It takes a certain kind of man to be a successful Chicago Bears quarterback. That much has proven true since these types of men are incredibly hard to find. Mitch Trubisky looked like he might be the guy. His 2018 was so promising. One of the highest-rated a Bears QB has had in decades. He took them to the playoffs and came a missed field goal away from knocking off the defending Super Bowl champs. Not only that but he was such a good kid. Spotless off the field.
The exact sort of guy you’re supposed to root for.
Then 2019 happened. Bears fans everywhere sagged. To many what they saw the year before was merely a mirage. A young QB taking advantage of a new offense opposing defenses had grasped yet. When they finally adjusted, his exposure soon followed. Now he is joined by Nick Foles. Another talented quarterback with extremely high moments in his career. Not to mention another fantastic human being.
Maybe he can be the one to finally change the narrative. Then again, if history proves anything. Nice guys don’t last long in this town.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
A good Chicago Bears QB takes no s**t from anybody
When looking back over Bears history, there are three names that can be categorized as “good” quarterbacks. There was of course Hall of Famer Sid Luckman, 1980s legend Jim McMahon, and the unforgettable gunslinger Jay Cutler. All had varying degrees of success in Chicago over an extended period of time. Yes, Bill Wade won a championship in 1963 but he was pretty much carried by the defense. His lone good season came in 1961. Outside of that, he was very average. This is why he is off the list.
So why did Luckman, McMahon, and Cutler succeed where others failed? Talent had a lot to do with it, sure. However, when looking at their personalities and backgrounds it’s not hard to nail down. These guys took no crap from anybody.
Sid Luckman: Mafia Man
There really are two sides to Luckman. Most remember the leader of the famed 1940s Bears that won four championships. They remember the man who put his career on hold to serve in the Merchant Marines and was part of the invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944. Luckman was a legitimate badass in every sense of the word. At the same time, there is also a dark secret to his past.
This was a guy who was raised by a killer. His father Meyer Luckman ran a trucking business that had ties to the mafia. This man was arrested and convicted of strangling his own brother-in-law to death. Luckman grew up in Brooklyn, a notoriously hard neighborhood during the 1920s and ’30s. This man went on to orchestrate the biggest blowout in NFL history and once knocked fellow QB Sammy Baugh out of a game by running him over.
So yeah. Luckman may not have followed the same path as his father, but he certainly had a hard edge to him.
Jim McMahon: The Rebel
McMahon made one of the greatest first impressions to a city in history. It came when he showed up for his first press conference holding a Budweiser. From then on, the half-blind QB from New Jersey became one of the most notorious rebels in league history. A guy who told people exactly what he felt on camera, even if they didn’t want to hear it. A guy who argued constantly with his head coach and mooned a helicopter during practice before the Super Bowl.
“The Punky QB” lived up to his name in every way. He also won a lot of football games and remains the only one to ever hoist a Lombardi trophy. McMahon was cocky, brash, and fearless. Opponents hated him. Some teammates wished they could strangle him once or twice. Yet they loved him on Sundays
Jay Cutler: Sour Puss
Few men have a more divisive legacy in Chicago sports history than Cutler. On the one hand, he holds pretty much every team passing record of note and started more games in a Bears uniform than any in team history during the modern era. He led them to the NFC championship game in 2010. The guy was remarkably tough and battled through some hard years.
That said, he also couldn’t hide his rather curmudgeon disposition. Cutler quickly developed a reputation for being not overly friendly. One particular story about him remains legendary to this day.
“As the urban legend goes, a fan once spotted Cutler at a urinal and tried to strike up a conversation. He told Cutler he also went to Vanderbilt and may know some of the same people—which, per the legend, prompted Cutler to tilt his head back and yell, “Doooonnnnttt caaaaarrre!” Those who know Cutler best laugh and say they can see him doing something like this.”
Cutler often got annoyed with teammates too. He bumped Jamarcus Webb after a failed play, yelling at him to “Get your f**king head in the game.” Coaching him was difficult too as a live mic once caught him mouthing off to former offensive coordinator Mike Martz. It was hard to like the guy at times but he kept finding ways to help his team win. Hence why plenty of Bears fans still love him to this day.
Can Trubisky or Foles change that narrative? Can nice guys really succeed at quarterback in Chicago? If so, they’d be the first.
