There’s never a good time to have a quarterback competition, as it indicates that you’re not confident in arguably the most important position in all of sports. But for the Chicago Bears, their timing couldn’t have been worse.
With the Bears conducting their first QB battle in 12 years, they’ve been dealt a bad hand in terms of time and experience evaluating Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles to determine which guy gives the team the best chance to win.
The offseason was entirely virtual and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFL cancelled the preseason entirely. That leaves only training camp for Trubisky and Foles to prove they’re the best option for Chicago.
Which means Matt Nagy is going to have to get creative in how he evaluates both Trubisky and Foles given the small sample size and lack of live-game reps.
“When we get a chance to go out there, we’re evaluating those quarterbacks with every single play,” Nagy said. “Not just throw, but every single check that they make at the line of scrimmage, every bit of leadership that they show in and out of the huddle, we’re there watching how they react to a specific play in practice.
“That got squeezed down a little bit. But with that said, our coordinators are doing a heck of a job right now, as we sit here, of figuring out ways to maximize those competitive plays and periods. And we feel confident that we believe it’ll all play itself out. It’ll be completely open and we’re just going to take it day by day. And we’re excited to see that happen.”
While many were confident that Foles was the favorite to win the job earlier this offseason, the lack of offseason reps certainly puts him at a disadvantage when it comes to his familiarity with Chicago’s skill position players. Who knows how this competition would’ve played out had they been allotted an in-person offseason program and preseason.
It’s certainly not the best-case scenario when it comes to evaluating Trubisky and Foles. But at least they’re sure to be tested against of the NFL’s best defenses. Even if it is only training camp.
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