It’s far from shocking that many Chicago Bears fans are ready to throw in the towel on Mitch Trubisky after two games. This is a fan base that has grown so used to changing quarterbacks over the years that it’s become second nature. It’s not like he’s played terrible too. He has two TD passes, two interceptions, and a rushing touchdown through two games.
Sure those aren’t elite numbers but they aren’t enough to grabs the pitchforks and torches over. Have people forgotten the Mike Glennon experience last year? Compared to that, this should be far more tolerable. So why the sudden angst? Most likely it’s a combination of promises from the new coaching staff and the realization the team has a championship-ready defense.
This team could truly be called a quarterback away from making a deep playoff run. Thus people are waiting on Trubisky, many of them quite impatiently. Some have proclaimed his slow start a sign that he truly is a bust. Is that fair? Perhaps it’s best to look at the circumstances and see what history might say.
Mitch Trubisky worriers can draw encouragement from previous top picks
The Bears QB is not the first former top two draft choice to see a system change from his first year to his second. In fact, it’s happened quite a bit over the past seven years. Four such quarterbacks have undergone that challenge. Here’s what each of them did in their first seasons in the new system from the first string of games to the second string. The results are fairly consistent.
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Jared Goff (2017)
He lost his head coach and offensive staff after his rookie season. Sean McVay came in from Washington and revamped the entire scheme and offensive personnel in hopes of making life easier on the young quarterback. It started somewhat slow but really took over by late in the year.
- First 8 games: 1,719 yards, 9 TDs, 4 INTs, 82.3 rating
- Final 8 games: 2,085 yards, 19 TDs, 3 INTs, 108.3 rating
Marcus Mariota (2016)
Ken Whisenhunt may have drafted Mariota but his inability to protect the young QB got him fired. Offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey was promoted and put in his own changes to the system along with Terry Robiskie. The results were the best season Mariota has had to date, and his efficiency jumped considerably in the second half.
- First 8 games: 1,604 yards, 12 TDs, 6 INTs, 98.02 rating
- Final 7 games: 1,822 yards, 14 TDs, 3 INTs, 93.8 rating
Blake Bortles (2015)
After a rough rookie season in which he was sacked 55 times, the Jacksonville Jaguars fired offensive coordinator Jedd Fische and replaced him with the more experienced Greg Olson. The result was improvement almost right away. The first half was a bit of a roller coaster but Bortles improved his efficiency in the second.
- First 8 games: 2,193 yards, 17 TDs, 10 INTs, 84.7 rating
- Final 8 games: 2,235 yards, 18 TDs, 8 INTs, 93.9 rating
Andrew Luck (2013)
Luck actually lost his offensive coordinator Bruce Arians to a head coaching position in 2013. That led to the Colts making Pep Hamilton his replacement. Luck was a bit up and down all year but his spike in positive production came a little earlier than others on the list after the sixth game.
- First 6 games: 1,346 yards, 7TDs, 3 INTs, 91.6 rating
- Final 10 games: 2,476 yards, 16 TDs, 6 INTs, 85.3 rating
The evidence is there. Each quarterback showed some form of improvement in their efficiency going from the first half of the season into the second. Three of the four saw their touchdown-to-interception ratio improve, often drastically. This shouldn’t be a big surprise. It typically takes a player a string of games to at least get comfortable in a system.
Trubisky has the double challenge of learning a new offense while also gaining a chemistry with an entirely new receiving corps. The early games were never going to be a smooth ride. Like it or not, it was going to take time before he could start to execute the scheme without having to think too much. This isn’t the time to panic.
At least wait until November. If problems persist to that point, then it will be fair to start asking questions.
