If anybody understands what Mitch Trubisky is going through right now in Chicago, it would be Phil Simms. The former Super Bowl MVP was also a highly-drafted quarterback for a marquee franchise in the New York Giants. He inherited a team that had a long history of losing by the time he arrived and was saddled with the responsibility of making it all better. Simms certainly didn’t get off to the start he wanted. His first three years ended with injury and he completed barely half his passes with 39 touchdowns and 43 interceptions.
It wasn’t until his fifth season in 1984 that things finally started to get off the ground and the Giants were eventually rewarded for their patience. So one can understand why Simms is less than thrilled about the incredible knee-jerk reactions with Trubisky over the past month. After a slow start to open 2019, more than a few people have declared the 25-year old a bust and in need of replacing. They feel he isn’t smart enough, something that Simms took exception to during an interview CBS Sports Radio.
He thinks people are too quick to forget what the young QB has done.
“Trubisky – big, strong, fast, has a strong arm. Is he the most accurate guy in the NFL? No. Here’s what bothers me about that whole situation. They laid out that narrative. ‘Oh, we’re scaling back our offense for Mitchell Trubisky.’ Oh so just tell the world that he’s not smart, that’s what they’re trying to say. So that really bothers me. Who sets a narrative that’s negative for their high drafted franchise quarterback? They do it right off the bat and it’s bothered me ever since.
Listen. When they played in the playoffs last year, what’d they go last year? 12-4. How many quarterbacks in the NFL went 12-4? And also, who was the best player in the playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles? It was Mitchell Trubisky. He gets them down, he gets the touchdown to put them ahead. Then the great vaunted defense lets Philadelphia march down and score. Then what’s Trubisky do? Makes miraculous, unbelievable throws and plays to get them down to the field goal and they miss. So the narrative continues: ‘He stinks. He can’t win a big game,’ and all this.”
Mitch Trubisky plays in a far less patient era
Simms is not wrong. Trubisky has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his short career to this point. Not every quarterback is able to get his career off the ground in a period of two or three years. Some take longer due to a variety of circumstances. Simms himself is a perfect example. The problem is that fans and media have been spoiled by too many instant successes in recent years. Names like Andrew Luck and Patrick Mahomes who were slicing defenses up from the moment they took the field.
Since Trubisky hasn’t done the same, they automatically assume he’s worthless and needs replacing. That is not necessarily true nor fair. Head coach Matt Nagy himself said that true mastery of his offense requires three years of practice and playing time in it. Trubisky hasn’t even reached the halfway point in that regard. Maybe it’s best to take a deep breath and let this thing play out a little longer. Besides, it’s not like the Bears are in the best position to find a replacement anyway. They won’t have a lot of money nor high draft choices to spend in 2020.
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