Chicago Bears: Fans should appreciate Mitchell Trubisky’s journey

Chicago Bears fans have been waiting for a franchise quarterback for a long time, but need to be patient a little while longer.

It has been a long time since the Chicago Bears have had a franchise quarterback. Fans have probably grown tired of hearing the name Sid Luckman every time the Bears quarterback history is brought up. It’s why there was so much excitement when they pulled off a trade for Jay Cutler. It felt as though they finally found their guy to not only complement their defense, but to be the one who could put the team on his back and carry them to victory.

Unfortunately, things did not work out as fans and the organization had hoped, and Cutler’s tenure in Chicago did not produce the results everyone expected.

So it’s understandable why there is such a high level of anxiety and impatience surrounding Mitchell Trubisky, the Bears new, young signal-caller. It’s especially so in the modern age of instant gratification where everyone and everything is overly scrutinized and overanalyzed. When everyone must have an instant “hot take” there is a tendency to rush to judgment, and more dangerously, do so without performing a proper evaluation.

It’s the reason why you recently saw one former general-manager question whether once he gets to the playoffs if he has enough to “win the game for you” even though he put his team in a position to kick the potential game-winning field goal and was at his best late in the game.

But I would caution Bears fans to not fall into the same trap. Don’t get caught up in the hysteria of demanding instant gratification. Instead, try to sit back and enjoy the ride and the journey of a young quarterback as he ascends to the role of a franchise quarterback.

Interestingly, while watching the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony this past weekend, I was reminded of the need to do just that. In his second career start, Roy Halladay lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning. Three years later in 2001, Halladay was demoted — to Single-A! But as of this weekend, he’s a Hall of Famer. What if the Toronto Blue Jays were as impatient as its fans? Food for thought.

And for all of the handwringing about Trubisky and his flaws, he still completed nearly 67 percent of his passes for 3,223 yards and a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio. He did this despite only being in his second season playing for his second head coach in his second offense with an almost entirely new supporting cast at the wide receiver position. Oh, and he only attempted 572 passes in college.

But rather than appreciate Trubisky for what he is now and what he has the potential to be, some want to vilify him because he hasn’t produced at nearly the same level as Patrick Mahomes and to a lesser extent, Deshaun Watson. In doing so, they ignore the fact that what he was able to accomplish last season was pretty darn impressive considering all the changes he underwent. And at the end of the day, he rose to the occasion in the biggest moment of his career and put his team in a position to win a playoff game.

It’s ok that he’s not a league MVP candidate, or considered a Tier 1 quarterback according to media outlets. Why? Because he doesn’t have to be. The Bears have a good enough team and an outstanding enough defense that they don’t need him to be. Instead, they can allow him to continue to develop into the franchise quarterback they believe he can be. All the while, they can still compete for a Super Bowl.

Maybe someday Mitch will be a “Tier 1” quarterback — or maybe he won’t be. All I know is I’m not going to waste my time worrying about it and missing out on what could be a historic season in Chicago.