Ryan Glasspiegel
Videos by OutKick
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:
@sportsrapport pic.twitter.com/4GfPqcYvXd
— OutKick (@Outkick) October 27, 2020
After the game, Foles and Nagy downplayed the comments. Here’s what Foles said:
Nick Foles: "That was definitely a miscommunication with Brian (Griese) and I."
Foles says he was trying to explain to Griese conversations he has with Nagy on the sidelines.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2020
Nick Foles says he saw the Brian Griese clip and can see how Griese took his comments that way, but emphasized that he and Nagy have a great relationship and "I would never say anything like that."
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) October 27, 2020
More Nick Foles on the conversation Brian Griese relayed on the ESPN broadcast: "I would never say anything like that. … Everything I know about Brian is he's a great dude."
Explains that he was talking to Griese about his sideline communication with Nagy about the call sheet.
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) October 27, 2020
And here’s what Nagy said:
I read out the specific quote Brian Griese said on air to Nagy – this was Nagy's response: https://t.co/NicIspqFiW
— JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) October 27, 2020
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:
@sportsrapport pic.twitter.com/BRbQkhVYXy
— OutKick (@Outkick) October 27, 2020
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.
The Bears are probably the weakest 5-2 team in recent NFL history, I still think Nagy is not an NFL head coach (or coordinator) and maxes out in the CFL with Mark Trestman. I have no doubt that Griese understood perfectly what Foles was laying down. That offense has been a disaster for years. The only thing the Bears do well is play defense.
Cleveland Browns would like a word with you.