Brian Griese provided some commentary during Monday night’s game between the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Rams that indicated there is a disconnect between Nick Foles and Bears head coach Matt Nagy, but the quarterback says Griese must have misinterpreted something.
With the Bears trailing 24-10 late in the fourth quarter, Griese said on the ESPN broadcast that he spoke with Foles the day before about playcalls the quarterback gets from the sideline. According to Griese, Foles said a playcall will sometimes come in from Nagy and Foles knows from the start the play is not going to work.
Here’s the clip of Griese’s explanation:
Brian Griese on Nick Foles telling him Nagy sends in play call and Foles already knows the play won’t work because he won’t have enough time after snap. pic.twitter.com/NRo7rntR8F
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 27, 2020
“(Foles) said, ‘Sometimes playcalls come in and I know that I don’t have time to execute that playcall. I’m the one out here getting hit. Sometimes the guy calling the plays, Matt Nagy, he doesn’t know how much time there is back here,'” Griese recalled. “That’s something that they have to get worked out.”
Both Foles and Nagy were asked about the commentary after the game. Nagy insisted that conversation is not one he and Foles have had and that he was unsure of what Griese meant. Foles explained that Griese misinterpreted what the quarterback was trying to say.
“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,” Foles said, via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. “In that situation with Brian, it was just a miscommunication because that’s not what I was trying to bring across in that conversation.”
Foles said what he was trying to convey to Griese was how he and Nagy make adjustments during games. The quarterback said those are productive conversations.
“We were talking about game situations and Coach Nagy’s and [my] conversations and our relationship,” Foles added. “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.”
Even if there is no disconnect between Nagy and Foles, the Bears need to find ways to score more points. Their defense gave them plenty of opportunities to stay in the game, but Foles and company sputtered all night. Chicago’s only touchdown was a defensive score late in the game. The lowlight on offense was a pathetic attempt to convert on 4th down while trailing 24-3.
The Bears are 5-2, but performances like the one we saw on Monday night are why many believe they’re pretenders. Another tough matchup awaits against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
