Mitch switch?
Is Mitch Trubisky’s name written at the top of the QB depth chart in sharpie or pencil? Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs break it down.
The Bears quarterback competition is over. Mitch Trubisky has been declared the starter, and the team now will shift its focus toward preparing for the Sept. 13 opener against the Lions in Detroit.
But will Matt Nagy again write Trubisky’s name onto the top line of the depth chart in Sharpie as he has since 2018? Or this time is the Bears coach using a No. 2 pencil with a trusty eraser on the end?
There still is a lot to sort out and learn, even after the Bears begin the season next weekend. Nagy will speak with reporters Sunday after the team’s practice at Halas Hall, certain to provide clarity and detail on the quarterback decision.
For now, Trubisky retains his starting role with backup Nick Foles waiting in the wings. Just in case.
So what are we to make of Trubisky’s victory in the quarterback competition? How long should we expect him to retain the job? And where do the Bears go from here?
Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs break it all down.
Dan Wiederer: I was admittedly a bit surprised that Nagy cast this latest vote of confidence in Trubisky, particularly because this Bears team — ready to win at a high level with an elite defense — mostly needs its quarterback to be a trustworthy contributor and not a star to return to the playoffs. And after last year’s offensive regression with so many substandard performances from Trubisky, it’s fair to wonder from where Nagy is deriving his current trust in Trubisky.
How can Nagy be sure that last year’s breakdowns won’t persist? How can he be certain Trubisky’s pocket presence and accuracy will be markedly better? How can Nagy be confident that Trubisky will make more game-winning contributions than game-losing blunders?
Still, at the same time, Friday’s news wasn’t all that shocking. While neither Trubisky nor Foles played at a high level during 3½ weeks of training camp practices, Foles’ acclimation seemed to take longer than many at Halas Hall had hoped. The 31-year-old veteran just hasn’t seemed fully comfortable yet. At times his pocket poise was erratic. The strain of the competition seemed to weigh on him too. And his built-in familiarity with Nagy’s system didn’t regularly show with on-field production.
Brad Biggs: The news cycle moves quickly in the NFL, and in terms of quarterback developments, the Bears’ decision to start Trubisky was overshadowed Saturday morning when Deshaun Watson, a 2017 draft classmate of Trubisky, signed a fouryear, $160 million extension with the Houston Texans.
Neither Trubisky nor Foles lit up training camp, and when Nagy said both quarterbacks made it a difficult decision, I’m not sure it was complicated by a lot of success completing passes downfield.
Remember, the Bears were last in the NFL in yards per pass attempt a year ago, and that stat is a key indicator of the health of a passing game. But the Bears also open with a soft schedule, and if they’re intent on seeing if Trubisky can make a clear step forward in terms of consistency, the slate potentially sets up well. They play the Lions, Giants, Falcons, Colts, Buccaneers and Panthers in the first six weeks.
None of those opponents made the playoffs in 2019, and while the Bucs and Panthers were average in defending the pass a year ago last season, they ranked 29th and 31st, respectively, in points allowed. The Lions and Giants were dreadful against opposing quarterbacks last year. The Lions lacked a pass rush and traded their best cornerback. The Giants are in the throes of a total rebuild.
Wiederer: I guess we all should get used to the phrase “short leash” becoming a staple in the Chicago vernacular for at least the next month. Perhaps longer. And that, I’d say, is probably the biggest question Nagy needs to answer when he jumps on Sunday’s video conference call with reporters.
Just how much patience is he willing to have with Trubisky and his offense in the early part of the season? How much inconsistency and error will Nagy be willing to tolerate before he deems it necessary to change direction?
An understandably anxious Bears fan base is sure to experience some form of PTSD with every turnover, with every three-and-out, with every seemingly sure touchdown pass that gets overthrown by 3 or 4 yards. There won’t be a lot of understanding if the Bears get off to a slow start. The Bears haven’t won a season opener since 2013. And if there are a series of offensive breakdowns in avoidable losses in the first four or five games, the city’s anger will only amplify.
Biggs: That leads into something Nagy talked about in the last week: the need for the Bears to find an identity on offense. That’s something they went through all last season without establishing and, of all the shortcomings in 2019 that have been rehashed over and over again, that had to be most maddening.
So how do they develop that identity? It starts with developing some core plays, some bread-and-butter action on Nagy’s call sheet, that works on a regular basis, plays they can turn to on third-and-2 and third-and-7 and in the red zone.
So much of what the Bears have done since 2017 is build this organization around Trubisky. It’s why they hired Nagy. It’s why they invested $10 million over two years in a backup quarterback in Chase Daniel. It’s why they went out and traded for Khalil Mack, because they believed they had a rare window to chase a Lombardi Trophy with a quarterback on a rookie contract.
But they have yet to really experience growth with Trubisky. The challenge for Nagy is to make Trubisky better and find a way to improve the guys around him in order to carve out that identity.
Wiederer: On the topic of making Trubisky better, at the end of last season Nagy laid out four of the biggest boxes on the quarterback’s development checklist for 2020. Nagy wanted Trubisky to have better presence and patience inside the pocket.To that end, the Bears believe Trubisky showed growth during training camp. But truthfully, it’s impossible to get an accurate feel for a quarterback’s pocket poise until there is real game action. So we’ll see. Very soon.
Nagy also wanted Trubisky to improve his “touchdown-to-checkdown mentality,” another area the Bears believe Trubisky has grown but must prove under brighter lights.
Most of all, Nagy requested that Trubisky become a “master at understanding coverages.” And while there has been some growth, even Nagy insinuated last week that expecting Trubisky to be a master at understanding coverages in 2020 was probably too tall of an ask.
Biggs: It’s going to be fascinating to see how it unfolds because Nagy has a backup on the roster who has played at a high level when called on in relief. It’s certainly possible that dynamic — and not knowing how Trubisky would react as a No. 2 with such a massive investment in him — played into the decision. The Bears paid big money for their backup quarterback the last two years with Daniel and they’re paying more to Foles, who is guaranteed $21 million. It’s a friendly start to the schedule for Trubisky and an offense in need of a jolt of confidence to reaffirm the direction the team is heading.
If the tight ends are better, if Anthony Miller can pick up where he left off and if they can make a more serious commitment to the running game, it’s possible Trubisky can play winning football. He might not be the reason the Bears win, but as long as he’s not the reason they lose, it should be adequate for a team with an undeniably strong defense. With any luck, Nagy will find some of the answers he has been seeking.
Wiederer: Or maybe he doesn’t. And the Bears wind up pressing the reset button yet again.
Sure, it’s understandable that Foles has been solid out of the bullpen during his career, and there was no way of knowing how Trubisky would handle a demotion psychologically. But fansshould hope those weren’t the biggest factors in the decision. That kind of reasoning leaves a team stuck in the mud spinning its tires.
This was never about Trubisky being better than Foles or Foles being better than Trubisky. This is about one of them being better than the Bears’ opponents on a regular basis. This was about finding one guy who can help the team get back to the playoffs. So with Mitch behind the steering wheel — for now — away we go.