When all the big areas have been covered, sometimes it helps to delve into the details. So how about this for an interesting question. Based on their long history, does geography hold any sway in how successful a Bears quarterback is? Of course it sounds silly. It’s not the where that matters but the who. Even so, people might be surprised by the answer.
There were many ways to go about this, so in an effort to keep things simple it was settled on where the winningest quarterbacks in Bears history were born. After some close examination a fascinating little nugget began to emerge. Of the 10 quarterbacks with the most wins in franchise history, eight of them were born east of the Mississippi River. Or in the eastern half of the United States.
Winningest QBs in Bears history
- Jay Cutler – East (Indiana)
- Sid Luckman – East (New York)
- Jim McMahon – East (New Jersey)
- Ed Brown – West (California)
- Jim Harbaugh – East (Ohio)
- Bill Wade – East (Tennessee)
- Bob Avellini – East (New York)
- Mike Tomczak – East (Illinois)
- Kyle Orton – West (Iowa)
- Rex Grossman – East (Indiana)
Among those included in the eastern group are all three quarterbacks who have won championships for the team since the start of the 1940s. Any who played prior to that decade were kept off the list given there was no way to track their actual win-loss records. However it’s worth noting Carl Brumbaugh, the QB for their two championship teams in the 1930s was from Ohio. That makes him an eastern guy as well.
It’s a fairly wacky stat but also one that is difficult to argue. Want to see it taken a little further? Of the three quarterbacks who saw significant action in 2016 for the Bears, the one with the highest rating by far was Brian Hoyer with a 98.0 mark. Is it any coincidence that he’s also the eastern-most native of the trio along with Jay Cutler and Matt Barkley? Cutler is from Indiana and Barkley from California. Hoyer hails from Ohio.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Another little factoid to add onto all that? The Bears have selected nine quarterbacks in the first round of a draft across their long history. Two went to other teams without playing a down so they don’t really count. Thus of the remaining seven, only one failed to start at least one full season in his Bears career. That was Cade McNown. He’s also the only one of those seven who came from west of the Mississippi (California).
Knowing all that, how does this tie into the 2017 NFL draft class?
