After a Week 6 BYE week that undoubtedly resulted in plenty of self-scouting and introspection, the Chicago Bears get set to host the New Orleans Saints this Sunday at Soldier Field.
While the focus has been on Drew Brees' injury and Teddy Bridgewater's play in his place, the Saints' defense has been absolutely superb during Brees' absence. The Bears, who've been stuck in neutral (teetering on reverse) on offense this season, should get QB Mitch Trubisky back from his dislocated shoulder injury this week, but still must contend with a fearsome defensive line and secondary.
It'll be a tough game -- but it's a game the Bears need, especially at home, to keep pace with the Green Bay Packers, who escaped thanks to a BIG assist from the referees on Monday night against Detroit.
With that, I reach into this week's Bears Mailbag. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. I always appreciate the participation! Follow me on Twitter @DhruvKoul to continue the conversation.
Mailbag
I think Ryan Pace will get an opportunity -- one I truly think he deserves. He hired John Fox who, while a terrible head coach, was undoubtedly a strong eye for defensive talent and helped Pace craft the base for a Super Bowl level defense. Pace then hired Matt Nagy, who went 12-4 in his first season as head coach and has the Bears sitting at 3-2 through five games despite a decent amount of adversity. He has also put together a talented assortment of weapons on offense too. The QB is the final touch.
While Mitch Trubisky hasn't shown enough to be confident that the Bears have the right guy, he still has 11 games remaining, starting with this Sunday against New Orleans, to prove he is trending (significantly) in the right direction. Otherwise, the Bears will definitely be adding competition to the QB position next year -- likely via free agency and the draft.
So far, Pace's QB history is a bit spotty. But he did try to trade for the better QB in each of the drafts preceding Trubisky (Marcus Mariota over Jameis Winston in 2015; Carson Wentz over Jared Goff in 2016). That gives *some* hope. And besides, why throw away the architect of an otherwise outstanding football? It's not easy to do what he's done.
Frankly, I think it's simple -- I don't think Nagy trusts that Trubisky can drive this car on his own. And I don't blame him. Trubisky routinely falls into bad habits with his decision making, field vision and mechanics when things aren't going well. And he doesn't seem to be able to read defenses at times. It's reared its ugly head far too often.
Until Trubisky demonstrates improved understanding about how to execute this offense and where to go with the football, I'm afraid the results will be largely the same. He has immense physical gifts, but his processing speed has to improve. Only then will Nagy trust him more.
Case Keenum would be a solid option as a backup QB. He's proven he can execute in the right offense -- playing very well with Pat Shurmur with Minnesota, and then looking OK with Jay Gruden in Washington. He won't win you a Super Bowl, but he can more than hold his own and the fort down in a starter's absence.
The issue is the Bears won't be looking to trade significant (if any) draft picks or other assets. While they have a deep team, they're getting to the point where they'll need to decide whom to keep and whom to let walk as contract pay days become due for their best talents. This is the time they need to start drafting more depth and grooming potential replacements for those talents. They need all the ammunition they can get.
Look for them to address QB next offseason. A few targets I'm looking at (potentially): Marcus Mariota, Josh Rosen, Ryan Tannehill, Joe Burrow (if he falls), and Jake Fromm.
Developing quarterbacks is the responsibility of multiple people: The head coach (if offensive minded), the offensive coordinator, the quarterbacks' coach, and the quarterback himself. There is also inherent responsibility that falls with the general manager and organization to provide the best possible infrastructure for development -- scheme, offensive line, weapons that can catch the ball, running backs that can take a bit of the load off, etc.
The Bears, for whatever reason, have managed to mess part of this up for years. During Rex Grossman's time, it was the coaching and Grossman himself that couldn't get it done. When Jay Cutler's time came, it was the infrastructure around him that was unstable and bad. And now, during Trubisky's time, it's been largely on Trubisky to execute, be smarter with the football and crisper with his mechanics. He may be improving those on the practice field, but for whatever reason, it's all going to hell during games.
With failure comes action, often times not necessarily directed at the right person, and that prolongs these cycles of ineptitude. Let's see what happens in these final 11 games, but the next QB will hopefully be able to execute better.
