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When John Fox was appointed to replace Marc Trestman, the first real agenda was to change the losing culture that had taken root in the void created by the ousting of Lovie Smith. The culture has changed but not with growth on the ground to avoid three consecutive seasons of loss.
The next iteration was Matt Nagy, an Andy Reid offensive tree coach with a mandate to change the football culture, first after five years of defeat, and after a gloomy become the norm after all. Two of the 25 years since Mike Ditka have been played under the supervision of coaches (Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron, Smith) from a defending foundation.
Coaches usually divide the seasons into unofficial shifts, and the 48-10 defeat of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday finished the first quarter of Nagy's first season. It was a win that improved the Bears to 3-1.
But it was also a victory that included:
· Six touchdowns and 483 yards per attack including 10 games 20 yards or more
· Four sacks and three interceptions by a defense that slowed down the NFL's No. 1 offense and consistently reduced total points (24-17-14-10);
· And special teams who converted their two goals on the field and allowed Tampa Bay not to take possession more distant than his own.
"It feels like being a full team," said linebacker Danny Trevathan, who had one of the interceptions and two of the Buccaneers' six assists. "It's the first time we've been doing this for four consecutive quarters. The team is happy where we are, but we are always hungry. You want to see this from your team. As you approach the week after, come back hungry when you come back.
The win put the Bears 3-1 for the first time since the opening of the 2013 team with three straight wins under Trestman and ended three 1-3 losses with Fox. It also left them in first place in the NFC, ahead of the Packers (2-1-1), who crushed the Buffalo Bills 22-0; the Vikings (1-2-1), who lost Thursday against the Los Angeles Rams; and Lions (1-3), who lost to Dallas on an expiring field placement.
The results so far have justified Nagy, who has shown patience for his attack and won the confidence of all phases of his team.
"I'm not surprised because, first of all, I will say this: there are only four games in the year," Nagy said. "We wanted to have a quick start. I mean, you go back to April 3 when we met as a team. We talked about who we wanted to be and what our goal was. And so what happens is when you start believing in this thing and as you start doing it in real games, you become more tight as friends. You become tighter as teammates. You become tighter than the coaches. "
Coaches and players do not necessarily tighten during the week. But with success comes trust and also a stronger confidence in what coaches have taught and engineered. This was already the case with Nagy, but the results obtained in the first quarter, which was a failed interception of Green Bay (4-0), strengthen it, especially with a young quarterback who must trust a new offensive system.
"It's just a constant communication between me and the coach Nagy, being on the same page, knowing what games he really likes and with what games I'm comfortable with," said Quarterback. Mitch Trubisky. "This will continue to grow and evolve in the future, and we will have this constant communication of where are each other's.
Spring break is relatively early, the second in the NFL actually. Preference is generally given to getting closer to mid-season, but this is often in the interest of healing injured players. The Bears have crossed their first quarter Nagy virtually injury-free compared to most of the past five years (cornerbacks Prince Amukamara and Marcus Cooper were out Sunday, and linebacker Sam Acho suffered a chest injury), allows an extra week of referrals, especially for an emerging offense.
"What we can do now is think about 3-1 where we are," Nagy said. "We understand that the season is very long and I just finished saying to the guys [after Sunday’s game]"Listen, whether you're between 1 and 3 or 3 years old, never go too high and never be too low. Just stay on course. Trust me on this.
If you do this and you continue to take care of yourself during the week, your mind and your body – and it's good for us at week 4 or week 5 because of the long preseason. We feel like the middle of the season for us. So, they will do it, and they promised me that they will come back very focused, and that will be the challenge, week after week we will be basically for week 5 or play 5, coming soon . . "
After a first quarter against NFC-only teams (Green Bay, Seattle, Arizona, Tampa Bay), the Bears are coming off the week-long AFC East four-game blitz: Miami, New England and Jets at home. and Buffalo is gone.
If there was a negative result coming from Sunday, it was the possible suspension of defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, who was sent off in the second quarter after pushing an official of the match at the end of the match. A fracture with a member of the Tampa Bay offensive. Hicks threw his epaulets and jersey into the stands after the ejection, an answer likely to increase the NFL's discipline.
But for now, the Bears are what they say and where.
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