With the news that Mitch Trubisky has been named starter, Luke considers what has changed for the Bears and whether or not we are poised to make a step forward.
Mitch Trubisky Is Starting (For Now!)
Nobody can argue that football is a results based business. Although Mitch has been named as starter for week 1, it’s reasonable to ponder on the actual implications of this action, and what the longer term view is.
We’ve seen this before, most notably where Mike Glennon (remember him?) was named starter back in 2017, only to be supplanted by a certain Mr Trubisky.
If there are no results or one bad performance, it’s certainly likely that Trubisky may not end the season as starter. He may not even last until the bye week.
I’m going out on a limb here, I expect that, by week 5, Nick Foles will be the starting QB in Chicago Town.
My reasons for this are very simple. Trubisky, though he’s undoubtedly a good and mobile QB, has his issues with accuracy. I can see a situation where he throws a couple of pick sixes, and he’s benched during the game.
In a situation like this, I’d say that this is highly likely to happen. I’d say most likely against the Colts, if I were to pick any early season opponents for this to happen against.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t want us to have a situation where the QB and team play is generally so bad that the QB gets benched, but I can see it coming from far enough away!
Big Nick Stick?
Therefore – if I were Nick Foles, I’d be still working hard. He knows that he needs to be ready when the chance comes, not if!
There will be inevitably much speculation about whether or not Foles is happy being the backup, but if I were him, I’d be relaxed about it.
If the team do well, he’s in a winning team with a good atmosphere and getting paid well for it. If they do badly, he can come in and make the difference, with a demonstrably elite defense to ensure that he can spend as much time on the field as he needs.
The Future?
Well – the fact that the bears declined the fifth year option on Trubisky’s contract gives us data, and tells us what we need to know. There isn’t likely to be a long term future for him in Chicago, unless we suddenly make the play offs, AND win a game there.
It’s likely that we move on from Mitch after this season, and potentially we may see a full head coach and back office change if we don’t have a good season – but that’s a point for another column.
For now, though, we look forward to the season, and we expect much! Bear Down!
