Mitch Trubisky is in the public eye more than any player on the Chicago Bears roster. That isn’t a surprise. It comes with being the quarterback. So when he struggles, a lot of the blame for the team’s failure falls to him. There is no question that 2019 has been a major disappointment. The 25-year old was expected to take a significant step forward this year. It was the second in Matt Nagy’s system. He had a nice array of weapons and a decent offensive line. Sadly it hasn’t worked out that way. Currently, he’s on pace to finish with fewer yards, fewer touchdowns, and more interceptions than he had in 2018.
However, this has made it easy to overlook an even bigger flop this year.
That being outside linebacker Leonard Floyd.
One must understand this. Here is a player who has never had more than seven sacks in a season. He happens to finish last year pretty well with four sacks in his final six games. This convinces GM Ryan Pace not only to pick up the 5th year option in his rookie contract but also not make a significant push to find more meaningful help at outside linebacker during the offseason. The Bears settled for just re-signing Aaron Lynch and Isaiah Irving.
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Time has proven this to be a catastrophic mistake.
Chicago Bears have gotten little of true value from Floyd
Now there is no doubt the defensive coaching staff is high on Floyd. They feel he does so many things really well from playing the run to dropping into coverage. That’s great and all but it’s not what the Bears are ultimately paying him to do. It isn’t what he was drafted to do. That was to get the quarterback on the ground. After dropping Aaron Rodgers twice in the season opener, Floyd has accounted for exactly one sack in the past 13 games.
One.
That is not good enough. Not even close. It’s been so inadequate that people have begun to attack Khalil Mack for his own limited production. They don’t understand that Floyd’s failure to be even a modest pass rusher has allowed offenses to freely double and triple-team Mack at will. The injury to Akiem Hicks didn’t help matters but the fact is Floyd has had countless one-on-one opportunities and consistently failed to take advantage of them.
Now the Bears look towards 2020 with a decision to make. Do they pay the soon-to-be 28-year old $13 million to continue being an average pass rusher or do they get proactive in solving one of their biggest issues? Pace will certainly have the ball in his court.
