No matter how you look at it, the Bears offense was bad in 2019. Actually, bad doesn’t begin to describe it. Abysmal, horrid, embarrassing. If there’s a negative adjective out there, it describes the offense’s collective output last season.
Third-year quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was no doubt the most frustrating part about the Bears’ offensive struggles. The former No. 2 overall pick’s regression was a stark reminder that Chicago has yet to find the answer to its franchise quarterback woes.
At best, Trubisky’s job is at stake. At worst, Trubisky’s fate is already decided. But the Bears put Trubisky on notice when they traded for Nick Foles, who’s been brought in to challenge for the starting job and possibly supplant Trubisky.
But when looking at the failures of the offense, you have to take a look at the full picture. There were so many other issues on offense that extended beyond the quarterback last season. Yes, Trubisky was a big reason for Chicago’s struggles. But he wasn’t the only one.
Foles isn’t going to come into this Bears offense and magically fix a non-existent run game, a gaping offensive line and arguably the worst group of tight ends in the NFL.
Could Foles bring a little more consistency to the offense? Sure. But the pieces aren’t going to magically fall into place if he’s named the starter.
That’s not to say Trubisky is the answer either. Heck, Trubisky or Foles don’t appear to be the answer at this point. They’re both stop-gaps until the Bears eventually get another shot at a quarterback — presumably after Ryan Pace’s tenure in Chicago.
But it’s time to stop blaming all of the offense’s fallacies on one position — the position that has snakebitten the Bears during most of their 100-year history — and start acknowledging that bringing in Foles, who has won a Super Bowl, won’t mean a thing until the other holes are addressed.
Can Foles successfully operate this offense? Yes, we’ve seen it in Philadelphia in Doug Pederson’s system. And Matt Nagy certainly feels confident that Foles can run his offense the way it’s intended. But, just like with any quarterback out there, including Trubisky, Foles can’t do it alone.
While the talk of the offseason continues to be Chicago’s quarterback struggles, it’s a reminder that the offense’s issues run much deeper than quarterback alone.
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