What does a young quarterback have to do for some respect in the NFL? It’s hard to figure out where the Mitch Trubisky hate is coming from. It seems like the nation at large is so ready to embrace the next generation of QBs. It happened for Carson Wentz and Jared Goff. It happened for Deshaun Watson. Now it’s happening for Patrick Mahomes. Yet Trubisky can’t seem to find a single supporter outside of Chicago.
What’s up with that? There are plenty of theories. Amidst his improvement, there are lingering questions about his downfield accuracy as he misses a lot of open receivers. He’s a Bears quarterback and that position has come with a stigma for so long that people seem predisposed to hate it. Then there’s the fact that some are anxious to see Trubisky fail because they predicted as much coming out of the draft.
They felt he was too inexperienced and the Bears paid way too much to get him. If he thrives, it’s going to make them look really, really stupid. We can’t have that, can we? Now certain experts are trying to tear him down by making outlandish comparisons. First it’s Blake Bortles. Then it’s Tim Tebow.
If people bothered to step back and look at the entire picture, they’d realize Trubisky is playing as well as many “great” QBs in the league and isn’t even playing his best yet.
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Mitch Trubisky has a superior passer rating to several proven names
People love to throw numbers at these sorts of issues. So what about one of the most telling for quarterbacks: the passer rating? It indicates how efficient and how effective one has been during the season. Generally, those who are in the 90s range are considered good and anybody 100 or high is in a “great” category.
Looking at the NFL landscape halfway through 2018, people might be shocked at who has a worse rating than Trubisky to this point.
13 |
Mitchell Trubisky |
Chicago Bears |
97.8 |
|
| 14 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 97.6 | Future HOFer |
| 15 | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | 97.4 | Former MVP |
| 16 | Andrew Luck | Indianapolis Colts | 96.2 | Pro Bowler |
| 17 | Ben Roethlisberger | Pittsburgh Steelers | 94.5 | Pro Bowler |
| 18 | Derek Carr | Oakland Raiders | 94.5 | Pro Bowler |
| 19 | Brock Osweiler | Miami Dolphins | 93.8 | |
| 20 | Ryan Tannehill | Miami Dolphins | 92.9 | |
| 21 | Andy Dalton | Cincinnati Bengals | 92.9 | |
| 22 | Alex Smith | Washington Redskins | 91.3 | Pro Bowler |
| 23 | Eli Manning | New York Giants | 90.9 | Pro Bowler |
| 24 | Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys | 87.4 | Pro Bowler |
| 25 | Joe Flacco | Baltimore Ravens | 84.9 | Former champ |
| 26 | Case Keenum | Denver Broncos | 83 | |
| 27 | C.J. Beathard | San Francisco 49ers | 81.8 | |
| 28 | Blake Bortles | Jacksonville Jaguars | 81.4 | |
| 29 | Baker Mayfield | Cleveland Browns | 78.9 | |
| 30 | Marcus Mariota | Tennessee Titans | 78.5 | |
| 31 | Jameis Winston | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 74.7 |
That’s some pretty favorable company to be around. Considering Trubisky has started fewer games than all but two of them? It’s all the more impressive. Yet people just shrug it off. That isn’t really Trubisky. It’s all Matt Nagy and that offensive system. Then that must mean every season going back the past decade can be thrown out for Brady because he’s had Josh McDaniels, right?
It’s a lame and lazy excuse. Facts are facts. Right now Trubisky is playing at an elevated level of football. No, it hasn’t been perfect and there’s plenty of room to improve. He’d be the first to admit that. Yet to gloss over how well he’s played just because it doesn’t fit the popular narrative? That’s weak sauce.
