Mike Glennon’s signing was a win for the Chicago Bears
Mar 12, 2017 8:14:51 GMT -6
AlexM, riczaj01, and 1 more like this
Post by JABF on Mar 12, 2017 8:14:51 GMT -6
I like the signing too. My hope is that Pace also drafts a solid prospect QB to be developed.
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Mike Glennon’s signing was a win for the Chicago Bears
Yes, you read that right. The Chicago Bears’ signing of quarterback Mike Glennon was a win for the franchise both short-term, and possibly long-term as well. Now before you scroll down to comment saying how wrong I am and how delusional Bears fans are – most likely adding in some “John Fox should be fired” sentences as well – take a deep breath revel in the fact that the Jay Cutler saga is finally over. Now that I have you thinking happy thoughts, hear me out.
First things first, I’m not claiming that Glennon is going to spend the rest of his career in Chicago and become a superstar, bringing home a pair of Super Bowl titles (although I wouldn’t complain if that happened). All I’m saying is that given the current status of the team and the position they’re in, Glennon truly is the best option for them. But you don’t care what I think, you just want to know why.
From a statistic perspective alone, Glennon is an immediate upgrade over Cutler. He has played in 21 career games with 18 starts, throwing for 4,100 yards, 30 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Along with the 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Glennon has a career 60% completion percentage. If you consider that he has started basically a regular season’s worth of games in his career (just slightly more), his stats are pretty good if you take them in the form of one season’s statistics. He isn’t the type to blow any team out of the water or rank in the top 10 passing leaders, but combined with the productive run game led by Jordan Howard, he provides the type of game-manager style and consistency that the Bears need.
In terms of money, Glennon’s contract might be the most team-friendly of any NFL starting quarterback who isn’t on a rookie deal still. The total value is $45 million over three years, with a total of $18.5 million guaranteed. However, it is extremely front-loaded. In the first year of his contract, Glennon is guaranteed $16 million, meaning the team is only on the hook for $2.5 million after Glennon’s first season in Chicago. To put that in the simplest of terms, if they see he isn’t the answer after year one, they can part ways without losing much money at all.
On the flip side of that, if he comes out and exceeds expectations in year one and shows that he can be the permanent fix the Bears need (he’s only 27 so he can realistically lead the team for six or seven years if he stays healthy), then they will have the starter they want at absolute dirt cheap. It’s a win-win.
This, however, should not deter the Bears from selecting a young quarterback in the middle rounds of this year’s draft to groom into a potential future leader. We saw this past season Dak Prescott, who was drafted in the fourth round of last year’s draft, emerge as the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback after Tony Romo went down with an injury, even though he was drafted simply as a developmental quarterback. The Bears desperately need to hit on a rookie quarterback, either to keep as a reliable backup to Glennon or as his replacement if he does not pan out as they hope.
That’s part of the beauty of Glennon’s contract also. If the Bears draft a quarterback and he comes along a lot quicker than they plan, they can start the rookie over Glennon and not feel bad about what they are paying him to sit the bench. After all, the Buccaneers were planning on making him the NFL’s highest-paid backup prior to him deciding to test his value elsewhere.
Whether Glennon proves himself as “the guy” or not, the Bears need to at least try to find a future starter in the 2017 draft, or at the very latest in 2018. Even if they believe they’ve found their starter, a team is always one tweaked ankle away from having to put a backup in. The team has had a terrible track record, particularly lately, in drafting quarterbacks – something general manager Ryan Pace needs to turn around. In fact, the Bears drafted just three quarterbacks during Jay Cutler’s tenure (2009-2016): Luke Enderle, Dan LeFevour, and David Fales. What’s that? You don’t remember those names? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. To put that into perspective, the New England Patriots drafted more quarterbacks during that time frame – and that is with perhaps the greatest quarterback to ever play at the helm. It doesn’t matter how good your starter is or how much faith you have in him, there is always room for development.
