(670 The Score) A bad offensive line will always make for a bad offensive coordinator.
It's an immutable truth of the football universe that must be understood when evaluating the game in which Bears coach Matt Nagy's offense bottomed out in a demoralizing 26-6 loss to the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday, surrendering nine sacks and gaining just 47 net yards, their second-fewest in a game since 1970.
But it only goes so far to explain just how difficult it was for rookie quarterback Justin Fields Sunday, who even after a week of taking first-team practice snaps amid lofty praise from his embattled coach was asked to accomplish the seemingly impossible by throwing almost entirely from the pocket under intense pressure, into the smallest of windows.
Fields is at the outset of his development -- which is the single most important aspect of the franchise's current existence, remember -- and while he's still trying to acclimate to the timing of the game and the speed of opposing defenses, he's doing so in what is only nominally recognizable as an offensive system, seemingly designed to keep him from showing what he can do with his prodigious athletic talent.
There's nothing schemed to help Fields, no moving pockets or half-field reads or even defaulting to another ancient football adage: "If you can't block 'em, screen 'em." What rubs it in is seeing the team right across the line from the Bears doing exactly that, all while Nagy continues to tilt at windmills.
It's infuriating to watch, particularly when the Bears defense is clearly still capable of playing at a contending level until asked to sustain it in a game for longer than is humanly possible. And the chorus of bewildered criticism is coming from all corners, very deservedly so.
FOX analyst Greg Olsen noticed it early on, saying the Bears' game plan was "not an easy way to play quarterback." His late-game commentary picked that thread back up too.
"They need to ask, 'How do we build this scheme around his skill set?'" Olsen said. "On the move, RPO stuff, read-option, get him out on the perimeter."
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NFL analyst Dan Durkin took it a step further with a speculative accusation on Twitter: "Is this Nagy's way of getting Dalton back on the field when he's healthy? That's really messed up, if so. Coaching malpractice."
Dan Orlovsky of ESPN carried that thought to its extreme, even, tweeting: "Move on from Nagy right now. This is embarrassing and it feels purposeful."
Nagy was quick to accept responsibility at his postgame press conference, perhaps because he knows his bosses don't seem to care that his offense never works or they know that attention on him helps diffuse scrutiny of the contributing personnel mismanagement.
"I obviously as a head coach did not do a good enough job of getting this offense ready to go," Nagy said. "Starts with me, ends with me. Simple as that."
Except it's not.
The issues are more than about having players ready. They're also about the ongoing problem of Nagy struggling or refusing to see the game that's unfolding in front of him and coaching accordingly. It's that disconnect that's more troublesome and continually disconcerting. Those of us on the outside matter less now then all of those downcast eyes on the Bears sideline.
It gets very complicated indeed when we start to wonder how long this locker room can hold together when the players see what we see.
Dan Bernstein is the co-host of the Bernstein & Rahimi Show on middays from 9 a.m. until noon on 670 The Score. You can follow him on Twitter @Dan_Bernstein.
