Bears coordinator Loggains needs to help the team

[motm]

The Chicago Bears have any numbers of issues following their 0-1 start last week.


Those issues appear to be right where they were at the end of last season: questionable offensive line play, up and down secondary, struggling rush defense and troublesome pass rush.


However, one of the biggest losses from last season really reared its ugly head in week one: the loss of playcaller Adam Gase.


Dowell Loggains’ debut as offensive coordinator was a big let down as the team’s offense struggled to move the ball as the game went on. The offense managed 14 first downs and 258 total yards. The Bears were 4 of 13 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth down.


It’s only one game and the starting offensive line had all of four practices together in their starting iteration but the performance did not leave Bears fans feeling good about where the offense was starting.


Looking beyond the offensive stats make a case that Loggains wasn’t just ineffective but outright bland, tipping the offense’s hand to the defense by formation.

A little more depth on this tweet from Brad Biggs:

The Bears snapped the ball 32 times in shotgun formation and did not hand off once. They had 24 snaps with quarterback Jay Cutler under center and ran 19 times. One game doesn't make a trend.


...



The Bears ran eight plays with tight ends Zach Miller and Logan Paulsen on the field and didn't attempt a pass, surely something that will change soon as they look to mix it up.


...



The Bears were effective when they ran out of the shotgun formation last season. Nearly half (103) of Matt Forte's 218 carries came from the shotgun. He averaged 4.2 yards per carry from the shotgun. The Bears were in the shotgun 74 percent of the time in 2015 under former offensive coordinator Adam Gase, the fifth-highest figure in the NFL.

Those things make the offense predictable, as the game goes on it gives the defense a chance to cheat. The pressure on Jay Cutler only seemed to get worse as the game wore on (four of the five sacks came in the second half). For a complete breakdown of those sacks check out Sackwatch from our own Lester Wiltfong.


The Bears also need to commit to the run more and having the run be more effective than it was last Sunday would go a long way too.

Jeremy Langford ended up averaging 3.4 yards per carry with a long of 15 yards. The Bears want to be a running team and perhaps it will be easier against an Eagles team that allowed 5.7 yards per rush to the Browns.

There were times last year where fans lamented how many screens the Bears ran, but the fact is that the moves that Ryan Pace made to the offensive line during the offseason were with the idea in mind that the team would be able to pull their interior linemen and get them outside and down field blocking more.

Loggains should have used more of that athleticism he has inside to get outside and get the Texans’ athletic DL backing off more. This is something that needs to happen more on Monday night. Try more sweeps and screens.

Finally, not to harp on a popular meatball thought from the Mike Tice and Mike Martz era, but where was the moving pocket? Jay Cutler has very good mobility and it’s something he’s often said he’s comfortable with, so why not use some bootlegs and plays that move the pocket to get Jay outside on the run?

The offense is a work in progress with two interior linemen learning new positions and the middle and left side all working with new guys next to them but the play calling needs to have more variety and creativity if the Bears are going to win Monday night.

Link: www.windycitygridiron.com/2016/9/16/12941824/chicago-bears-offensive-coordinator-dowell-loggains-needs-to-help-offense-jay-cutler-jeremy-langford

What did you think of Loggains’ first game? What does he need to change for Monday?

[Deleted]

I can agree with just about all of what was posted.  Of some concern is also some comments made by Jay months ago when he was asked to contrast Loggains play calling style to Gase's.  The gist of this fit very well into what we saw last Sunday and how Jay commented on it afterward.

He said that Loggains tends to be more basic and fundamental depending on execution to succeed where Gase was more willing to open up the playbook seeking for something that would work when the more basic approach was not.  More venturesome would be my term for it.

Loggains approach may be fine if eventually we do execute every play like it was drawn up but until then his lack of imagination may be taxing on the defense and our TOP as it was last Sunday.  Another week of much the same and a poor offensive showing isn't gonna sit well here or with Bears fans in general so we'll see how it goes.

I'm willing to give it a couple of games to get rolling but we need to see some in game responses and adjustments too.  If Loggains turns out to be John Shoop v2.0 some fans are gonna be very unhappy and somebody will hear it that somebody being Foxy.  What I don't want to do is travel roads we've already traveled and continue to be bored to death watching these guys.  That will make it a very short season for me.

