Did Nick Foles look that bad? Was Ryan Pace pressuring Matt Nagy to go with his prized former #2 overall pick? There are plenty of theories about why Mitch Trubisky ended up being named the starting quarterback for 2020. Some feel it was inevitable. The team never actually planned to make a change. Foles was simply a diversion, right? No. The competition was legitimate.
Is it possible that Trubisky simply looked like the better quarterback?
This is something a lot of people aren’t ready to accept. Not a big surprise after the nightmare they had to endure in 2019. That is the Trubisky they still have in their heads. One who overthrows wide open receivers, takes awful sacks and looks generally lost way too often. Are they supposed to accept the idea that he improved from that?
Adam Jahns of The Athletic says yes. The Bears insider has gotten indications that the coaching staff was impressed with the strides he made over the past few months.
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“But through it all, there were signs of Trubisky’s improvement. He completed more passes than Foles and went days without throwing interceptions. Sometimes he showed off a quick release in seven-on-sevens whereas Foles held the ball too long and threw checkdowns.
“I feel like I’ve had a good camp,” Trubisky said after the scrimmage at Soldier Field.
He did, but it came under different circumstances and scrutiny. As the days went by, those inside Halas Hall started to see Trubisky had a better camp than he did last year in Bourbonnais.”
Mitch Trubisky reacted to the competition exactly as hoped
This was the main reason Foles was brought in. The Bears wanted to send Trubisky a clear message. What you did last year wasn’t good enough. Improve or we’re prepared to look somewhere else. To this credit, the 26-year old hit the offseason with relentless energy. He got into top physical shape and spent countless hours watching film and working on fundamentals. Especially his footwork. QB specialist Jeff Christiansen, who’d worked with Patrick Mahomes and Ryan Tannehill, often helped him.
Matt Nagy himself admitted Trubisky showed signs of doing things he didn’t used to.
“The biggest thing that we probably felt as a staff is his ability here in training camp. There’s not many plays where he’s flushing out of the pocket when he’s not forced to. He’s been staying in the pocket.”
These aren’t the only reasons for optimism either. Chicago has improved the arsenal of weapons on offense. Jimmy Graham and Cole Kmet took camp by storm, showing a vastly improved tight end position. Darnell Mooney and Ted Ginn Jr. provided speed that was lacking last year. Anthony Miller looked healthy and like the player he was towards the end of 2019.
Last but not least?
Don’t forget this is Trubisky’s third year in this offense. Nagy said many times that QBs don’t typically flourish in this system until the third season. By now he should know the verbiage and have total mastery of the playbook. Trubisky the first QB to reach the third year in the same offense since Kyle Orton in 2007. The Bears believe this is factoring into his improvement too.
So in nothing else, the reality is clear. Mitch Trubisky won the job. Now it comes down to if he can keep it.
