After the Chicago Bears’ brutal season opening loss to the Atlanta Falcons at home on Sunday, many were quick to defend Mike Glennon’s performance due to his efficient 4th quarter, calling his performance “fine”.
Mike Glennon played fine today. Those who adamantly disagree with that had their minds made up before kickoff.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) September 10, 2017
Sure, on the surface, Mike Glennon played “fine”. His stat line read: 26/40, 213 yards, 1 TD, 86.8 passer rating, and no turnovers.
But he took 4 brutal sacks, one of them on the last play of the game, two of them resulting in a potential loss of points. Sacks, mind you, that a quarterback with an iota of athleticism or pocket awareness would have been able to avoid.
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But, no interceptions! No fumbles!
Enough. I understand John Fox comes from an older era of football and has conservative tendencies. But in this day and age, playing not to lose gets you killed. And for the first three quarters, the Bears, at least on offense, were playing not to lose.
Glennon had 41 yards passing in the first half. Forty one yards – that’s not a typo. The Bears went over 25 game minutes between completed passes!
Yes, play-calling was a large part of that. But here’s why: I’m not convinced anybody on the Bears coaching staff believes Glennon can do more than what he did on Sunday. That’s why the offense was scaled back so much and for so long until they couldn’t scale it back any longer. Kudos to Glennon for directing a scoring drive right after the Falcons took a 20-10 lead, and again for driving them down the field in the final minutes with a chance to win. But he did that against surprisingly soft coverage, and he shares in the blame of the Bears being in that situation in the first place.
Maybe I’m biased, but I counted at least eight throws that made me ask “what the hell was that ball placement?”, especially when he missed receivers when they were open. Three of the four sacks he took were directly his fault, one of them costing the team a shot at three points. I don’t pin the last sack on Glennon, but a more mobile quarterback extends that play better than he did.
Here’s the deal: The Bears are a pretty damn decent team. Yes, they are. They hung around with the defending NFC Champions and at the end of the day should have beaten them. Are they equal to the Falcons? No. But anyone who thinks of the Bears like Bruce Murray from the tweet below doesn’t know the first thing about football.
Bruce Murray from @SiriusXMNFL "Atlanta almost lost to a REALLY REALLY bad team yesterday in Chicago." #Brilliant. #Bears
— Shayne L. Marsaw (@wasram) September 11, 2017
What are they missing then? A quarterback whose skillset is better than Glennon’s would be a start. I wonder where they can get one of those …
Oh wait, they HAVE one.
Yes, Mitch Trubisky is a rookie. Yes, he has minimal experience. Yes, the Bears have issues at wide receiver. But Brian Hoyer did what Mike Glennon did yesterday. Matt Barkley, for a while, did what Glennon did yesterday. And you’re kidding yourself if you think Trubisky couldn’t do what Glennon did yesterday, and more.
And that’s the thing. The future face of your franchise can do everything the team asked Glennon to do yesterday. Yet, he’s on the bench. And as a fan, that’s hard to swallow.
Why? Because you’re deliberately slowing the growth of this already pretty damn decent team. None of the chemistry that Glennon builds with anybody on the roster will matter next year. Or perhaps later this season. Why delay the inevitable now?
You don’t want a David Carr situation? Well guess what – the Bears offensive line isn’t the worst in NFL history like that Texans line was. He won’t get sacked to death like Carr did.
The receivers aren’t good? I’ll argue that Trubisky’s skill set and mobility will make them BETTER! How? Because he can extend plays and give them time to work themselves open. He proved it in the preseason. Glennon never did. Glennon can’t. Glennon won’t.
Is this about Glennon, then? You’ve guaranteed him $18 million and so you can’t let him sit? That’s nonsense. It’s the coaching staff’s JOB to coach up and then play the best players on the roster; or else you risk alienating your entire team. Given the fact that Bears leaders, like Akiem Hicks, have essentially publicly asked for Trubisky, that should tell you something.
I’ve brought up the fact that maybe the Bears are trying to save face with future free agents. The Bears gave Glennon their word that he’d have the first crack at the starting job. And they fulfilled that promise. And now, after Week 1, they owe him nothing. Sure, he didn’t do anything to “lose” the job on the surface, but this is where I have an issue.
It’s way past time for the Bears to give pats on the back for not “losing” the game. I know we’re coming off eight years of Jay Cutler and his penchant for inopportune turnovers, so this seems like a breath of fresh air. But it’s not. It’s not good enough. Not anymore.
Ryan Pace has done a masterful job of constructing this roster in relation to what he inherited three years ago. This team is younger, deeper, and way more talented. They’re brimming with potential, and all they need now is hope at quarterback. Mitch Trubisky offers that hope. And the best part is, he can offer that hope as early as Week 2!
Of course, there will be growing pains for Trubisky. Of course, there will be moments of frustration as he develops. Nobody is denying this.
But here’s the thing – the excitement over the journey of the unknown with Trubisky far, far, FAR outweighs the journey of the known with Glennon. We KNOW what Glennon is by now. He’s “fine”. But “fine” is neither exciting nor good. Trubisky has the potential to be, and it’s time to let him prove it. Bring out the kid and move on to the real next chapter of Bears football already.
