Kyle Long is stepping away from football. A hiatus as he calls it. Not a retirement. Either way, his love and dedication to his teammates likely won't be going anywhere. He made it clear in a recent interview with Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that most teams would've cut him years ago because of his injury issues. The Chicago Bears did not, choosing to stick with him. This is why he has no plans to ever play another snap for a different team.
Inevitably, their conversation came around to the status of quarterback Mitch Trubisky. What does Long see in him, if anything, and can the Bears win with him under center moving forward? Not only did the guard stick up for his quarterback one last time, declaring he's more than capable of being what the Bears want him to be. He also indicated that the recent changes to the offensive coaching staff might yield more results than some people think.
"The Bears have won with Mitchell Trubisky. That question gets asked all the time. It's a fair question because fans (and) pundits have to ask these questions. Especially in a huge market like Chicago. But Mitch doesn't have to answer to anybody. All he has to answer to is showing up every day and getting better, which we've seen. We all regressed this season.
Unfortunately heavy lies the head that wears the crown. Mitch is the captain. Mitch is the quarterback. He's also suited to take the stuff that he's going to deal with, and that's what I love about Mitch. He can deal with the noise and he's young. He's so young. I'm looking forward to seeing what another set of eyes from a coaching perspective can give Mitch."
Kyle Long clearly thinks Trubisky is still the guy
If we're being fair, Long isn't wrong. The Bears went 11-3 with Trubisky in 2018 and came within a missed field goal from winning a playoff game. The signs of a good quarterback have always been there. Sadly he just hasn't been able to bring them out on a consistent basis. The rest of the offense regressing in 2019 only made matters worse. It is for that reason, almost the entire coaching staff was purged and retooled.
Among the additions made include new Bill Lazor and John DeFilippo. Two men with extensive backgrounds at coaching up underachieving quarterbacks. This configuration has to be the most quarterback-friendly staff the Bears have ever put together. Trubisky will have tons of experienced and credible voices in his ear. Together with a hopefully retooled offense around him, he should get every opportunity to prove 2019 was a fluke.
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