Is Bears coach Matt Nagy’s war against negativity — or reality?

Nagy thinks it’s absurd that the media is peppering him as though the Bears are 2-5, not 5-2. But he’s smart enough to know this season is not on the right track.

SHARE Is Bears coach Matt Nagy’s war against negativity — or reality?
Matt Nagy’s offense is 27th in points and 29th in yardage.

Matt Nagy’s offense is 27th in points and 29th in yardage.

Mike McCarn/AP

Coach Matt Nagy has swerved all over the road when it comes to what he thinks of the Bears this season.

He saw what everyone else saw during their 3-1 start, that they were inches from being 0-4 and had alarming deficiencies, then shredded his offense for its sloppiness after beating the Buccaneers.

He swung hard the other direction and waved his 5-1 record defiantly after beating the middling Panthers. Then he took another sharp turn after being smacked by the Rams: “I’ve never been a part of this before.”

By Thursday, he was back to lecturing about negativity amid a string of critical questions about an offense that ranks somewhere between 27th and 30th in just about everything. He bristled as the media peppered him about those shortfalls.

“We are 5-2,” Nagy said. “We are not 2-5. That’s very, very important for all of us to understand. I would be a terrible head coach if I was walking around this building right now acting like we are 2-5. How crazy would that be if I did that?

“So I’m going to make sure that the positivity stays. Are we going to stick together, or are we going to be negative and talk about the what-ifs and the coulda, shoulda, wouldas and everything? We stay positive. We become better teachers, we become players, we stick together, we fight when we hit adversity. That’s what you do. That’s what more people should do in this world, in my opinion.”

Easy there. Maybe figure out the running game before straightening out society at large.

And God bless every Bears fan for fighting through the adversity of watching these games when cleaning the gutters somehow feels like less of a chore.

As Nagy scolds the “Negative Nellies,” his offense is trending the wrong way heading into a matchup with the Saints on Sunday.

In the three days since he was appalled by seeing his offense score fewer points (three) than his defense (seven), he learned that he might not have star wide receiver Allen Robinson because of a concussion. The Bears also don’t know how sturdy center Cody Whitehair will be on an injured calf.

When quarterback Nick Foles, who ranks 27th of 32 in passer rating, was asked what exactly is right with this offense, it hung in the air like a stench before he replied, “That’s a tough question.”

The answer was probably Robinson and Whitehair. It’s hard to find anyone else doing exceptional work — including Nagy.

And just to reassure everyone, he reiterated Thursday that a thorough review into this abysmal offense concluded that his play-calling isn’t the problem.

“We always look at everything,” he said. “We evaluate it all. But no.”

It might be time to hire an outside firm to conduct this investigation. Would Nagy even realize it if, in fact, he was the problem?

“Here’s what I would say to that question: That feels like somewhat of a negative thought I would have in my head,” he said. “Like, ‘When are things going to go so bad that I’m going to give up play-calling?’ 

“I know that’s kind of where this world is at today. There’s a lot of negativity, and people feed off of that. And we love all of that stuff right now — negative, negative.

“I understand the question, but I really try hard not to go there. Winning is important to us. Winning is important to this city. Winning is important to our organization.”

Of course it is. But people want real winning, not a 5-1 start that meanders to 10-6 before a swift dismissal from the playoffs. That’s cheap.

The thing is, Nagy knows that. As he said last year, he’s not an idiot. Part of his frustration with the criticism is he’s smart enough to know it’s legitimate. He’s not fighting public opinion. He’s fighting reality.

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