While it would be easy to share an opinion in this, it’s important to maintain perspective. The Chicago Bears know Mitch Trubisky is their future. It became more evident than ever in the preseason. However they came into 2017 with a plan. They wanted to avoid throwing him out on the field until he was ready. That’s a big reason why they signed Mike Glennon. He could buy them time until the Trubisky debut is more feasible.
Glennon, for better or worse plays the John Fox style of game. He takes the safe throws and avoids the turnovers, letting the running game and defense do the work. It sounds simple enough, but there is deeper reasoning for the Bears taking this course of action. One that didn’t begin to surface until late in the preseason.
That’s the situation at wide receiver. People couldn’t quite grasp at the time how critical the loss of Cameron Meredith was to their entire offensive outlook. Now that was made even worse with news that the much-maligned Kevin White broken the scapula in his shoulder. He’s going on IR and could be done for the year.
Trubisky debut may wait until weaponry is better
Jenny Vrentas of the MMQB illustrated just how big of a conundrum the Bears are in. It’s not a question of whether they want to go with Trubisky. It’s a question of whether they should.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“It’s a little bit of a catch-22: The worse the supporting offensive cast is for the Bears, the more likely it is that the team will struggle, which means that the calls to give Mitchell Trubisky a chance will no doubt intensify. But throwing into the fire their No. 1 draft pick, without a lot of help around him, is exactly what the Bears don’t want to do.
All around the league, teams are putting in rookie QBs. DeShone Kizer is starting in Cleveland. Tom Savage lasted all of one half in Houston before being yanked in favor of Deshaun Watson. After a promising preseason in which he displayed his unique talents, Trubisky is the most popular guy in Chicago right now.”
It’s basically a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation for the Bears. Bringing in Trubisky might make the fans happy. It also might expose him to a lot of hits because his receivers can’t get open. Sure his mobility could serve to help that issue, buying time for guys to find space. Then again there were glimpses in the preseason that he tends to take hits when can’t find guys.
He’s a competitor and wants to make every play work. That’s great, but also dumb. He must still learn how to protect himself and live for the next play. The Bears would prefer he learn that from the safety of the sidelines. There will be time enough for them to properly stockpile the weapons he’ll need to carry this franchise forward.
