It’s been a long time since the Chicago Bears conducted a proper quarterback competition. One would have to go back to Erik Kramer vs. Steve Walsh to understand how dead even the team has made it seem from the start of this offseason. Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles will be the two guys. They’ll get equal reps with the first-team offense in practice and the preseason. May the best man win. Former Bear Olin Kreutz though doesn’t buy it.
He thinks the team has made their decision. Or at least the head coach has. This competition is just a way to verify that. Just look at the warning signs. The Bears gave a 4th round pick and $21 million to get Foles. They also haven’t picked up Trubisky’s 5th-year option with the deadline just two days away.
Kreutz told Dan Bernstein on 670 The Score why Trubisky is set up to lose.
“He really does struggle in the pocket. He struggles processing information. I don’t think Coach Nagy’s very high on him anymore. They can say what they want but we all saw what happened on the sideline in that Rams game when Mitch pitched that option too early and they said he was injured but they pretty much benched him.
Then Mitch came out and said on the podium last year that he wasn’t running the scheme he wanted to run…I think they’ve lost their trust in Mitch. Especially in the scheme that they want to run where the quarterback has to process information on every play.”
Kreutz believes Trubisky was drafted to play in a different system. The one he played in when he first arrived in 2017. Under Dowell Loggains, the Bears did more I-formation featuring play action and bootlegs. Whenever Nagy used that last year, it seemed to work better for Trubisky. However, it’s not the type of offense the coach knows and wants to run. The type of offense that Kreutz pointed out just won the Super Bowl in Kansas City. Or won it back in 2017 for Philadelphia when Foles was the quarterback.
Olin Kreutz makes it clear Nagy is dead set on running “his” offense
The trade for Foles is a message. People have demanded Nagy change, adjust his scheme to better fit what Trubisky does best. To an extent he did that but not enough in the eyes of some. Why? Mostly because that isn’t the system the head coach grew up in. It’s not the system he knows can win championships too. Getting Foles is his way of proving that this offense can function when it has the right guy under center.
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One who can read defenses and make good decisions. Foles doesn’t have to be specular like a Patrick Mahomes. He just has to know when to hand the ball off and where to throw it in every situation. Something Trubisky has routinely struggled with most of his career. Also just look at the acquisitions made this offseason.
Did the Bears go out and get a fullback and reinforce the running game? Nope. They added two tight ends and two speed wide receivers. Moves that play right into the strengths of Foles. It truly does feel like this competition is a foregone conclusion.