 

[tragicslip]

it's tough to evaluate the O coordinator because of White's play and the play of our T against the Texans. that is not an excuse, just a fact. i do think a better O coordinator finds a way, but it's hard to rate Loggains. Going for it on 4th though, is a way to keep off that "too conservative" rep.

[brasilbear]

Loggains didn't impress me with the flow of the OFF playcalls, but I also recognize that I'm not a professional NFL coach. I'm a sit-on-my-butt critic. To be honest the 3rd quarter didn't bother me as much as the fourth quarter. I understand that against a good defense, a marginal OFF will have times when the OFF struggles, especially when the DEF has made adjustments. But I keep waiting for the Bear to adjust in return, and I waited, and waited, and waited..It was like watching me play basketball. I have one move, a fade away post up from 6 feet that I can hit about 45% of the time, its the only move I have. I can't dribble, I can't shot 3s, I can't shoot on the move. I have one thing, so I do it over and over and over....And against the Texan the Bears kept doing the same things over and over and then they lost.

Maybe Cutler was right when he said that its hard to screen with an OL that doesn't know each other.** But then chalk that up to another bad decision by Fox and company. Right before a game against a team you need to screen in order to slow down an elite pass rush, change the OL so the Bears can't screen. Yes, the OL will be stringer down the road, but this wasn't a practice game, it was a real game and it counted. And they lost.
 
**But they did run a screen to Langford and it gained 15 yards. Sadly someone threw a flag on Miller for PI (an iffy call if I ever saw one) and I don't think they ran another one.

[omc1969]

I have been trying real hard to forget all about Shoop but Soul is spot on about the Shoop V2.0 so far. If that doesn't change I will be really pissed off !

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2016 7:10:05 GMT -6 brasilbear said:

Loggains didn't impress me with the flow of the OFF playcalls, but I also recognize that I'm not a professional NFL coach. I'm a sit-on-my-butt critic. To be honest the 3rd quarter didn't bother me as much as the fourth quarter. I understand that against a good defense, a marginal OFF will have times when the OFF struggles, especially when the DEF has made adjustments. But I keep waiting for the Bear to adjust in return, and I waited, and waited, and waited..It was like watching me play basketball. I have one move, a fade away post up from 6 feet that I can hit about 45% of the time, its the only move I have. I can't dribble, I can't shot 3s, I can't shoot on the move. I have one thing, so I do it over and over and over....And against the Texan the Bears kept doing the same things over and over and then they lost.

Maybe Cutler was right when he said that its hard to screen with an OL that doesn't know each other.** But then chalk that up to another bad decision by Fox and company. Right before a game against a team you need to screen in order to slow down an elite pass rush, change the OL so the Bears can't screen. Yes, the OL will be stringer down the road, but this wasn't a practice game, it was a real game and it counted. And they lost.
 
**But they did run a screen to Langford and it gained 15 yards. Sadly someone threw a flag on Miller for PI (an iffy call if I ever saw one) and I don't think they ran another one.

A very iffy call and a very "homer" call as were a few others I saw.  The visitors seldom get the breaks on those unless they're among the NFL's "Chosen Ones".

Yeah I read that deal about certain plays being harder to call because of the shifts in OL personnel but I'm taking it more as an excuse than a reason.  Sitton has probably run a couple hundred screens in his career.  Those are a staple in the GB offense and they had already run one successfully.

IMHO the real problem was in the 3rd Q they wanted to run and couldn't so they got themselves in some 3rd and long situations again and those pass plays failed.  Now the failed 4th and inches play looms even larger since at worst a successful conversion leads to no less than a FG and we're up 17-13 or a TD and were up 21-13.

Foxy tries to downplay that one and Houston's successful conversion but those two plays were huge IMHO as far as how the game played out because of the point swings involved with each. Once Houston had us down by two scores it was all over.  We had to pass and they knew we had to pass so it became "open season" on Cutler from then on.

It wasn't so much that we abandoned the run it was that Langford didn't get the job done.  In one sequence of 6 carries if you took away that one 1st down carry for 15 yards the other 5 gained about 3 yards net.  An average of less than 1 ypc and for the game if we take that same carry away his average ypc was 2.6.  If that's what they call "going with the hot hand" I think the RB deck needs to be reshuffled.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2016 2:10:40 GMT -6 tragicslip said:

it's tough to evaluate the O coordinator because of White's play and the play of our T against the Texans. that is not an excuse, just a fact. i do think a better O coordinator finds a way, but it's hard to rate Loggains. Going for it on 4th though, is a way to keep off that "too conservative" rep.

