Trubisky's solid play opens door for Bears starting QB debate
In the long line of Bears quarterback controversies, it's too early for another.
But the disparate performances of starter Mike Glennon and No. 3 Mitch Trubisky Thursday night have at least created a conversation. And with nine days between the preseason opener and Game 2 next Saturday, there is plenty of time for debate.
• How will Glennon handle the fallout and the skepticism after one poor performance?
• Is the presumed 2017 starter already looking over his shoulder at the team's quarterback of the future?
• Is the future now?
• Will the chatter put stress on the relationship between Glennon and the rookie Trubisky?
Glennon says he's prepared for what he expected could be a problem on draft day.
“When you take a guy that high, I immediately knew that there could be something stirred up,” he said. “I'm not going to focus on the outside world. I'll focus on what's going on within the locker room and (with) the coaches.”
Glennon said it's easy enough to shut out distractions from outside the team.
“You could make it difficult if you wanted to,” he said. “If you're going to be looking on your phone and getting on Twitter and all that, then yeah, I'm sure it could. I won't do that. I wouldn't say my phone's going to be off, but if you work for NFL Network, I'm not going to be checking you out.”
Maybe after that second preseason game, against the Cardinals in Arizona, the questions will become moot. But not until then.
Not after Trubisky led the Bears to all 17 of their points in the 7-point loss to the Denver Broncos, as he completed 18 of 25 passes for 166 yards and a 100.3 passer rating.
And not after Glennon went 2-for-8 for 20 yards, an interception and a 0.0 passer rating.
“I'm definitely ready to get out to Arizona and play there,” Glennon said. “Obviously not the start we wanted at all. I didn't necessarily play well, but it's early in preseason. We're still a month out (from the regular-season opener); a lot to improve on.”
Bears coach John Fox won't rush to any judgments or depth-chart changes, and when asked if he worried about Glennon's confidence, said: “No, not at all.”
But it was impossible to ignore Trubisky completing his first 10 passes, the crisp way the ball came out of his hand, his ability to throw accurately on the run, and the speed and athleticism that helped turn potential sacks into positive plays. He scrambled three times for 38 yards.
The rookie downplayed the accolades, seemingly unaware he was perfect on his first 10 throws.
“I just got in a rhythm,” Trubisky said. “Play-calling (helped). Guys were getting open. O-line did a great job giving me a lot of time. Just playing within myself in the offense.
“You have to give a lot of credit to those 10 other guys; they made my job easier.”
Fox said he wasn't surprised by Trubisky's impressive debut.
“I've been watching (Trubisky) for two months,” Fox said. “I watched probably another three months of college tape. Obviously, we picked him where we picked him because we felt pretty good about his abilities.”
Maybe not good enough to immediately move him up on the depth chart. The difficult decision for Fox and his staff will arrive if Trubisky continues to perform more effectively than Glennon throughout the preseason. Would that strain the relationship between Glennon and Trubisky?
“Oh, no, there's no reason to,” Trubisky said. “Mike's the starter; this is his team.”
At least for now.
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