(670 The Score) You can change who calls the plays.
You can change the pregame routines, the pre-snap formations, the overall tempo and general offensive game plan of a football game.
You can even change the script.
But you can't change the roster.
You can't change the talent. You can't make something out of nothing or doubt into hope.
You can't make weak offensive linemen block stronger, inaccurate quarterbacks throw straighter, ordinary running backs more special or unreliable receivers more dependable.
So when Bears coach Matt Nagy surprisingly announced he was ceding play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bill Lazor ahead of a 19-13 loss to the Vikings on Monday at Soldier Field, Chicago should've known better.
We should've resisted thinking anything would be different offensively with the same bunch of limited players. We all should've learned by now. Nagy could've chartered a private jet to fly in Chiefs coach Andy Reid, his offensive mentor, to call plays against the Vikings and the Bears offense likely never would've scored a touchdown.
All the organization and imagination in the football world doesn't matter without execution.
And, put diplomatically, the Bears offense can't execute. Put more directly, the Bears offense stinks. Its scheme, its personnel, its depth, everything about it stinks. The plays, the groupings, the slogans, it all carries the whiff of failure. It all makes you want to pinch your nose.
Do the Bears' biggest problems start with Nagy and his hand-picked coaching staff or general manager Ryan Pace and his front office? The answer is yes. As Nagy's predecessor, John Fox, once said, "It's all a problem.'' It's chairman George McCaskey's problem. The crisis has reached the point that it can't be ignored at the highest levels of Halas Hall.
Statistically, only three defenses in the league were worse than the Vikings heading into Monday. The Bears made them look like the Purple People Eaters.
The Bears offense didn't score a point or gain a yard in the third quarter. It had four straight three-and-out series in the second half. The Bears didn't get a first down after halftime until less than five minutes remained in the fourth quarter. The 149 yards of total offense represented the lowest output of the Nagy era, which seems more finite than ever.
It could get worse before it gets better. The schedule says the Bears play the Packers on Sunday Night Football on Nov. 29 after a week off and run the risk of falling below .500 after starting the season 5-1. In what some of us called a playoffs-or-bust season for Pace or possibly Nagy, the Bears are imploding.
Sensing the season getting away after three straight losses, Nagy fired himself as play-caller last week and put Lazor in that role. But that only made the Bears act like a lost motorist asking someone new for directions. Turns out, they're still headed south.
If the process changed, the production didn't. The Bears answered urgency with futility. The result was as awful as the last time the Bears played in front of a nationally televised audience, against the Rams. Maybe the Bears should ask to get flexed out of any primetime games until they can field a bona fide NFL offense, though that will take at least an offseason. What do the Bears do well offensively? Nothing.
To add injury to insult, quarterback Nick Foles left the field on cart in the final minute after he landed awkwardly on his back. What a terrible, scary scene to see Foles wincing in agony as the medical team examined his leg and hip. Regardless of how limited Foles has proved to be since replacing Mitchell Trubisky, the veteran leader has been an All-Pro individual who has made an impact on the organization in just more than half-a-season. He's among league leaders in character.
"I hope he's OK, but he was in a lot of pain,'' Nagy said. "When you see that down there with him, you feel for him. That part is hard.''
Without Foles, whose status remained unclear, according to Nagy, the Bears naturally will consider going back to Trubisky – if he recovers from a right shoulder injury in the next two weeks – or perpetual No. 3 quarterback Tyler Bray. The Bears also recently signed well-traveled Kyle Sloter to the practice squad. Or maybe another quarterback emerges.
"I don't know yet on Mitch, (but) I think there's a possibility,'' Nagy said of Trubisky's availability.
The truth? It really doesn't matter who plays quarterback, not until the Bears can assemble an offensive line capable of building a pocket on passing plays and controlling the line of scrimmage on runs. It really doesn't matter who calls the play either, for that matter.
Foles missed throws NFL quarterbacks can't miss in going 15-of-26 for 106 yards and an interception, but it would be a mistake to believe the Bears are one or two players away from consistency. Or one or two expertly called plays. They're not. They rank below average at every offensive position except perhaps wide receiver, where Allen Robinson is like the luxury sports car confined to driving in circles around a cul-de-sac.
As a result, the Bears risk wasting another year of elite defense and outstanding special teams. That's the biggest travesty. Cordarelle Patterson – a model of versatility who lined up at running back, wide receiver and took two snaps in the Wildcat formation – scored the Bears' only touchdown on a record 104-yard kickoff return. Anthony Miller also added excitement with a 32-yard punt return that gave the Bears offense the ball at the Vikings' 46-yard line with 5:01 left.
Yet it wasn't enough for Nagy's offense. It never is enough.
"Obviously, we struggled and it overshadows how well I thought our defense played and our special teams played,'' Nagy said. "It's been a constant theme for us.''
Imagine the frustration building within Bears defensive players. They bottled up Vikings star Dalvin Cook for three quarters until Akiem Hicks missed the fourth with a hamstring injury. Cook finished with 96 tough yards on 30 carries. Kirk Cousins efficiently completed 25 of 36 for 292 yards, two touchdowns to Adam Thielen and an interception for his first victory over the Bears as a Viking. Rookie receiver Justin Jefferson found room in the secondary to catch eight passes for 135 yards.
Yet the Bears' defensive effort was valiant until the Vikings simply wore them down, keeping the football for 35:50. The Vikings amassed 385 total yards, but that stat seems misleading. Bears linebacker Roquan Smith roamed sideline to sideline with abandon, making eight tackles, including three for a loss, and a sack. Star edge rusher Khalil Mack intercepted Cousins after dropping into coverage. Safety Tashaun Gipson recovered a fumble. Hicks dominated until leaving with the hamstring injury that threatens to weaken the front seven. The defense showed up, unlike the other side of the ball.
Sigh. With 12 days until the next game and negativity hard to avoid, the Bears need to make sure the toughest opponent remaining isn't themselves. Afterward, safety Eddie Jackson addressed teammates about doing a better job of holding each other accountable through this familiar adversity.
"You can't be afraid to use your voice …regardless of what the coach thinks,'' Jackson said. "We've got to hold each other accountable. Guys come off the field with their head down and nobody says anything to him … If you see a guy with his head down, say, 'Get your head up.'"
After another embarrassment, that's easier said than done.
David Haugh is the co-host of the Mully & Haugh Show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on 670 The Score. Click here to listen. Follow him on Twitter @DavidHaugh.
