The question was asked and the question was answered.

Reporter to John Fox: Will Trubisky play with the ones this week?

Fox: “We’ll meet on that, we’ll talk and we’ll keep you guys posted.”

— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) August 21, 2017

The follow-up was asked and the follow-up was answered.

. @MarkPotash : Is there a way to work Trubisky in with 1s without it being an “affront” to Glennon?#Bears coach John Fox: “Probably not.”

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 21, 2017

The Chicago Bears have a chance to do the right thing for the 2017 season. They have a chance to admit their mistake – acknowledge giving Glennon 18 million anything was insane – and take an important first step towards the future of this franchise. They can do it Sunday in Tennessee.

There will be little mention of Mike Glennon and Mitch Trubisky in this post beyond this: everybody is now seeing what I’ve been telling them to see for six months. Mike Glennon isn’t any good. It doesn’t require stats. It doesn’t require nuance. It doesn’t require Bill Belichick’s football acumen. If you open your eyes and watch him play quarterback you become deftly aware of his limitations. They are many. He’s just not any good.

On the rest of the game…

• Tarik Cohen is brilliant and it’s very clear the Bears are going to be using him in a larger role than just third-down back / kick returner. I’d still be concerned about someone his size taking too much contact over a sixteen game schedule but ten carries a game is now in play.
• Who gets cut first: Roberto Aguayo or Daniel Braverman? Both are exceedingly useless.
• Listen, preseason lovers. If these games are as important as you tell me then Roy Robertson-Harris is going to make the final 53. No player was more impressive in Arizona.
• Why is everybody so concerned about Kevin White’s preseason performance? (1) He’s playing with Mike Glennon. He has no shot to be successful. (2) Bears don’t care what he does in these August games. They need him healthy in September.
• Bears are going to be cutting a decent tight end. Both Brown and Braunecker are not bad players but how are they cracking through Sims/Miller/Shaheen?
• Bears seem unclear about their kick returner. Cunningham was on kickoffs, Deonte Thompson scored off a missed field goal, Tarik Cohen and Eddie Jackson have both seen action on punt returns. Not sure what it all means.

That’s it.

There was no giddy-up in this 2017 Chicago Bears season. There was no reason to believe this year’s model would be a significant improvement over 2016’s clanky, too-often-in-the-shop lemon. Then, in the first preseason game, a normally useless affair, the sun rose over a dark night sky. The narrative changed in an instant. There it was. There was the future. And that future was – dare we believe what are our eyes doth see – bright.

Last night the organization that drafted Mitch Trubisky went out of their way to shield their fans from that big, beautiful sun. Darkness returned. Mitch Trubisky didn’t get time with the first-string offense. Mitch Trubisky didn’t get time with the second-string offense. Mitch Trubisky was buried on the depth chart – behind two quarterbacks he’s infinitely better than – in a decision that was equal parts inane, irresponsible and indefensible.

Leaving Bruno Mars w/ one question for #Bears. Why did you want to see let less Trubisky instead of more Trubisky???

— Silvy (@WaddleandSilvy) August 20, 2017

INANE

Dear Ryan Pace,

Mike Glennon.

How much more do you need to see?

He hasn’t been any good in the games he’s played in the NFL. He hasn’t been any good in camp practices for the Bears. He hasn’t been any good in the two preseason games he’s started. When do you expect he’s going to suddenly become good? Is it going to happen between now and the start of the season? That’s not much time, Ry.

You had to see what we all saw last night. A running game getting bulk yardage and an offensive line dominating the line of scrimmage. Only one thing was missing. A capable quarterback. And you made the boldest move of the NFL Draft to acquire one! What the hell are you waiting for?

I know, I know you gave Glennon a boatload of cash. That was silly. But you’re in the clear on that now. Trubisky has given you a mulligan. There won’t be a single newspaper column criticizing you for making this move. You know why? Because nobody wants to see Glennon play a single snap for this franchise.

Trust your eyes. Glennon is awful. Make the move.

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Three thoughts for tonight:

• Jordan Howard isn’t playing. And Jordan Howard shouldn’t be touched by another defender until that defender is wearing the uniform of the Atlanta Falcons. Running backs only have so much wear and tear in their bodies. Howard’s style – tough, bruising, absorbing contact – will have less than most.
• In the absence of Howard, will the Bears start Tarik Cohen? He was first off the bench a week ago. I think they’re making a mistake if they try to use this kid as an every down back. Kick returner. Third down, scat back. 3-5 carries as a change of pace.
• This is truly a rough spot for Mike Glennon tonight. He will be under an immense amount of pressure and facing one of the feistiest secondaries in the sport. It just seems the stars are aligning for Mitch Trubisky to take this gig. (And in case I haven’t made it clear, that’s in the best interest of the Bears organization moving forward.)

The preseason is meaningless.

Mostly.

There is one exception to this rule: when a team finds itself embroiled in a quarterback “controversy”. And the Bears, especially after the events of last week, now find themselves firmly in the midst of a battle at the most important position in all of sports.

From Rick Telander in the Chicago Sun-Times:

Now make Trubisky the starting quarterback.

