Training camp is over. Or at least the most important parts of it. Now the Chicago Bears have some serious evaluating to do. The roster experienced some heated competitions over the past month and the coaching staff must decide who should be starters and who should or shouldn’t be on the roster. No question lingers more heavily than at quarterback with Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky.
The Bears have had their QB battle. According to most beat writers who watched, neither was able to create any true separation in practice. Trubisky had some nice highlights and looked improved but the general consensus is Foles was slightly more consistent. Either way, the final decision will rest with head coach Matt Nagy. Yet he hasn’t given anything away as to his intentions.
So what does insider Adam Jahns think? After listening to Nagy and talking to scouts from around the league, he feels he has a good sense of what the Bears will ultimately do.
But the shift in how the Bears — specifically Nagy — talk about Trubisky has been noticeable, especially with how consistent the praise was last year at this time.
This week provided another example of that change in tone after Trubisky got his day with the 1s in the two-minute drill on Tuesday.
“Yeah, he did well,” Nagy said afterward. “He took the team down and scored a touchdown. So that was good.”
Compare that to how Nagy described Foles’ performance in the same drill with the same players last week. That practice was open to the media and Foles’ drill ended with a touchdown pass to receiver Riley Ridley.
“Nick had a really good day in that mode for us,” Nagy said during a significantly longer answer. “I thought he just really ran the offense really smooth. I thought the guys around him played really well. It was good decision-making and resulted in a touchdown.”
Is that enough to go on? Maybe not but Jahns seemed quite confident that when the dust settles, Foles will be the guy.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“Of course, that still doesn’t mean that the Bears won’t give it to him in Week 1 against the Lions. The pro-Foles arguments can still win out.
In fact, I believe they will.”
Nick Foles and Mitch Trubisky was always going to be close
People who expected one or the other to just come right out and dominate were kidding themselves. The simple nature of this offseason and the Bears roster itself made it almost impossible. No minicamps, no OTAs, and no preseason. Combine that with having to go against a loaded defense every single day? It’s beyond difficult to stand out under such conditions.
The fact that Foles managed to come in ice cold with no prior work with the receivers or coaches before camp and still perform slightly better? That is a testament to his preparation but also an indictment of Trubisky. He had almost every advantage he could ask for and still wasn’t able to distinguish himself. Maybe the Bears still decide to go with him, but it doesn’t feel like he’d keep the job too long if they do.
