The word incremental was used multiple times in regards to the Chicago Bears offense to start training camp. First GM Ryan Pace and then quarterback Mitch Trubisky said it. They want steady incremental progress going into 2019. Do people know what that word means? It means "increasing or adding on in a small, regular fixed scale." In other words, the Bears are content with improvement, even in small sections provided it's regular.
That is something that may not suit fans of the modern era. This generation of football fans is not accustomed to patience. Especially around the quarterback position. They demand near-instant results. If you're not good as a rookie, you better do big things in the second year. Recent examples of this include Patrick Mahomes, Carson Wentz, Jared Goff, and Derek Carr. If it doesn't happen, something must be wrong.
This is the persistent argument with Trubisky. He started 12 games in 2017 as a rookie, finishing with 77.5 passer rating. This past year he elevated that to a 95.4, which is a substantial jump but his numbers still weren't up to modern standards. Even if those standards are skewed. Then again, he's hardly the first quarterback who didn't experience that immediate jump to statistical domination.
"Rookie season didn’t go the way we wanted it to. Last year, we saw a little bit of progress and that's the theme for this camp, just steady, incremental progress. Are we getting a little bit better each day? Are we staying focused on the task at hand? Are we blocking out everything on the outside? Are we doing our jobs? Are we taking care of our guys inside the building? And are we doing the little things on a daily basis?"
Mitch Trubisky knows success isn't always immediate
If anybody knows about being patient, it's Trubisky. This is a kid who had to wait two years before finally getting his chance in college. Then when he arrives in the NFL, he's forced to wait behind Mike Glennon for a month. After that, he needed to endure a full season under John Fox before the Bears wised up and brought in Matt Nagy. It's easy to forget a lot of this lack of instant gratification isn't on him.
It is also easy to forget there are other quarterbacks in recent decades who weren't exactly elite overnight in their careers. Here are a few examples of notable names and their passer ratings from Year 1 as a starter over the next several years.
Peyton Manning
- 71.2
- 90.7
- 94.7
- 84.1
- 88.8
- 99.0*
Jim Kelly
- 83.3
- 83.8
- 78.2
- 86.2
- 101.2*
Eli Manning
- 55.4
- 75.9
- 77.0
- 73.9
- 86.4
- 93.1*
Joe Montana
- 87.8
- 88.4
- 88.0
- 94.6
- 102.9*
Troy Aikman
- 55.7
- 66.6
- 86.7
- 89.5
- 99.0*
This should be proof enough that even the greatest quarterbacks aren't great immediately. They went through growing pains too. They also endured what Trubisky has. Questions about whether they had what it takes to truly carry a team. With enough time they all answered those questions. It was a matter of being given enough of it.
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