Yes, he’s only 22 and started only 13 college games at North Carolina. And the NFL is mean and vicious and eats its young.

Again, so what? Life is hard and then you die. Maybe you’ve heard.

Trubisky ran a 4.67-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine — the same as athletic Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson — and his feet never will be faster than they are now. His arm is a cannon.

This is not news around these parts. No one lurking in Media Meadow or strolling down Blog Boulevard has been as steadfast when it comes to what the Bears should do at quarterback, starting week one, starting against the defending conference champions. When the team boldly traded up and selected Mitch Trubisky in April, Trubisky immediately became the best quarterback on their roster. And there was nothing to debate.

Trubisky is a wow talent. Mike Glennon, the incumbent starter due to a hefty one-year paycheck and limited alternatives, is not. I’ve been prone to saying “Glennon stinks”. Maybe that’s my pithy way of saying, well, no, Glennon does in fact stink.

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Mini-primer for the week ahead…

• Ryan Pace praising competition at all positions is a drastic shift from “Mike Glennon is our starting quarterback and we’re pumped about that”. Remember, Pace put his neck (and arguably career) on the line when he moved into the two slot for Trubisky and NO ONE was more enthralled by the kid’s preseason debut. But again, Trubisky’s success isn’t the story to watch. Trubisky is going to have the same ups and downs any rookie has. Watch Glennon. If he continues to struggle – and he’s not good so that should be expected – the Bears will have no choice but to move quickly into the future.
• Three different trustworthy individuals, all on the ground in Bourbonnais, told DBB there was no way to argue Eddie Jackson wasn’t one of the two best safeties in camp. This, coupled with reports of Jackson getting time with the ones in practice, leads one to believe EJ will soon find himself lining up beside Quintin Demps in the starting defensive backfield.
• Bears waiver claim of Roberto Aguayo is just…odd. Most of Pace’s maneuvers, position-by-position, have been understandable. Even the Glennon signing made sense as long as there was a correlating move. But how he’s handled kicker is bizarre. Cutting an aging Gould for a mediocre Barth. Cutting Barth’s popular and accurate challenger early this summer, creating a completely competitionless position. Now signing one of the worst draft picks of modern times? Taking one of the most mentally fragile players the league has seen and putting him in front of one it’s most angry, impatient fan bases? Asking a guy who couldn’t make extra points in the perfect conditions of Tampa to now come kick in arguably the third most difficult kicking building in the league behind the Meandowlands and Heinz Field? Seriously, what’s the point?

Another week begins. (And these practices become far more important…because they are secret.)

There is no reason to overreact to the first preseason game. But forgive me while I overreact to the first preseason game.

It’s time.

Now.

Not tomorrow.

Not Week 8.

Now.

#PlayTheKid.

Mitch Trubisky is the most talented quarterback on the Bears roster and the future of the franchise. Last night’s performance – while excellent – didn’t just confirm that. It confirmed what this site has been writing and screaming and a month: Mike Glennon should not play a down for this franchise if it means delaying the future.

Make the move.

Woke up this morning with an email from Africa. That’s right, folks, THE Reverend Dave has made his first contribution to DBB in a monkey’s age. Dave, I have to assume, is the only person reading Peter King’s MMQB on The Dark Continent. Here’s what interested him in the lengthy camp column:

a. Chicago led the NFL last year with 155.1 Adjusted Games Lost. That’s a metric that accounts for injuries to starters and important situational players by counting not only games missed but also games where players were at less than 100 percent because of injury. Chicago had the highest total in FO’s entire injury database, dating back to 2000.

Two things I think about this:

• The 2016 Bears simply weren’t as bad as many people think. They were historically injured.
• When you understand that, and understand that the odds of them being historically injured again are not good, you should be able to understand my points about Trubisky. This is the ideal situation to bring a rookie QB into. Improved defense. Strong running game. Good TEs. WRs who will thrive in a short passing attack.

Cruz on Trubisky

From Dan Wiederer’s piece in the Trib, wrapping up Family Fest:

As for Mitch Trubisky? The Bears’ top draft pick oversaw an 11-play, 60-yard field goal drive. Trubisky threw five passes and completed three, the longest a 23-yard bullet over-the-middle to fellow rookie Tanner Gentry.

Cruz stressed the growth he’s seeing in the young quarterback.

“It’s his eagerness to learn,” Cruz said. “He’s not above the game. He doesn’t feel he’s entitled to anything because he was drafted so high. He’s eager, young and bright-eyed and ready to learn.”

There is a very interesting scenario about to play out for the Bears. Everyone knows – including Mike Glennon – that Trubisky is going to be the Bears starting quarterback very, very soon. How will this influence Glennon’s play? Remember, this is a kid who has proven nothing in the sport. He’s got one mediocre season on his resume and eleven passes in the two seasons since. Is he going to be willing to take the chances a quarterback needs to take to be successful? Or is he going to take the Brian Hoyer conservative approach, play to a good stat line and try to parlay that into a camp opportunity somewhere next summer?

The answer to that question will determine whether these Glennon games – of which I hope there are very few – are entertaining or not.

New Shirt!

It’s right over there on the right rail. (Or down below on mobile.) And it’s cool. Buy one.

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