Bears Do Damage Control After Brian Griese Remark About Nick Foles and Matt Nagy

The Bears were done in against the Rams in part by a turnstile offensive line that saw Nick Foles get sacked four times and hit a total of eight times. Hits on QBs are generally unremarkable, as they are part of the game, but a comment from Brian Griese on Monday Night Football brought them front and center. According to Griese, Nick Foles told members of the media that Bears head coach Matt Nagy sometimes calls plays that Foles has no time to execute, giving opposing defenses a chance to hit him:

After the game, Foles and Nagy downplayed the comments. Here's what Foles said:

And here's what Nagy said:

The most likely explanation is that Foles was talking to Griese in the gray area where broadcasters communicate with players and coaches, and that Foles meant to speak on background. It's also reasonable to assume that what Foles actually said wasn't nearly as inflammatory as Griese made it seem during the broadcast. Griese himself clarified some of his remarks with Scott Van Pelt after the game:

 

The Bears are 5-2, so it might feel a little bit dramatic to build a story about miscommunications and potential in-fighting. Nonetheless, the Bears can't expect anything less when they laid an egg in primetime with everybody watching.

Next week, the Bears host the Saints on Sunday afternoon.