John Fox and Ryan Pace, to their credit aren’t abandoning the plan. Not yet anyway. The Chicago Bears brass have stated from the outset that veteran Mike Glennon is the starter in 2017. He has the experience and knowledge on his side. He’s proven he can be effective in the right system. If nothing else he buys them time while Mitch Trubisky learns in safety on the bench.
Unfortunately even the best laid plans don’t survive first implementation. In this modern era of the NFL, patience for the process has diminished considerably. People are far more educated to said process and understand when something just isn’t working. When that happens the demand goes out for change.
Fox and Pace are right not to let that change come after one preseason game. However, it’s not just that. Though Glennon wetting the bed and Trubisky playing well were big revelations, it’s also been the progression in practice that has a hand in the changing of their tunes.
John Fox and Ryan Pace fail to hide their excitement
Now of course neither man came right out and stated they’re thinking about Trubisky grabbing the starting job. They’re too professional for that. At the same time both are human. They can slip up and let certain statements seep into the company line. It happened to some extent for each of them after the Bears’ final training camp practice in Bourbannais.
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It started with Pace who spoke on the Hoge & Jahns podcast about the state of the team. Naturally he was asked about the QB situation first. He was quick to temper expectations on Trubisky. The Bears couldn’t very well dictate their 2017 plans off one preseason performance by Glennon. This is true.
None of what he said was all that notable, until his last line.
“Mike’s our starter and we’re rolling that way,” Pace said. “But, hey, having competition throughout the field [at] all positions is important.”
That last bit was a slight departure from the norm for Pace. In previous instances there was no room for debate. Pace made it clear that Glennon was the starting quarterback. There was not a single mention of competition or Trubisky by name.
“We evaluated him over the years. We’re very confident in him. Glennon’s our starter and we’re confident with that.”
So if nothing else the rookie certainly has Pace’s attention for the time being. He’s not the only one either. Even the seasoned head coach had his moment.
Fox singled out Trubisky after practice
John Fox is a man who is steeped in tradition like any older coach would be. He has a set way of doing things that have worked in the past and would prefer to keep it that way. Among those things is not starting a rookie quarterback. The one time he’s done it in his career? His team went 2-14 and he was fired.
So one can understand his hesitation for trying again. Fox knows his job may be on the line in 2017 and he has to win more games. He might feel more comfortable with a veteran under center who can manage the game rather than gamble on a rookie.
Yet even he took a second to betray his growing infatuation with Trubisky. It came right after the end of practice when the young quarterback led a two-minute drill for a touchdown and two-point conversion. Fox made a surprising revelation about the sequence. Without being prompted.
‘‘He did have a successful scoring drive in two-minute,’’ coach John Fox said. ‘‘We got down there pretty close with the first unit; that was against the first unit. But we just continue to evaluate practice — not just games, but the whole practice — and [Trubisky] is continuing to get better.’’
In case you’re wondering, he’s admitting Trubisky led a touchdown drive with the #3 offense against the starting defense. Tanner Gentry and Daniel Brown were his primary targets against the likes of Leonard Floyd, Jerrell Freeman and Prince Amukamara. Meanwhile Glennon kept leaving sour moments on the field with the ugliest play of practice.
Prince Amukamara reads Mike Glennon's eyes along the sideline and picks him off. Would have easily gone the other way for 6. #Bears
— Mike Berman (@MikeBermanNBC) August 13, 2017
People continue to insist that the status quo hasn’t changed. Again, that’s fair. However, there is a growing undercurrent: improvement better happen in Arizona.
Explaining why there’s so much hesitation for a change
Of course there are many Bears fans asking the question. Why not just go with Trubisky? Sure he’ll make mistakes. That’s normal for rookies but isn’t the potential payoff the other way worth it? It’s hard to understand the thinking of men like Pace and Fox in these situations when it seems so cut and dry to the masses.
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune explains things from their perspective. Why they’re not eager to throw Trubisky out there right away. Why Glennon gets a second chance. Also, why that could change by next week.
“The biggest reason to tap the brakes on the Start Mitch movement is he’s yet to experience the breadth of blitzes and pressure packages teams would bring at him on a weekly basis. There’s stuff Trubisky hasn’t dreamed of seeing after coming from a spread offense in college in which defenses tried not to get beat over the top. There also has to be some level of concern that any quarterback might have a rough ride with the offense in place, especially when the Bears can’t crank up the ground game.
Glennon — and the supporting cast around him — will have to be more efficient and productive Saturday at Arizona. If he comes close to posting another goose egg — his passer rating was 0.0 against the Broncos — they’re going to have to rethink the master plan at Halas Hall.”
The Cardinals are yet another team with a strong secondary and aggressive attacking front seven. Just like Denver. No doubt they will be applying the pressure to Glennon for a second-straight week. If he flounders again, all Trubisky would have to do is play decent during his stint and the entire conversation will start shifting. No doubt Bears fans will have plenty to talk about at that point.
