Chicago Bears: QB controversy will continue all season
The Chicago Bears finally named a starting quarterback.
Late on Friday evening the Chicago Bears let slip the news that Mitchell Trubisky would be named the starting quarterback for Week 1. Burying the news on a Friday night before a holiday weekend does not scream ‘confidence’ in the decision or a real desire to face the ensuing criticism that will come from Ryan Pace’s decision to give up a fourth-round pick and $20 million dollars for a backup.
Setting aside Pace’s futility in evaluating the game’s most important position, there was another lesson to be drawn from the news — and that is that this competition is not going away anytime soon.
All offseason, Bears fans debated the competition over social media. The Haters, the Truthers, and the Apathetics (or those who don’t believe either is a great option) all dug in on their positions. For those fans who hoped naming a starting quarterback would bring closure to the argument, they are going to be sorely disappointed.
You see, this controversy is not going away anytime soon.
This is how it’ll begin for the #Bears but much like tomorrow’s 53-man rosters aren’t ✌🏼final✌🏼, this QB competition isn’t exactly over. We’ll see how it goes. https://t.co/S3ZhTeuIi0
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) September 4, 2020
Despite the non-adversarial nature of this quarterback competition, Trubisky will be under the most pressure he’s faced as a Bear. That’s because Nick Foles, the man standing ready to take his place, has won a Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP and has a penchant from saving seasons.
The Bears can’t afford to waste another, which is why every throw and series will be under immense scrutiny. Mitch could light the world on fire in game one, but if he throws up a clunker in the first half of game two, fans will be calling for a change.
Look to Philadelphia, where many Eagles fans called for Carson Wentz, an exceedingly better quarterback than Trubisky, to take a back seat to Foles. Why, because Foles plays his best football when the games matter most and there is no stronger love affair than that between fans and the backup quarterback.
Bears make wrong decision on QB. dark. Next
There is no doubt this is going to be a challenging season for Bears fans. It will almost certainly be filled with ups and downs as two middling quarterbacks vie for your heart by doing just enough to not be as bad as the other guy.
All we can hope for is that one of them has some magical run tucked away and can give the defense just a little help.