Mitch Trubisky had the advantage going into training camp. He knew the Chicago Bears offense under Matt Nagy better than anybody after two years. He also had strong connections with the current receiving corps. On top of that, there was no preseason to possibly impede him. Everything seemed to stack the deck against Nick Foles in this quarterback competition.
Yet it doesn’t seem to matter.
After the first week in which Trubisky held a slight edge in practices according to media outlets, the former Super Bowl MVP appears to have shifted things into another gear. He had a solid practice on Tuesday in which it seemed his timing and anticipation with receivers noticeable improved. The only thing missing was some big plays down the field.
Adam Hoge of NBC Sports reported that those arrived on Wednesday, along with Foles’ best practice of training camp.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“Still, it was notable that Foles probably had his best series of camp in the extended two-minute drill, which simulated the Bears trailing by 16 points late in a game. He went 6-for-7 in that period, including a beautiful touchdown pass to Riley Ridley down the right sideline that beat rookie cornerback Kindle Vildor…
…I only marked down two subpar throws from Foles all day, and one of them was on a completion. The other was a shot play to Jimmy Graham in which Foles didn’t get enough air under the throw and the tight end couldn’t get to the ball.
Tuesday was the veteran’s best practice of camp and he especially shined in hurry-up situations.”
Nick Foles is starting to look like the guy people saw two years ago
It’s worth keeping something in mind here. Foles did that strong work without the presence of his best offensive weapon in Allen Robinson. The receiver remains sidelined with a nagging ankle problem. David Montgomery also wasn’t present due to a groin strain suffered in practice. So for him to execute so well against that caliber of defense anyway? It shows why this guy has a ring.
There is still a lot of time left in his competition. Matt Nagy and the coaching staff have vowed they will take it all the way to the wire. They want to be sure they’re picking the right guy. Trubisky isn’t out of this yet. He’s having high moments of his own. Still, it’s hard not to feel like Foles may have seized decisive control of this race.
The question is will Nagy have the guts to actually put an end to the Trubisky era just like that? This is what people are waiting to see.