As if the Bears didn’t have enough to sort out after losing 24-10 to the Rams on Monday, coach Matt Nagy and Nick Foles had to answer for a troubling comment relayed by ESPN’s Brian Griese during the broadcast.
As Foles and the offense stumbled through their worst performance of the season, Griese shared something he said came from Foles during a production meeting Sunday.
“We were talking to Nick Foles yesterday, [and] he said, ‘You know, sometimes play calls come in and I know that I don’t have time to execute that play call. You know, I’m the one out here getting hit. Sometimes the guy calling the plays, Matt Nagy, he doesn’t knowhow much time there is back here,’” Griese said in the fourth quarter. “So that’s something that they have to get worked out.”
If that’s what Foles said, it indicates a lack of trust in the offensive line and a disconnect between him and Nagy.
Nagy wasn’t sure what to make of that anecdote after the game.
“Nick and I have a pretty good relationship, and he hasn’t said that,” Nagy said. “I’m sure he’ll explain what he meant by that.”
Foles confirmed the conversation that Griese mentioned in the broadcast, but said it was misconstrued.
“That was definitely a miscommunication with Brian and I,” he said. “We do these pre-game conversations the day before the game just to give [the broadcast team] information. That conversation — Coach Nagy and I have great conversations on the sidelines.
“There might be times where we go through it beforehand and say, ‘What do you think?’ And there’s times where you’ve got to get the ball out quick and whatnot. But in those situations, Matt and I have a great relationship on the sideline. In that situation with Brian, it was just a miscommunication because that’s not what I was trying to bring across in that conversation.”
When pressed, Foles elaborated on what he intended to communicate in the production meeting.
“When Coach Nagy and I talk on the sidelines, we’ll go through plays and different situations and go through the defense,” he said. “I’ll be honest, like, ‘Hey, right now, maybe get the ball out quicker. They’re bringing some pressures,’ and whatnot. We were talking about game situations and Coach Nagy’s and [my] conversations and our relationship.
“Part of that was [that sometimes I say], ‘Hey, maybe we don’t have the time right now for this type of drop because of what they’re bringing, the pressures they’re bringing.’ It’s easier with that to go, ‘Hey, 1, 2, 3, ball out.’ That’s where the miscommunication lies.
“Those are actually conversations Coach Nagy and I have on the sidelines so that when we go to the field we’re ready to roll. I think that’s a valuable relationship I have with him, to be able to talk like that and understand specifically.”
