. Because they’re trying to continuously fool the person instead of running something perfectly.”
Here’s the full segment from the interview: Tom Thayer Interview Bernstein & Holmes 670 The Score
Terry Shea led a Bears offense that finished dead last in 2004
Quite the comparison. For those that don’t recall him, Shea was the first offensive coordinator to serve under Lovie Smith back in 2004. The Bears started off that season 1-2 with a win at Green Bay in Week 2 and moved the ball well in those first three games. However, towards the end of the Week 3 loss at Minnesota, starting quarterback Rex Grossman went down with a season ending knee injury. With it went the Bears offense.
For the remainder of that season, the Bears trotted out Jonathan Quinn, rookie Craig Krenzel, and Chad Hutchinson at quarterback. Those names sparked zero fear into opposing defenses and they experienced very limited success. The only bright spot on the offense was free agent pickup Thomas Jones, who rushed for 948 yards on 240 carries.
The Bears finished that season #32 in the offensive rankings and much of the blame for that fell on Shea. And rightfully so, due to his overbearing playbook and ultimate lack of success calling plays. The poor showing led to his dismissal after the season and the hiring of Ron Turner for his second tour of duty as Bears’ offensive coordinator.
Tom Thayer points out bloated playbooks don’t equate to success
Thayer makes a valid point. Teams that are successful offensively execute their plays well. If new plays are constantly being added, execution is going to suffer for the sake of trying to “trick” the opposing team.
Hopefully, Luke Getsy can focus the team on mastering a set of plays and executing them to perfection. Quality versus quantity.
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