The Chicago Bears have the worst quarterback legacy of the modern era. There is no arguing this point. It's a fact. The Cleveland Browns may try to stake their own claim but they would be wrong. Nobody can touch the Bears and it's been an ongoing hemorrhage to their organization for far too long. Fans have grown exhausted with it. Once again they're forced to watch another huge investment seemingly go down in flames.
Mitch Trubisky looked like he might finally be that curse breaker. The guy who could usher that position into respectability for Chicago after years of ineptitude. Then 2019 happened. He regressed in every way imaginable, looking in many ways like the guy he was back in 2017. He's never beaten a truly good team when it matters, getting most of his best performances against average or bad opponents.
Most fans are already prepared to move on even as GM Ryan Pace and the coaching staff hold out hope. So many continue to ask the question. When will it be our turn? To answer that, one must try to understand why. Why have the Bears been this consistently bad for so long? There are theories, but only one overriding explanation that seems to make some sense.
Chicago Bears QB issues aren't about lack of trying
Most people will argue that the Bears just haven't invested enough in their attempts to find quarterbacks. Is this true though? I decided to do a little research. Going back to the 1970 merger when the league became what it is today, I determined how many quarterbacks the team drafted up to the present day. That number was surprisingly high at 28. Only two teams (Bengals and Packers) got more.
So what about value picks? This meaning 1st to 4th rounders which are considered the most important rounds. I divided those picks against the total number of selections and came away with a percentage for every team. Here is what I discovered.
Top 5:
- Browns - 61.53%
- Eagles - 55%
- Raiders - 52.38%
- Vikings - 50%
- Patriots - 48.14%
The Browns drafted 26 quarterbacks since 1970 and 16 of them came in the first four rounds. They have no Super Bowls. Meanwhile, the Patriots drafted 27 QBs but only 13 in the first four rounds. So how is it they have six Super Bowls? They just happened to strike gold in the 6th round back in 2000, taking a flier on a young kid named Tom Brady.
Bottom 5:
- 49ers - 22.22%
- Saints - 23.52%
- Packers - 25.80%
- Chargers - 30.76%
- Dolphins - 31.03%
San Francisco never lacked interest in grabbing QBs. However, of the 27 they drafted, only six went in the earlier rounds. They scored huge with Joe Montana in the 3rd round in 1979 but extended that run thanks to a brilliant trade in 1988 to grab Steve Young. Miami scored an obvious grand slam with Dan Marino in 1983, but their run of success after him has been largely disappointing.
For their part, the Bears drafted 28 quarterbacks since 1970 with nine of them coming in the first four rounds. That comes out to 32.14%. Not great but far from the worst. Yet their QB history is easily the most laughable over that span than any other team. How can that be? The answer is simple enough, if frustrating.
They've had neither the expertise nor good fortune needed to find them. Just look at the GMs they've put in charge and where their backgrounds were.
- Jim Finks - Quarterback
- Jerry Vainisi - Accountant
- Jerry Angelo - Defensive line
- Phil Emery - Strength and conditioning
- Ryan Pace - Defensive line
Is it any coincidence that Finks, the guy with the QB background, ended up being the one who drafted the most successful quarterback of the modern era in Jim McMahon? Some guys just have a better understanding of the position. The Bears haven't done a good job of putting those guys in charge. The McCaskey family, for all their good intentions, have put either money-first people in charge or guys with a deep defensive background as befitting the team's strong legacy on that side of the ball.
It's not the quantity of picks.
It's not the quality of picks.
It is the guy making the picks.
That and a little bit of luck of course.
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