Phil Simms knows a thing or two about playing quarterback in the NFL. He was in the league for over a decade, went to a couple of Pro Bowls, and has two Super Bowl rings to reinforce his opinion regarding the position. That’s why it was a great comfort hearing him praise Chicago Bears starter Mitch Trubisky, whom he is a fan of and has high hopes for. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for the others on the roster.
Simms called in recently to the radio show featuring his son Chris and fellow host Paul Burmeister for NBC Sports to discuss an interesting topic. Which teams around the NFL have the worst backup quarterback situations. Chris listed off eight teams that concerned him the most, but Simms zeroed in on a particular two that have reasons to be worried. One was the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The other. That would be the Bears.
He for one is not buying the sales pitch by head coach Matt Nagy that the team is in good hands with Chase Daniel if Trubisky ever went down. Especially if it involves a number of games played outdoors.
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Preseason is revealing Chicago Bears should definitely worry
Simms certainly hit the nail on the head. Daniel has started four games in his career. Three of them were outdoors where he threw for 642 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. He was also sacked 11 times. His two worst games of the three came in games with inclement weather in Kansas City and New York. One of the most concerning issues was not only his average arm strength. It was his terrible habit of taking too long to get the ball out and getting sacked.
This problem has reached a crisis point in the 2019 preseason. The numbers don’t even tell the story. Daniel has looked remarkably indecisive, getting sacked seven times on 49 dropbacks. He’s also accounted for just seven total first downs. Again, this is the preseason. For him to be playing this poorly against mostly backups and third-stringers is a considerable red flag. Tyler Bray hasn’t been much better. While he’s done a better job moving the offense, he’s also completed fewer passes (54.3%) and has a worse passer rating (70.1).
Nagy may have trust in Daniel for his intellect and veteran experience, but trust can often be misplaced. The Bears saw last year that it only takes one ill-timed hit on Trubisky, who’s a notorious scrambler, to get knocked out for a long stretch of a season. If that happens again, this team that believes they’re a champion-in-waiting will put their fate in those shaky hands. Simms is absolutely correct that they have no reason to feel comfortable with it.
