By Jim Coffman
I will go to my grave believing that Ryan Pace ridiculously overpaid to move up a spot and take Mitch Trubisky at the draft a few months ago. And to all the people who say “It won’t matter if he turns into a star,” well, get back to me after the Bears have an injury or two this year and are exposed as having no quality depth at virtually any position.
Oh and while we’re here, they still don’t have good enough starters at multiple positions in the defensive backfield, receiver, linebacker . . . you hear what I’m saying. The Bears overpaid because Pace got paranoid and they will pay a price for it, this year and beyond. And there is a great chance that the Bears’ myriad weaknesses will impact the speed at which Trubisky can develop.
But hey, the kid looks like he can play!
After Trubisky’s debut performance last week, a performance that gave a hope-starved fanbase a desperately needed boost, it is already clear the quarterback has skills. The accurate passes throw nwhile he was on the move, well, those will work no matter who is playing D.
While it is still too early to anoint Trubisky the team’s starter, that doesn’t mean he can’t get at least some reps with the first-teamers during the next week. And if Trubisky outplays Mike Glennon again on Saturday in Arizona, he should get a shot at some time with the starters in the third preseason game.
What should be happening here is simple competition. You know, the kind that is taking place in every other Bears position group. You wouldn’t think that would be a big controversy.
Give Trubisky and Glennon plenty of chances to show what they can do and start the guy who plays best. It worked for Seattle when they shocked the league and made Russell Wilson a rookie starter five years ago despite signing free agent Matt Flynn and it is the best way to go.
The most important thing that happened at practice Sunday is that Mark Sanchez (what the hell is he still doing around here?) apparently suffered a very convenient injury and didn’t take any practice reps.
One thing I know we can all agree on is that Sanchez must not take any snaps in the next few weeks in practice or preseason games. Keep him around if you must as a veteran presence (he is a veteran losing presence but I guess he can be a security blanket), but that’s enough.
A few finals words about the Bears big draft trade and then I promise to stop talking about it for a while: It wasn’t a good one but at least it wasn’t a total disaster like the one the Bulls made a few months later. That one was so bad, it makes the Trubisky trade look like genius even if the guy is a complete bust.
Always remember that that wasn’t just the Jimmy Butler trade after all, it was the Jimmy Butler and a mid-first-round pick trade. John Paxson and Gar Forman couldn’t get what they got in that trade – a player coming off a serious injury, the biggest rookie bust in the league last year and a tall jump shooter – for just a top-12-player (Butler) in the NBA. They had to toss in their first-round pick as well!
Like I said, nothing like the doings of an utterly lost franchise to put the machinations of another, at least only half-lost organization in a much better light.
Next Saturday’s Bears-Cardinals game in Arizona has become Must-See Television. The Bulls found out last week they will barely get on national television at all next season. They will not play on Christmas Day for the first time in a half dozen years. And there is every reason to believe they won’t be back as a team anyone in the larger NBA cares about for years.
The Bears have screwed up all sorts of stuff, but they have given their fans at least a glimmer of hope. In context, that passes for major progress.
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Jim “Coach” Coffman welcomes your comments.
Posted on August 14, 2017