Mitch Trubisky cemented his hold on the
Chicago Bears quarterback job in 2018. While his season wasn't perfect, nobody can argue it wasn't crucial to that team going 12-4 and winning their first division title in eight years. He threw for over 3,200 yards, ran for over 400, and accounted for 27 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. His 95.4 passer rating was the best a Bears QB has produced in a full season ever.
He became the first to make a Pro Bowl since 1985 and the first to throw for over 300 passing yards in a playoff game. Everything about that season showed the immense potential he has and why the Bears made him their franchise guy back in 2017. There is no doubt that the organization is fully committed to his success. They believe it will continue.
Why then does the rest of the national media seem so dead set against him? It's not a conspiracy theory. Ever since the Bears picked him #2 overall, it seems like a large contingent of people have gone out of their way to declare that Trubisky is a farce and time will soon prove it.
When he has good games they shrug it off as a product of Matt Nagy's offense. When he struggles, it's firm validation that he can't play. Despite Bears fans calling them out for not being fair or outright biased, it raises the question.
Where did all this negativity come from?
Patrick Mahomes and
Deshaun Watson didn't get near the scrutiny coming out in 2017 as he has. Something has to be driving this smear campaign. It's time to explore the possible reasons for it. One could argue everything started years ago back in college at North Carolina.
Mitch Trubisky couldn't beat out Marquise Williams
Coming out of Mentor High School in Ohio, Trubisky was one of the most highly-touted quarterbacks in the country. He had a chance to go almost anywhere he wanted. Even a school that might allow him to play right away. Instead he bought into the pitch given to him by North Carolina regarding their offensive style. Something he felt fit his game perfectly. So he committed to them.
For the next two years, he became stuck on the bench. A five-star recruit forced to hold a clipboard as Tarheels rode with then-starter Marquise Williams. Perhaps the doubts about Trubisky surfaced at that time. If he couldn't beat out a kid who would never play QB in the NFL like Williams, how good could he be?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F6gEvEbyDU
His best chance came in 2015. The team had gone 6-7 the year before and the coaches were thinking about whether to make a chance at quarterback. Trubisky worked hard to convince them he was ready, but in the end, they stuck with Williams instead. It was the right call. North Carolina went 11-3. Still, it was hard for Trubisky to shake that failed opportunity.
Leaving North Carolina after just one year as a starter
His chance finally came the next year in 2016. Williams had graduated and the job was his. Trubisky didn't waste time making it his own. He threw for 3,748 yards and 30 touchdowns. Both were school records and earned them a trip to the Sun Bowl against Stanford. There, after a rocky start that included two interceptions, he led them on a heroic comeback that came a two-point conversion away from forcing overtime.
It was a great season, especially for a young QB who'd never started a previous year. The college football world was anxious to see what he could do the next season as a senior. They never got the chance. Acting on advice from several people including
Peyton Manning, Trubisky elected to leave school early and enter the NFL draft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4q7edDLXQE
Given he was taken 2nd overall, it was the right decision from a personal standpoint. However, a lot of people would hold that against him. Quarterbacks with a lack of experience have a history of struggling in the NFL. Starting just one year in college would not be enough to prepare him for the speed and complexity of the pro level. He should've stayed in school and continued to hone his craft.
Chicago Bears history
Now combine all of those question marks coming out of college and put them in the hands of a football team with the worst quarterback legacy of the modern era. That's not an exaggeration either. The Chicago Bears franchise has been easily the worst of any in existence dating back to the end of World War II at developing the quarterback position.
Here's a grim reminder of all those players they felt were good enough to start games in the NFL:
For those curious, that list of players threw for a grand total of 90,081 yards with 502 touchdowns and 745 interceptions. Not exactly a stirring legacy under center when compared to other franchises like the Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, and Indianapolis Colts. They've had a few decent guys along the way like
Billy Wade,
Jim McMahon,
Erik Kramer,
Kyle Orton, and
Jay Cutler.
Yet all of them either shined far too briefly to be considered a true success or never reached their full potential. That legacy was in people's minds from the moment Trubisky was drafted. To them, it was like he'd been sentenced to serve time in the NFL's version of quarterback Siberia. His career was over before it began.
Instant gratification
Lastly, there's the modern concept of quarterbacks in the NFL today. This new generation of football fans and media have no concept of how the position works. It's hard. Really hard. There's a reason only a handful of human beings on the planet can play it at such a high level. Is it not insane to think some guys take a bit longer to figure it out than others?
People have got it in their minds that if a QB doesn't excel right away, he won't at all.
Ben Roethlisberger?
Andrew Luck?
Russell Wilson?
Dak Prescott? Deshaun Watson? Patrick Mahomes? All of those players were productive from the moment they became starters. This has driven it into the minds of many that it is always like that.
That's why when Trubisky floundered during his rookie year, throwing just seven touchdowns with seven interceptions in 12 games, it was proof that he didn't have the wherewithal to handle the NFL processing speed.
This conveniently ignored several quarterbacks throughout the years who were anything but successful when they first saw the field. That list includes guys like
John Elway,
Troy Aikman,
Steve Young,
Drew Brees,
Eli Manning,
Derek Carr,
Jared Goff, and
Carson Wentz. The concept of patience for a quarterback has slowly eroded over the years and Trubisky is feeling the effects of that reality.
Will people ever come around on him?
Many in Chicago already have. There are still skeptics out there but plenty in the fanbase already believe Trubisky is capable of getting this team where it wants to go. There is no question the organization is 100% behind him. Pace drafted him. Nagy intentionally chose the Bears to work with him. Everybody in the locker room is quick to his defense.
The reality is this negative sentiment can't last forever. Not if Trubisky continues to produce and win football games. Even Cutler was starting to make believers out of people at one point in time before injuries stole his chance. If he could do it, why can't Mitch? His job isn't to please the national press or outside world. It is to make his team a success.
If he does that, the rest will take care of itself.
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