Getty Bears coach Matt Nagy
Former Detroit Lions quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky has some strong words of advice for Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy. Orlovsky, who spent 12 seasons in the league, has been critical of Nagy in the past for his failure to develop Mitch Trubisky.
The former Bears quarterback is now the backup for Josh Allen in Buffalo, and considering none of the 31 other teams in the NFL brought him to so much as compete for a starting spot, Trubisky’s value was pretty much determined by a market that gave him $2.5 million for one year behind an MVP candidate. By comparison, the Pittsburgh Steelers just re-signed Mason Rudolph to a one-year deal worth up to $5 million, so that should tell people something about Trubisky’s perceived value in the league.
Orlovsky doesn’t acknowledge Trubisky’s mediocrity, but he does seem to blame Nagy for his former quarterback’s failures — and now he has a warning for the Bears coach about new signal-caller Justin Fields.
The latest Bears news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on Bears newsletter here!
Orlovsky: Don’t Ask Justin Fields to Be a Pocket Passer
In a segment on NFL Live, Orlovsky looked directly into the camera to give Nagy some advice tinged with a little warning about what not to do when grooming Fields. “I’m talking directly to Matt Nagy. It is your job now to do for Justin Fields what you wouldn’t, couldn’t or didn’t for Mitchell Trubisky,” Orlovsky began. “I hate when coaches take young quarterbacks, and they don’t allow them to play to their strengths, right? Justin’s way more talented, but Mitchell Trubisky was an athlete, and you didn’t call enough run plays. You didn’t design enough athletic movement plays to allow his feet to be a strength for his play and his offense.”
Orlovsky then went on to warn Nagy against trying to turn Fields — who has completed 68.4 percent of his passes for 5,373 yards, 63 touchdowns and nine interceptions over the last two seasons with Ohio State — into a pocket passer:
The second thing is: You ask players to be something that they’re not. Mitchell Trubisky was not a pocket passing quarterback. It is incumbent upon you to make sure that you don’t ask Justin Fields — especially early on — to be a pocket passing quarterback. Will he grow into one? Absolutely. But it’s your job to make sure you sit there and look at yourself in the mirror and go ‘I learned from my past, and I’m not gonna do it the way I did it with Mitchell Trubisky.’ If you do that, then you get a chance with Justin Fields, because his talent is spectacular.
You can watch Orlovsky’s warning/plea to Nagy below:
To @ChicagoBears HC Matt Nagy-The Mirror needs to be your best friend now that you got @justnfields
#NFLDraft2021
Follow the Heavy on Bears Facebook page, where you can weigh in on all the latest Bears-related breaking news, rumors, content and more!
Bears Twitter Reacts to Orlovsky
Those who watched Trubisky most know that while he was incredibly athletic, he was also inept in many ways. He was prone to running out of bounds early on fourth down instead of staying in to try to get the first down, he consistently had difficulties reading defenses and his passing was wildly inconsistent. He was also given ample opportunity to utilize his skills as a runner (see: the 2018 season, his first in Nagy’s offense, when he ran for 421 yards and three scores), but he often looked hesitant and unsure.
Bears Twitter took the opportunity to remind Orlovsky of Trubisky’s shortcomings after his instructional plea to Nagy:
As many fans and analysts were quick to point out, Fields is far better operating from the pocket than Trubisky ever was, so we’ll see what Nagy and company have in store for their new franchise quarterback.
READ NEXT: Justin Fields Has Telling Comments on His Future With Bears