I would say such play makes it easier to evaluate the OC. Coordinators need to make adjustments to fit the players on the field. If Massie is opening the door to Cutler for the D, Loggains needs to adjust his play calling to provide some help to that player. I understand that players also need to execute but when they don't execute - especially when the consistently don't execute - it's up to the OC to make the appropriate call. 

Same thing happens on the D. When you don't get a good pass rush (as was the case on Sunday) you need to adjust what you're doing to help the pass rush out. Clearly Floyd and Young was not the right call - so adapt. If FLoyd can't run the whole playbook, sit him for someone who can and then bring him in on plays he knows and is capable of executing. 

I don't want this post to come off like the coordinators are the only people to blame - they're not - BUT they need to make adjustments if players aren't performing. 

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2016 14:25:35 GMT -6 @belliot said:

Sept 17, 2016 2:10:40 GMT -6 tragicslip said:

it's tough to evaluate the O coordinator because of White's play and the play of our T against the Texans. that is not an excuse, just a fact. i do think a better O coordinator finds a way, but it's hard to rate Loggains. Going for it on 4th though, is a way to keep off that "too conservative" rep.

I would say such play makes it easier to evaluate the OC. Coordinators need to make adjustments to fit the players on the field. If Massie is opening the door to Cutler for the D, Loggains needs to adjust his play calling to provide some help to that player. I understand that players also need to execute but when they don't execute - especially when the consistently don't execute - it's up to the OC to make the appropriate call. 

Same thing happens on the D. When you don't get a good pass rush (as was the case on Sunday) you need to adjust what you're doing to help the pass rush out. Clearly Floyd and Young was not the right call - so adapt. If FLoyd can't run the whole playbook, sit him for someone who can and then bring him in on plays he knows and is capable of executing. 

I don't want this post to come off like the coordinators are the only people to blame - they're not - BUT they need to make adjustments if players aren't performing. 

Great synopsis.

[Deleted]

Sept 17, 2016 14:25:35 GMT -6 @belliot said:

Sept 17, 2016 2:10:40 GMT -6 tragicslip said:

it's tough to evaluate the O coordinator because of White's play and the play of our T against the Texans. that is not an excuse, just a fact. i do think a better O coordinator finds a way, but it's hard to rate Loggains. Going for it on 4th though, is a way to keep off that "too conservative" rep.

I would say such play makes it easier to evaluate the OC. Coordinators need to make adjustments to fit the players on the field. If Massie is opening the door to Cutler for the D, Loggains needs to adjust his play calling to provide some help to that player. I understand that players also need to execute but when they don't execute - especially when the consistently don't execute - it's up to the OC to make the appropriate call. 

Same thing happens on the D. When you don't get a good pass rush (as was the case on Sunday) you need to adjust what you're doing to help the pass rush out. Clearly Floyd and Young was not the right call - so adapt. If FLoyd can't run the whole playbook, sit him for someone who can and then bring him in on plays he knows and is capable of executing. 

I don't want this post to come off like the coordinators are the only people to blame - they're not - BUT they need to make adjustments if players aren't performing. 

Coaches meed to respond to ANY momentum shift to the other team. It is part of what coaches are expected to do.

[JABF]

Sept 17, 2016 17:21:03 GMT -6 @bearsinhouston said:

Sept 17, 2016 14:25:35 GMT -6 @belliot said:

I would say such play makes it easier to evaluate the OC. Coordinators need to make adjustments to fit the players on the field. If Massie is opening the door to Cutler for the D, Loggains needs to adjust his play calling to provide some help to that player. I understand that players also need to execute but when they don't execute - especially when the consistently don't execute - it's up to the OC to make the appropriate call. 

Same thing happens on the D. When you don't get a good pass rush (as was the case on Sunday) you need to adjust what you're doing to help the pass rush out. Clearly Floyd and Young was not the right call - so adapt. If FLoyd can't run the whole playbook, sit him for someone who can and then bring him in on plays he knows and is capable of executing. 

I don't want this post to come off like the coordinators are the only people to blame - they're not - BUT they need to make adjustments if players aren't performing. 

Coaches meed to respond to ANY momentum shift to the other team. It is part of what coaches are expected to do.

It seems like we've had coaches (going back to the Lovie days) that have a "pounding the square peg into the round hole" attitude.  Inflexible.