Ideally, Glennon shines for the Bears and stays in Chicago for years to come, turning them into true contenders and perhaps even breaking the franchise’s 31-year drought of not having a Pro Bowl quarterback. Only time will tell just how good this signing is, but at this point looking forward, things are looking up.
Mike Glennon’s signing was a win for the Chicago Bears
Yes, you read that right. The Chicago Bears’ signing of quarterback Mike Glennon was a win for the franchise both short-term, and possibly long-term as well. Now before you scroll down to comment saying how wrong I am and how delusional Bears fans are – most likely adding in some “John Fox should be fired” sentences as well – take a deep breath revel in the fact that the Jay Cutler saga is finally over. Now that I have you thinking happy thoughts, hear me out.
First things first, I’m not claiming that Glennon is going to spend the rest of his career in Chicago and become a superstar, bringing home a pair of Super Bowl titles (although I wouldn’t complain if that happened). All I’m saying is that given the current status of the team and the position they’re in, Glennon truly is the best option for them. But you don’t care what I think, you just want to know why.
From a statistic perspective alone, Glennon is an immediate upgrade over Cutler. He has played in 21 career games with 18 starts, throwing for 4,100 yards, 30 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. Along with the 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, Glennon has a career 60% completion percentage. If you consider that he has started basically a regular season’s worth of games in his career (just slightly more), his stats are pretty good if you take them in the form of one season’s statistics. He isn’t the type to blow any team out of the water or rank in the top 10 passing leaders, but combined with the productive run game led by Jordan Howard, he provides the type of game-manager style and consistency that the Bears need.
In terms of money, Glennon’s contract might be the most team-friendly of any NFL starting quarterback who isn’t on a rookie deal still. The total value is $45 million over three years, with a total of $18.5 million guaranteed. However, it is extremely front-loaded. In the first year of his contract, Glennon is guaranteed $16 million, meaning the team is only on the hook for $2.5 million after Glennon’s first season in Chicago. To put that in the simplest of terms, if they see he isn’t the answer after year one, they can part ways without losing much money at all.
On the flip side of that, if he comes out and exceeds expectations in year one and shows that he can be the permanent fix the Bears need (he’s only 27 so he can realistically lead the team for six or seven years if he stays healthy), then they will have the starter they want at absolute dirt cheap. It’s a win-win.
This, however, should not deter the Bears from selecting a young quarterback in the middle rounds of this year’s draft to groom into a potential future leader. We saw this past season Dak Prescott, who was drafted in the fourth round of last year’s draft, emerge as the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback after Tony Romo went down with an injury, even though he was drafted simply as a developmental quarterback. The Bears desperately need to hit on a rookie quarterback, either to keep as a reliable backup to Glennon or as his replacement if he does not pan out as they hope.
That’s part of the beauty of Glennon’s contract also. If the Bears draft a quarterback and he comes along a lot quicker than they plan, they can start the rookie over Glennon and not feel bad about what they are paying him to sit the bench. After all, the Buccaneers were planning on making him the NFL’s highest-paid backup prior to him deciding to test his value elsewhere.
Whether Glennon proves himself as “the guy” or not, the Bears need to at least try to find a future starter in the 2017 draft, or at the very latest in 2018. Even if they believe they’ve found their starter, a team is always one tweaked ankle away from having to put a backup in. The team has had a terrible track record, particularly lately, in drafting quarterbacks – something general manager Ryan Pace needs to turn around. In fact, the Bears drafted just three quarterbacks during Jay Cutler’s tenure (2009-2016): Luke Enderle, Dan LeFevour, and David Fales. What’s that? You don’t remember those names? Don’t worry, you aren’t alone. To put that into perspective, the New England Patriots drafted more quarterbacks during that time frame – and that is with perhaps the greatest quarterback to ever play at the helm. It doesn’t matter how good your starter is or how much faith you have in him, there is always room for development.
Ideally, Glennon shines for the Bears and stays in Chicago for years to come, turning them into true contenders and perhaps even breaking the franchise’s 31-year drought of not having a Pro Bowl quarterback. Only time will tell just how good this signing is, but at this point looking forward, things are looking up.
