The
Chicago Bears offense keeps finding a new rock bottom to hit each week. Against a bad Minnesota Vikings defense on Monday night, they managed less than 200 yards of offense and scored just six points. This after switching play callers from Matt Nagy to Bill Lazor. Their offense was never good but it's been historically bad for the past month. Now another change is likely coming with Mitch Trubisky replacing Nick Foles.
No, it's not because Foles was so bad he got benched. Even though that would've been believable. It's because a vicious hit in the game led to him being carted off. Belief is it might be some kind of ankle injury and it didn't look good. Trubisky is due back from his own injury soon. With a bye week ahead, the odds are strong he will be the starter again.
Not that it really matters.
There is no saving this offense. The Bears sit at 5-5 after starting the season 5-1. Easily the biggest plunge taken by this franchise during a season in a long time. Worse still, the defense lost one of its cornerstones in Akiem Hicks to a hamstring injury. Those tend to last a long time. Even with the bye, he could miss games.
None of it matters anymore. Anybody with a lick of common sense can see this team has no fire and no direction. They've completely lost steam and the offense is somehow getting worse each week. That falls at the feet of the two men at the top. Nagy for coaching it and GM Ryan Pace for
building it. Their futures in Chicago feel all but sealed now.
Mitch Trubisky deserves an apology
Let's be real here. He's not a good quarterback. However, it's becoming more apparent by the day that he was not the primary issue with this offense. He may not have even been in the top two. Those spots are reserved for league-worst blocking up front followed by an ongoing parade of bad play-calling and overall management from the coaching staff. Trubisky's ability to improvise may have actually covered up how bad it really was.
Don't expect much though. Trubisky wasn't all that great even when the offense was healthy. A lot of guys are banged up now. The best thing to hope for is he can create some extra offense using his legs. Nobody cares at this point. Focus has shifted dramatically. People want Nagy and Pace gone. Whether Trubisky plays or not has become a backburner issue.
His big thing is trying to make a positive impression.
If he can elevate the offense even a little bit, that might help his case when he becomes a free agent next spring. Teams always tend to take calculated risks on former 1st round picks. Odds are somebody will be interested in him. He's too talented. The Bears will be left with smoking ruins to clean up. Odds are a major rebuild is on the way. It is a matter of figuring out who will lead it because Pace has run out of strikes.
