Bears ‘calibrating’ offense to fit Nick Foles

When coach Matt Nagy keeps using the same word — “calibrating” — to describe how the Bears are trying to build their offense around quarterback Nick Foles, he sounds like a mechanic who just rolled out from underneath a diesel engine.

Nagy is quick to point out that, until Sunday, he’d never called plays during a game Foles started. He and Mitch Trubisky teamed up 32 times. Foles didn’t have a preseason game to prepare, either — he didn’t even match his teammates’ names with their faces until late July.

The plays that worked best for Trubisky — under-center play-actions and throwing on the run — aren’t ideal for Foles, who’s most comfortable with read-option runs and deep throws from the shotgun.

Those reasons — or excuses — notwithstanding, benching Trubisky for Foles only makes sense if the Bears can calibrate his version of the offense quickly.

“It takes time to build that relationship on the field, and, obviously, being with new players, new place, I think that’s what he means by ‘calibrate,’ ” Foles said Tuesday. “Every day is an opportunity to get better and better, and we get more and more comfortable on the field.”

The Bears are trying to be patient, but they can’t afford to be for long.

“It’s probably a good balance of understanding … could we have played a lot better on Sunday? Without a doubt,” Nagy said. “We know that.

“Is this going to take a little bit of time? Yes, it is. It is going to take some time. And so that is where us as coaches and as players, as long as we understand that but also know that we need to get on this as soon as we can — whatever that is — and score points.”

Especially with the Buccaneers, who average 30 per game, coming to town.

The Bears managed only 11 points in Sunday’s home loss to the Colts, with eight coming on a touchdown that Nagy pooh-poohed because it happened during garbage time.

The Bears’ offense looked stuck in mud. Foles took the blame for some mistakes, whether it was overthrowing Anthony Miller by six inches on an interception the receiver tipped or the “silly error” of Foles transposing two plays in his head, which led him to fake a handoff to a running back that wasn’t there.

More pressing problems, though, were the Bears’ inept running game and 4-for-14 performance on third down. Foles completed 26 of 42 passes for 249 yards and a 76.4 passer rating and didn’t look like the quarterback who rallied the Bears from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter against the Falcons.

“I think when you look at how our team played when he was in [against the Falcons] and compare it to how our team played in this game, you see so many differences,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said.

The challenge, Lazor said, is to balance what works best for Foles with concepts the offensive line, running backs and other positions thrive in.

Lazor was actually encouraged by the communication and play-calling operation Sunday. He doesn’t sound worried about the quarterback.

“He has seen and done a lot,” Lazor said. “So I guess I don’t think of what Nick can’t do.”

Sunday’s starting task was harder than the week before, when all he had to do was pinch-hit.

“Don’t underestimate the first time a guy prepares and gets ready to start,” Lazor said. “I feel that Nick’s right on track from what we need him to be.”

The offense is not. Calibration must come soon.

“Every day is another day to improve with the calibration, reps, getting out there and playing with new people,” Foles said. “There’s something special about when you get to be in the same place with the same guys for a long time. You build that chemistry, and you can adapt.

“Right now, we’re building that with everyone here.”