Matt Nagy got his 1st on-field time with Justin Fields as the Chicago Bears wrap up rookie minicamp. What’s next in the offseason program?
Count Matt Nagy among the many people with “Zoom fatigue” after more than a year of pandemic precautions.
The Chicago Bears coach said it was “awesome” to get on the field Sunday for rookie minicamp at Halas Hall after watching the first two days of camp virtually because of a COVID-19 close contact.
The practice was only a short walk-through that was closed to the media. But it allowed Nagy his first on-field time with new quarterback Justin Fields and the other rookies after meeting with them virtually over the two weeks since the draft.
“You can have a conversation with them face to face,” said Nagy, who has received one of two vaccine shots. “I love Zoom. Zoom has been phenomenal. All these virtual meetings have been great, and we’ve adapted. But I’m tired of it. I’m ready for these personal relationships … being able to sit down and try to have lunch with somebody and have a conversation about life.
“And it’s so much different to install plays in person without masks on and be able to see reactions and how they smile or how they don’t smile and how you smile as a teacher and don’t smile. It’s just crazy. I’m ready for the real deal.”
All Bears players can report to Halas Hall on Monday for a ramp-up period that Nagy said will be about 75% strength and conditioning and 25% mental reps and “class on the grass.” Voluntary organized team activities are scheduled to start June 1, with mandatory veteran minicamp June 15-17.
Nagy said the Bears would have a better idea Monday how many players they will have at OTAs and will then set their plan accordingly.
The NFLPA encouraged players to skip OTAs this year because of concerns about uniform COVID-19 protocols and injury prevention. Bears players sent out a statement through the union April 15 saying the majority of players would skip voluntary workouts.
But ESPN reported Friday that about 15 teams have changed their OTAs and minicamp plans after conversations between players and coaches. The Bears are one of those teams, dropping their first week of OTAs, which was scheduled for May 25-27.
Nagy said the Bears plan to use feedback from players in the upcoming stretch of the offseason to determine if they need to pull back on the volume of what they’re doing. And he emphasized the importance of the mental work in the weeks ahead.
“This is the beautiful part of the offseason, being able to take the mental reps and really take your time to break down the philosophical view or belief of some part of a play,” Nagy said. “It might not be the four routes or five routes together, but it might be two routes versus a certain coverage. And teach it and let them understand it, so when it happens in training camp and when it happens in the season, it’s easy.”
If quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Nick Foles report for the voluntary work, it will mark the start of a juggling act for Bears coaches as they try to get Dalton ready for the season with a new team while also developing Fields.
Nagy said they are treating Dalton as the starter, and he will get the No. 1 reps. But they also are fueling the competition by telling Fields and Foles they should be doing everything they can to become the starter.
Nagy understands the intense interest in when Fields will become the starter. But the coaches believe they need to let the process play out in the months ahead before they can make that determination.
“When you trade up to draft a quarterback like Justin, everyone’s very excited and they want to know when, when, when, and trust me, we all understand that,” Nagy said. “But we need to make sure that whatever that plan is that we put together, that it’s the best thing for the Chicago Bears.
“The easiest way for us to simply think about this is it’ll all happen for those quarterbacks. They’ll all play however they’re supposed to play. We’re all going to see whatever we’re supposed to see, and then it’s our job as evaluators of who they are and what their strengths and weaknesses are to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make the Bears the best team possible.”
Nagy called the three-day rookie minicamp as a whole “sharp” and “really clean,” but there’s much more to assess when it comes to Fields.
Over the next couple of weeks as the Bears move into OTAs, Nagy said he wants to see how Fields does mentally getting in and out of the huddle and having the “first wide vision.”
“When the play is coming into the headset and then you call the play and you break the huddle, when you walk up to the line of scrimmage when you’re in the quarterback position, it can feel like you don’t see anything,” Nagy said. “You’re trying to think of what you saw on the installs and you’re trying to figure out what’s going on.
“But you really need to be looking to your first wide vision to the right to see if your Z receiver is off the ball and your Y receiver is on the ball. Is your X on the ball? Where’s your running back? OK, where’s the Mike (linebacker) at? Now, OK, I’ve got to call before the play clock runs out. And then post-snap, there’s a disguise in the read with the progression of the defense, rotation.
“So I want to see that speed up. He’s done a really good job so far in what little bit that we’ve seen in this rookie minicamp of post-snap vision, which was a strength of his in college. So that’s just got to continue to speed up, and he’s going to get a great opportunity to do that against our defense. That’s where we’re going to have to see, OK, are there a lot of mistakes being made, or are there a lot of plays being made and is it natural and is it easy for him?”
Nagy is scheduled to speak with the media next for another Fields update on the second day of OTAs on June 2. Stay tuned for those answers.
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