December 22, 2020: Money Mitch

Raise your hand if you expected Mitch Trubisky to play like this when he returned to the lineup… my hand is down. After a worthless couple games under John Fox, and a really good year for the Bears in 2018, Mitch has been a disappointment. We’ve seen enough to know that he isn’t the guy that Pace thought he was when he drafted him, but now this? Money Mitch leading the Bears offense out of the desert… to the promised land? Hey, sign me up for that story all day every day. We’re not there yet…

Yeah, even against Detroit… he did fumble late… but he had a good game, but that was the Lions. If there was one team Mitch wished he could play against every week of his career, and honestly most QBs would sign up for the same thing, it would be the Lions. He is their daddy, primarily because the Lions suck. So yes, it was nice to see, but it was somewhat expected… and oh yeah, the Bears still lost! The needle didn’t move for me. Up next was the matchup vs Watson, the other guy we passed on to draft Mitch. Trubisky played well, really well, again. This guy wasn’t fooled. First off, the Texans are in bad shape, secondly, I’m still drafting Deshaun Watson over Trubisky 10 out of 10 times; I can’t believe there are people who wouldn’t… people posting their win-loss records like Watson has been playing with the same caliber defense his whole career. Anyways… the Bears won again; I’ll never complain about that. The real test would be the Vikings, and yes, they were missing their best defender, but Mitch played well enough for the Bears offense to look good again, and most importantly to win again. The Bears season, even if on a ventilator (sorry bad COVID joke), is still alive.

So now what? After wanting to fire everybody in sight, now we’re OK with everybody? No, I’m not… but I will say this… if the Bears win their next 6 games, my mind would change. Haha, yeah, do the math… winning the Super Bowl this year is a true fantasy, but let’s back it up a bit. Let’s assume the Bears beat the Jaguars, because if they don’t, we’re right back to firing everybody. That leaves the Packers in the last week, who may have home field locked up. Let’s say the Bears win that one too, and the Cardinals lose one of their remaining two games; the Bears are in! How you feeling now? What about if we win one playoff game?

The QB will remain the position where the biggest decision has to be made going forward and currently the Bears QB on the roster for next year is Nick Foles. We’ve already seen how that movie played out; we need a starter. Does Mitch’s recent performance warrant his return to the Bears next year? I will say this with confidence: do NOT sign him to a long term deal. However, if you want to sign him for a one year show me deal… especially if the Bears do win out and make the playoffs… I wouldn’t be that pissed off. Why is he playing better all of a sudden? We hear the ridiculous stuff about them finally calling plays to his strengths… whatever. The biggest reason in my mind for the recent Bears success is the improved play of the offensive line. If you didn’t know how important an OL is to a football team, you should after this year. You see what Montgomery is doing with a little running room… you see what Mitch is doing with some time back there. So what does it all mean? It means we’re going to watch this Sunday as usual, and root for the Bears to win… period. At this point in the season, it’s truly one game at a time. Next year is next year; we’ll have plenty of time for that. However, by some stroke of luck, the Bears are still playing for something, and for that, I am truly happy. Bear Down!!!