Chicago Bears: Are they pretenders or contenders?
By Ryan Heckman
The case for being pretenders
I mentioned above that the offense will be able to do enough. However, Bears fans might feel closer to 2006 than what 2018 was supposed to look like.
The Bears defense is dominant and the offense makes you hold your breath. How’s everyone else doing in 2006?
— John Buffone *It's totally me, trust me* (@JDBuffone) September 18, 2018
Now, is Trubisky as bad as Rex Grossman was? Absolutely not. But, here’s the stark difference: When Grossman took his shots, he connected on several of them. Sure, he threw quite a few interceptions — I don’t miss those. But, Trubisky has shown a tremendous inability to throw the ball downfield.
Against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, his two downfield passes intended for Allen Robinson were intercepted. Against the Cardinals, his deep shots were all into great coverage, including occasional double-coverage.
If there is one reason the Bears can’t contend, it’s Trubisky. I get it — he’s young. He is the least-experienced out of all quarterbacks in his draft class. Trust me, I keep telling myself that. I get where those fans are coming from.
Mitch Trubisky was inaccurate on three throws into the end zone on that drive, with open receivers on two of the passes. This problem has to be fixed sooner rather than later. Scant evidence to date that it will be.
— Rich Campbell (@Rich_Campbell) September 23, 2018
But, for some reason I can’t shake the fact that he somehow looks worse this year than he did last season. If Nagy doesn’t dumb down the offense to better assist Trubisky in coming along, his quarterback is going to get this team into some tough spots with the decision-making he’s put on display so far.
Even some of Trubisky’s moments where he takes off and runs have come on delayed decisions. There have been multiple times now where he has waited far too long to tuck the ball and run. Likewise, he’s waited far too long to throw the ball on several occasions.
It’s almost as if Trubisky’s timer is off in his head. He seems as though he’s playing a second or two behind on so many plays, and it’s tough to watch.