Chicago Bears: Chase Daniel does one thing better than Mitchell Trubisky

The Chicago Bears lost their starting quarterback to a shoulder injury on Sunday. Chase Daniel replaced Mitchell Trubisky, and I noticed Daniel does this one thing better than Trubisky.

The Chicago Bears fought hard for their 16-6 win over the Vikings on Sunday. Unfortunately, the Bears lost Mitchell Trubisky for the game and likely longer. Trubisky bails out of the pocket and the Vikings knock the ball out of Trubisky’s grasp. While attempting to recover the fumble, Trubisky lands hard and awkwardly on his non-throwing shoulder.

Matt Nagy addressed the media Monday and is hopeful to get Trubisky back sooner rather than later. His injury does not seem to be season-ending. Luckily for the Bears, they have arguably the best defense in the NFL. The Patriots are giving them a run for their money statistically, but when the season is over, I believe the Bears will top them.

Having a strong defense allows the offense to be a little more stagnant. Chase Daniel stepped in for Trubisky and had a solid performance. Those claiming Chase Daniel is a better quarterback than Trubisky are wrong. I have no other way to put it. Daniel is a solid backup, but there is a reason he has been a backup for his entire career.

Daniel did not light the offense on fire. The team scored 16 points. Daniel threw for under 200 yards. If Trubisky had that type of performance, reporters in the national media and certain fans would be calling for his head. In fact, they’d be calling for Daniel to play the rest of the season. Daniel played well but lets not pretend he looked like Drew Brees or Tom Brady out there. His performance was what it was, good enough.

Although Chase Daniel is not as good as Mitchell Trubisky, he is doing one thing better than him this season. Trubisky’s offensive line has looked bad all year, and that is likely a big reason why Trubisky keeps moving out of the pocket. In contrast, though, the line did not look quite as bad with Daniel under center. Daniel was able to feel the pressure and get rid of the ball before the pressure arrived.

This is something Trubisky desperately needs to resolve. If Trubisky steps up slightly and throws the ball deep down the right side on the play he hurt his arm, he likely would never have been hurt. He had a receiver break open as he decided to scramble. Instead, Trubisky felt the pressure, did not trust his blockers to hold their blocks long enough and took off running.

Daniel, on the other hand, stepped up slightly or just stayed in the pocket most of the game. This made the pocket seem cleaner, receivers had time to break off their routes and get open for easier passes and that allows longer plays like the 37-yard reception by Javon Wims. Sometimes all a quarterback needs is half a second more for his receivers to get open.

Trubisky finds that time when he scrambles and finds open receivers for big gains. This is why his best plays always seem to be when he is scrambling. Extending plays with his legs allows his receivers to see enough extra time for their routes to develop. Boom, bigger plays like the ones to Allen Robinson that set up the winning field goal in Denver and to Taylor Gabriel in Week 3.

Not trusting his line (a problem his line has somewhat caused) and staying in the pocket long enough might be his biggest weakness if I am being honest. Something that causes a trickle-down effect on the rest of his play-making abilities. However, also something that Trubisky can still learn with more game reps.

To recap, Chase Daniel is not a better quarterback than Mitchell Trubisky. Anyone who believes this needs to just stop. The Bears can still win with Daniel, but I would lower their Super Bowl odds if Trubisky was out for the season. However, his ability to stay in the pocket longer is something Trubisky needs to learn from Daniel.