Leave it to the Chicago Bears to leak the winner of a pretty sad quarterback competition to the media on the Friday evening before Labor Day weekend. Though I’m not sure they really avoided the whole Twitter fire their decision was bound to elicit.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news this evening that the incumbent QB, Mitch Trubisky, will start in Week 1 at Ford Field against the Detroit Lions.
My immediate reaction?
And then?
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Now that I’ve had a few minutes to process this news, here are my thoughts on the Bears’ decision to name Trubisky the starter. Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Thoughts
1. I truly thought Nick Foles was going to win the competition. By most accounts, Foles was ahead based on the portions of practices that were open to the media. Foles knew the offense, and frankly, was a much steadier option decision-making wise and execution-wise. Mitch was arguably the league’s worst QB in 2019, following a 2018 season that is, to this day, overrated by Bears fans. Unless Mitch has truly improved his processing ability and decision making, it’s going to be more of the same from an offensive perspective. Let’s see if he really has.
2. I truly, truly hope this was a decision that the coaching staff came together on on their own, and there wasn’t any influence from Ryan Pace on this one. Is it in the Bears’ best long-term interest for Mitch to seize the job and truly show he is a transcendent talent at QB? Sure. Is it likely? No. But is there a chance this decision was influenced by Pace to give his #2 overall pick one last shot? Yes, and that’s what I’m afraid of. This needed to be a decision made purely on the field, and I sincerely believe had there been a real preseason, Foles would’ve pulled away. But there wasn’t, so the Bears are basing this off of practices — which are not full-speed engagements.
3. Please stop saying that Trubisky “owns the Lions”. That is not a thing to base decisions off of, either. He has performed well in his career when facing the Detroit Lions’ organization, but players and circumstances change. The Bears struggled mightily to beat Jeff Driskel and David Blough in 2019 with Trubisky at QB for the Bears. With Matthew Stafford back for Detroit, this is a SIGNIFICANTLY more difficult challenge.
4. I fully expect both QBs to start games for the Bears this year. And I do think that Nick Foles’ experience as a backup QB will serve him well coming in from the bench to relieve Trubisky, if he has to. Would Trubisky, mentally, be able to handle coming in in relief? I’m not sure. By all accounts, though, Trubisky has handled the decline of his fifth-year option and the overall concept of the competition well, though. He’s embraced the challenge and still been the leader the Bears look for from their QB. That’s important.
5. How will the defense react to this? Elite defensive players like Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, and Eddie Jackson know exactly what they’re seeing in the opposing QB in practice. They know what they saw in 2019, too. Matt Nagy successfully staved off any divide in his locker room in 2019. If Trubisky is either a) not really deserving of the starting role, or b) plays poorly again, how will the locker room react to a tough start on offense? This is absolutely something to watch.
6. How long will Trubisky’s leash be? If the Bears decide to bench Mitch for Foles, it’ll be a pretty seismic statement on Mitch’s future. How willing will they be to pull the trigger? What will failure look like in the eyes of the coaching staff that’ll warrant a benching? Nick Foles will have to stay ready, but will his opportunity come in Week 4? Week 8? Week 1, if Trubisky has a bad first half? This will be fascinating to watch, too.
7. You better believe that I, as a Bears fan first, am rooting for their success. That means hoping Trubisky has found *something* and can play better than he did in 2019. Does he have to set the league on fire? No. Does he have to flatten the variance in his performances? Absolutely. Consistently steady play will do wonders for this team. He cannot have some great and some awful “average out” to “OK”. This will be important to watch.
8. I really, really, really hope they got this right.
