As Bears coach Matt Nagy spends the bye week self-scouting and evaluating his players following last Sunday's disappointing loss to the Raiders, his glass remains half full.
"I know you've heard this from me a lot, but I'll never lose this," Nagy said Monday. "You'll never get me as far as being negative. Never. You won't get me. So I'll be positive and this team's going to be positive. We're 3-2 and we're going to use this is a positive."
The Bears were also 3-2 last year in Nagy's first season as coach. They dropped their next game before winning nine of their final 10 contests to claim the NFC North title with a 12-4 record.
Repeating that feat would be just fine with Nagy, who is spending the bye week focusing on a Bears offense that has underachieved during the first five games of the season. The unit enters Week 6 ranked 28th in scoring, 30thin total yards, 26th in rushing yards and 30th in passing yards.
Though Nagy is known for his positive and enthusiastic demeanor, there are times—like Sunday's deflating loss to the Raiders—when he has to play the "bad cop" role with his players.
"We have a happy-go-lucky attitude around the building," Nagy said. "We have fun. Every now and then, though, you need to be able to show a dark side—and they need to see that and feel that. It just so happened that [Sunday] was one of those days that they felt it. I know they felt it.
"They always know the importance that they mean to us as coaches and to me as a head coach, where I'll always have my arm around them and always be there to listen, too, because that's a part of this, too. Let's listen to them and see what how we can collaborate together to get answers."
This season isn't the first time that Nagy has had to show that "dark side" to his players.
"I had to do that last year, too, I did," he said. "There were times where we had to do it. This year it's just coming a little bit earlier. That's where we're at.
"I just trust and appreciate who these guys are as people, and I trust them. I trust that they're going to figure out a way, along with us, what the answers are. And we stick together. We're 3-2. We're at a point now where we're going to be OK, and we're going to get answers."
The Bears will reassemble at Halas Hall on Monday, when they return to the practice field to begin preparing for next Sunday's game against the Saints at Soldier Field.
Roster move: The Bears on Thursday re-signed quarterback Tyler Bray to their practice squad. Bray served as the team's No. 2 quarterback behind Chase Daniel against the Raiders and was then released Wednesday to make room on the roster for tight end Bradley Sowell.
