Rookie QBs in spotlight when Bears take on Browns
As rookie quarterbacks starting for bad teams, the Bears' Mitch Trubisky and the Browns' DeShone Kizer have taken their lumps this year.
But they've also benefited from the experience of playing, even if it was before they were completely ready.
The 0-14 Browns will try to avoid the infamy of a winless season Sunday at Soldier Field when they take on the 4-10 Bears, and the young QBs will be focal points.
Trubisky's 3-7 record as a starter sparkles compared to Kizer's 0-13 mark, but the 21-year-old Notre Dame product isn't complaining about the often-difficult, on-the-job training he's gotten.
“The experiences I've been able to get in my short time as an NFL quarterback have been the same experiences that typically take quarterbacks four or five years to get,” Kizer said. “You can go back and see a lot of guys that have had a lot of success in this league (but) how it took them three or four years before they got on the field to gain their experience.
“I've been able to go through it and learn from so many different situations throughout the year. That will allow me to, hopefully, grow at a much faster rate than most guys do in this league, which will in turn allow me to have a longer amount of success in this league.”
Trubisky is coming off the first 3-interception game of his pro career after getting picked off just four times in his first nine starts. But he's not the least bit dissuaded. He said he's motivated by the process and the upbeat mindset in the Bears' locker room.
“Just my teammates, the excitement every day coming to practice, the energy, the positivity, and just the plan we have for the future going forward,” Trubisky said. “We have a bunch of competitors on this team. Some people might be looking ahead, but a lot of us just look at each day as an opportunity, each game as a week to get better.
“We just go out and compete no matter the record, no matter if we're competing for the playoffs or not. It's just a great opportunity to go out and play a game we love next to a bunch of guys who love it as well.”
The Browns waited until the second round (52nd overall) to take Kizer, but in the run-up to the draft, they did their due diligence on Trubisky, who was taken second overall.
“He's a good quarterback,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said. “Smart, bright, knew how to play the game (and) could throw the football. Had a lot of upside to him. I think he's going to be a tremendous player there in Chicago.”
Likewise, Fox studied Kizer before the draft, and there's 13 games' worth of tape on him. He has thrown a league-high 19 interceptions vs. just 9 TD passes and has a league-low 59.4 passer rating, but the tools are there.
“He's got a lot of the measureables,” Fox said of the 6-foot-4, 233-pound Kizer. “He's got good athleticism. He can make all the throws. He seems to operate what they're doing. They've got some read-option, so they utilize him both as a ball carrier as well as a passer. He's a young quarterback learning this league.”
According to Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Kizer is more than just another running quarterback. He's rushed for 350 yards on 68 attempts, a 5.1-yard average — and he has to be tackled.
“He's not like a lot of quarterbacks,” Fangio said. “He doesn't slide. He's like a running back when he's running with the ball. He's trying to get every inch he can, which we have to remind our guys of when it comes time to tackle (him). A lot of times you have to pull off, (but) this guy doesn't slide, he goes.
“I see a talented guy, a very athletic guy with a big arm.”
Trubisky has done a creditable job of avoiding crucial mistakes. He's thrown just 7 interceptions but only 7 touchdown passes and has a 77.8 passer rating.
In the NFL, quarterbacks are ultimately judged on wins and losses, so it's difficult to give Trubisky or Kizer a high grade. But they came into losing situations. Expecting them to single-handedly elevate bad teams as rookies is unfair.
It seems Jackson hasn't always been completely sold on Kizer. He insists the rookie gives the Browns the best chance to win now but has hedged about what the future holds at the quarterback position.
“It's tough,” Jackson said. “The turnovers have been one of the Achilles' heels, and that's something he has to continue to work through. But, when you're a young player on a team that hasn't won a lot of games, it's tough to make decisions about exactly where they are.”
The Bears' staff has expressed no doubt that Trubisky is their man. Fox and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains both praised Trubisky's performance in the 3-interception game.
But if they're not around next year, who knows how a potential new regime will evaluate him?
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