AN ILL WIND
Chicago remains stuck in a cycle of instability at quarterback, in stark contrast to the rest of division
Chicago isn’t just the Second City, it’s the second-string city.
Only two times in the last 21 seasons has a Bears quarterback started all 16 games. That was Jay Cutler in 2009, his first season with the team, and Rex Grossman in 2006, when he did a serviceable job in helping his team get to the Super Bowl.
Other than that, the Bears have used two, three or even four quarterbacks to often limp through the fall.
By all indications, this is shaping up to be another one of those seasons. Six weeks after the Bears signed Mike Glennon to a three-year deal that averages $14.5 million per season, they made a dramatic and unexpected trade in the first round of the draft to take North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky second overall.
So, does Chicago go with the more experienced but less exciting Glennon, a third-round selection of Tampa Bay in 2013 who was 5-13 as a starter before No. 1 pick Jameis Winston came to town? Or with Trubisky, who had 13 college starts and failed to beat out Marquise Williams — not currently on an NFL roster — his previous two seasons at North Carolina?
That situation creates some intrigue in an otherwise stable division, quarterback wise, where Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford and Minnesota’s Sam Bradford don’t have to worry about looking over their shoulders. There’s no telling when the Vikings’ Teddy Bridgewater will be able to return from the devastating knee injury he suffered last August, so Bradford is firmly entrenched.
Rodgers, a Super Bowl winner and twotime NFL most valuable player, is, in the opinion of many experts, the best quarterback in the league, even edging New England’s Tom Brady in that department.
In the last three seasons, Rodgers helped guide the Packers through some memorable lapses in play. In 2014, after the team started 1-2, the quarterback advised nervous fans to “R-E-L-A-X,” then went on to win 11 of the next 13 regular-season games. Rodgers had 38 touchdown passes and five interceptions that season, with the Packers losing the NFC championship game at Seattle.
Green Bay dipped at midseason in 2015, losing four of five, before Rodgers righted the ship. He finished with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions, the Packers advancing to the divisional round.
And last fall was a wild ride, with Green Bay starting 3-1, then losing five of six. The last of those defeats came at Washington, after which Rodgers famously said, “I think we can run the table.” Sure enough, that’s what happened. The Packers won their next six games to reach the playoffs, then beat the New York Giants and Dallas in the postseason before losing at Atlanta in the conference title game. Rodgers finished the season with a league-leading 40 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.
“Aaron Rodgers does things that no one in the league has ever done,” Brady said. “Some of the plays he makes are just phenomenal. Everything looks effortless with him, which is the amazing part. He makes hard look easy. He’s just an incredible player.”
In the nine seasons since replacing Brett Favre as the starter in 2008, Rodgers has finished the season with a passer rating of 100 or better seven times. He has four seasons with at least 35 touchdown passes and this season could become the first player in NFL history to do that five times — although Brady and New Orleans’ Drew Brees are also in position to do that in 2017.
Stafford, meanwhile, reminded people last season that he’s an elite quarterback, leading the Lions to come-from-behind victories on multiple occasions. He has directed Detroit to the playoffs three times, although the Lions have not won a postseason game since the 1991 season.
Stafford has passed for at least 4,000 yards in six consecutive seasons and has a chance to join Brees as the second player in NFL history to do that seven seasons in a row.
Much of the talk in Detroit this summer had to do with the Lions working to sign Stafford to a long-term extension, with his contract set to expire after this season.
“Five years on the deal, one year on the deal, three years on the deal — there’s no difference to me as far as my preparation,” the quarterback said before camp started. “No matter what happens, I’ve got a year left on my contract here, so I’m going to be here this year playing football for this team. So it’s on my shoulders to be as good as I possibly can to help our team win.”