The Chicago Bears offense is the second-class citizen in this city. A result of many, many years of never being able to pull its weight when it matters. Thus leaving the Bears defense to try to win games by itself. A bad recipe for success in an era of NFL football dominated by offense. What makes it all the more frustrating is the team has tried so hard to fix it.
Four of GM Ryan Pace’s first picks in the NFL draft were on the offensive side of the ball. Of the 11 picks he’s made in the 1st or 2nd rounds? Seven went to the offense. They even went out and hired an offensive head coach in Matt Nagy. So it’s not like the Bears haven’t earnestly tried to fix this issue. They really have. It just hasn’t worked. Yet since 2015, the unit has ranked 21st or worse five times.
What people are struggling to understand is why?
ESPN analyst and former personnel director Louis Riddick was asked this question during an interview with the Chicago Tribune. There are a number of explanations that go into it. The lack of any superstar talents at the skill positions. A mediocre offensive line. However, in this situation, the explanation shouldn’t be overcomplicated.
The Bears don’t have a quarterback.
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“Look, Matt comes from Kansas City. But the Bears haven’t had Alex Smith or Patrick Mahomes to run this. In the slightest. That is first and foremost. It just is.
The volume of things that both Alex and Patrick were responsible for in making that offense and that system one of the most explosive we’ve ever seen is undeniable. You can’t overstate that. The Bears don’t have anybody like that.
Patrick makes up for a lot of issues when a coach makes a mistake or doesn’t get them in an optimal play because he’s a generational quarterback. Nobody has ever confused anyone who has played quarterback for the Bears since Matt got there as a generational quarterback.”
Chicago Bears offense remains at the mercy of QB failures
Fans may be tired of hearing it but that won’t change the reality. The Bears’ ongoing issues finding even a top 15 quarterback has continued to hold them back for years. Mitch Trubisky was supposed to be the guy to change all that. It’s why Pace traded three extra draft picks in 2017 to move up one spot to secure him.
That decision continues to haunt the franchise. Trubisky is on the bench and those lost picks probably could’ve been put to way better use. Mike Glennon was a disaster of a free agent signing that same year. Now it’s the Nick Foles show. Nobody would say that’s a bad thing given his 2-1 record as the starter, but is it good?
Foles is obviously a tremendous leader and smart. He knows what he’s doing. That being said, nobody would ever accuse him of being the most consistent or productive QB on the planet. His passer rating of 80.4 since he came in is actually worse than Trubisky’s (87.4). Though he does get a bit of a pass for the high-quality defenses he’s played against.
It doesn’t change the reality though.
Foles is not any sort of long-term answer. He’s a game manager who can hit some big plays when needed. Expecting anything beyond that is asking too much. Nobody can deny the Bears offense has other question marks as listed above. However, does anybody doubt a Patrick Mahomes or a Russell Wilson wouldn’t make things work a lot better?
A franchise quarterback can cover up so much. Riddick knows that. They don’t have one. Until they do? The frustrations of the Chicago Bears offense are likely to continue. Just try to keep it all in perspective.