Optimism is pretty low with Mitch Trubisky these days. That's not a big surprise. The season began with a pair of duds against Green Bay and Denver. The Chicago Bears quarterback finally got some momentum building during the Monday night win in Washington, throwing three touchdown passes. Then right as he seemed to be settling himself, he dislocates his shoulder a few minutes into the game against Minnesota.
Doubts continue to linger about the 25-year old. Here he is in his third season and not much has changed. He has bright spots intermingled with frustrating down periods and now has shown to have hard luck staying healthy too. With the Bears roster clearly capable of making a deep postseason run, it has some wondering how much longer the team can wait before a change should be considered.
The good news from his point of view is that 10 games will separate him from that decision being made. Trubisky is expected to sit for the Bears' meeting with the Raiders in London. Then comes the bye week. That gives Trubisky three full weeks of recovery to settle his shoulder issue and be ready for the big push towards January. Ten games offer enough time to make a statement that the job still belongs to him.
The best part is the schedule may actually be breaking in his favor.
Pass defenses Mitch Trubisky will face are looking weak
When people looked at the schedule coming out of the bye week before the season began, there was mass panic. It looked like a murders row of opponents. However, as can often be the case, not everything is as it seems. Suddenly the array of opponents ahead don't seem quite as daunting as before. This is especially true on the defensive side of the ball. Here is the list of pass defenses Trubisky will see in the first six weeks out of the bye.
- Saints (24th)
- Chargers (11th)
- Eagles (32nd)
- Lions (26th)
- Rams (15th)
- Giants (25th)
Not exactly the most daunting run of opponents. The Chargers' rank is a bit inflated because they played Miami last week. Philadelphia is razor-thin at cornerback. Detroit has an inconsistent pass rush. Los Angeles seems like a different defense after losing Ndamukong Suh. The Giants? Their secondary and pass rush could both be called average at best. There is no reason to think Trubisky can't have success against that slate of opponents.
If he fails? Then the Bears may finally have a clearer picture of the quarterback he is and always will be.
