It’s hard to understand the logic of the John Fox Mitch Trubisky decision-making process. Yes the kid is inexperienced and will make rookie mistake. He’s also the best quarterback on the depth chart. It’s not even that close. That the 62-year old head coach doesn’t recognize that and continues to stick with Mike Glennon is hard to imagine.
Fox has been around the NFL since the 1980s. One would think a man who watched the QB position evolve as it has would understand. Then again this is the same man whose conservative nature got him fired by two previous NFL teams despite loads of success with both. He just doesn’t have the reputation for making the bold decisions. At least not until he’s forced to.
That perhaps comes from him being a defensive coach. History proves men from that area of the coaching field tend to prefer ball control, clock management and smashmouth football. A lot of them just don’t know how to properly handle the quarterback position.
John Fox Mitch Trubisky dynamic shouldn’t be surprising
Then again none of this should be a surprise. Fox has never developed a drafted QB into a starter. Not once in his decade-and-a-half of coaching. All of his greatest successes came courtesy of established veterans like Jake Delhomme and Peyton Manning. That more than anything would explain his stubbornness on the subject of Mike Glennon.
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Despite the Bears starter making more bad throws in Arizona, Fox was quick to praise him and the first team offense for an improved showing from week one. Adam Hoge noted that much in a recent article.
“I thought it was a big improvement,” head coach John Fox said about Glennon, which is technically true following the quarterback’s 0.0 passer rating in the first preseason game. “I thought we had a very limited look in Week 1, like most first offenses in this league. Some starting quarterbacks don’t even play in Week 1. But I thought the whole offense responded, including Mike.”
Keeping Glennon the starter for another week wasn’t the big issue though. It was the refusal to elevate Trubisky to the #2 spot. One could easily argue the rookie earned it after his stellar performance last week. Instead Fox changed nothing. Mark Sanchez came in to start the second half. Thanks to that and a long Cardinals drive, the rookie didn’t see the field until under two minutes remained in the third quarter.
So not only was the rookie getting less time to play than last week, he’s being forced to play on the road against an aggressive defense with limited personnel around him. Brilliant. Sure enough Mitch was hit a lot during his first couple series including a scary low blow to his left knee.
Receiver depth problem is apparent
This move also only served to expose how thin the Bears are at wide receiver. None of the options Trubisky threw to could get open with any consistency against man coverage. This of course forced the rookie to throw in tight windows. Though his accuracy was still excellent, it also almost led to an ugly turnover.
Fox of course could then use that as an excuse to prove he’s right. That Trubisky isn’t ready and needs work. Of course there’s no way to prove that. Nonetheless this stick-to-the-plan idea for Fox isn’t going to do him any favors in the win column. Despite getting outstanding contributions from the defense and running game, Glennon managed to put 10 points on the board in one half.
All the while throwing another really bad interception in the process. He also should’ve had another that went into triple coverage. Meanwhile Trubisky shrugged off his up-and-down start to throw what turned out to be the winning touchdown pass.
Speculation has run rampant since the winter that Fox’s job was very much in jeopardy this year. The win-loss record in 2017 will determine that, but so will his handling of the Bears’ prized top draft pick. Two preseason games in it’s clear the man is determined to play the Glennon charade out.
