Much has been made this past week about Matt Nagy’s play calling during the Bears’ 10-3 loss to Green Bay last Thursday. Whether it was David Montgomery’s use (or lack thereof), the team tipping their hand on RPO’s, or ditching the running game for good halfway through the third quarter, Nagy has faced more criticism regarding the gameplanning – long considered his calling card – more than ever before.
Denver head coach Vic Fangio isn’t buying that, though. Fangio was Nagy’s defensive coordinator last year, and their time spent together on the back fields at Halas Hall showed the Broncos’ coach all he needed to see.
“Well, I think he’s very versatile in that he can be committed to throwing it a lot, or running it a lot or mixing it up,” Fangio said. “I think he’s a guy who will do whatever it takes. I don’t think he does one way of doing things. He’s going to do whatever is best for the team to move the ball.
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“He has a good imagination with how he goes about it. Each and every week, they put together a different game plan from week-to-week, use their versatile players and run their offense. They’ve got a lot of nice players there that can be moved around and be versatile and play in different spots, and he’s a good guy to have that on his plate because he knows how to use it.”
It’s been a complimentary week at Halas Hall, and it’s clear that Nagy and Bears’ players are chomping at the bit to play against their former “mad scientist,” as Khalil Mack put it. The feeling is clearly mutual, as Fangio mentioned that "most everyone" on the Bears' defense "jumped off the tape."
“They're still really really good and it was fun to kind of watch them play as I watched the video yesterday,” he added. “Lot of great players there, a lot of great people and players that I have a lot of fondness for. Glad to see them doing so well.”
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