Post by MartianBearsFan on Nov 19, 2017 16:47:06 GMT -6
The only thing that matters this season — besides John Fox’s firing, of course — is Mitch Trubisky.
And Sunday, Trubisky mattered.
Specifically, Trubisky mattered in a bookend sense, making big plays and directing big drives early and late.
His play early, in fact, gave the game a whiff of a Bears rout. But the Bears don’t rout people. They simply play exhibition games aimed at selling the hope that Trubisky brings.
And hope was on display early. The first drive resulted in just a field goal, but it looked like an adult was calling plays and a veteran was executing them. Three straight passes. A third-down conversion to a tight end. A read-option followed by a bootleg. Patience by Trubisky in finding second and third options, including throwing to open tight end Adam Shaheen for 22 yards inside the Lions 10.
However, Trubisky’s third-and-goal pass to Benny Cunningham was low and uncatchable for a TD, especially because Cunningham failed to get to the goal line on the route.
Trubisky’s second drive was even better. Talk about a big-boy display. After Akiem Hicks recovered a Matthew Stafford fumble at the Bears 45, Jordan Howard blasted through a seal block by Kyle Long, and two plays later Ryan Pace saw his draft class vindicated when Trubisky hit Shaheen for a TD, the first-round pick putting the ball toward the sideline where only the second-round choice could catch it.
Even better, Fox didn’t challenge his own team’s TD.
And then, oops.
Trubisky fumbled a direct snap that D.J. Hayden scooped and returned 27 yards to make it 10-7, Bears.
Trubisky didn’t have to take the blame for the fumble and return TD because everyone immediately gave it to him.
But then he gave the Bears a reason to believe this could be something special. In response, Trubisky directed an eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive that ended with Jordan Howard’s 12-yard TD run but not before Trubisky found his third option a couple times and ran a busted play 10 yards for a first down. That’s the way you answer a mistake.
Now, fast-forward to the fourth quarter. We’ve been waiting for Trubisky to engineer the fourth-quarter, game-winning drive that the great quarterbacks engineer. We’ve been waiting for clutch payoffs like we saw against the Ravens more than a month ago. Trubisky had chances against the Vikings, Saints and Packers. He failed each time.
Trubisky would end up with two chances at game-tying drives against the Lions, and would be 2-for-2 if there was football justice or if Fox had a clue about kickers.
With less than 10 minutes to go and the Bears down 24-17, bang, Trubisky directed an eight-play 78-yard TD drive. Jordan Howard ran for 37 yards, Trubisky hit Dontrelle Inman for 17 on a play that the Bears gained another 15 on a roughing the passer call, and eventually Tarik Cohen took a pitch 15 yards and leaped over a defender for the tying score with 5:02 to go. That’s a fourth-quarter, game-tying drive in front of the opposing quarterback who does that kind of stuff regularly.
And Stafford proceeded to do just that again, leading a drive that produced a go-ahead field goal. Trubisky, then, was staring at another chance to be a hero, and he appeared to have done it, orchestrating a game-tying drive with a crazy-legged, loose-hipped 19-yard scramble on fourth-and-13 and then firing a 15-yard laser to Inman to get the Bears within field-goal range with eight seconds remaining.
But Connor Barth, the kicker that Fox apparently just had to have instead of reliable, franchise leading scorer Robbie Gould, shanked a 46-yarder wide right. Lions win.
And so did the Bears. Stevie Sunshine is here to tell you it was a win-win: Trubisky will have more chances — and will complete them — but in the meantime we’ve move one loss closer to the end of Fox.
Source: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/rosenblog/ct-spt-mitch-trubisky-bears-lions-rosenbloom-20171119-story.html
I agree..
And Sunday, Trubisky mattered.
Specifically, Trubisky mattered in a bookend sense, making big plays and directing big drives early and late.
His play early, in fact, gave the game a whiff of a Bears rout. But the Bears don’t rout people. They simply play exhibition games aimed at selling the hope that Trubisky brings.
And hope was on display early. The first drive resulted in just a field goal, but it looked like an adult was calling plays and a veteran was executing them. Three straight passes. A third-down conversion to a tight end. A read-option followed by a bootleg. Patience by Trubisky in finding second and third options, including throwing to open tight end Adam Shaheen for 22 yards inside the Lions 10.
However, Trubisky’s third-and-goal pass to Benny Cunningham was low and uncatchable for a TD, especially because Cunningham failed to get to the goal line on the route.
Trubisky’s second drive was even better. Talk about a big-boy display. After Akiem Hicks recovered a Matthew Stafford fumble at the Bears 45, Jordan Howard blasted through a seal block by Kyle Long, and two plays later Ryan Pace saw his draft class vindicated when Trubisky hit Shaheen for a TD, the first-round pick putting the ball toward the sideline where only the second-round choice could catch it.
Even better, Fox didn’t challenge his own team’s TD.
And then, oops.
Trubisky fumbled a direct snap that D.J. Hayden scooped and returned 27 yards to make it 10-7, Bears.
Trubisky didn’t have to take the blame for the fumble and return TD because everyone immediately gave it to him.
But then he gave the Bears a reason to believe this could be something special. In response, Trubisky directed an eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive that ended with Jordan Howard’s 12-yard TD run but not before Trubisky found his third option a couple times and ran a busted play 10 yards for a first down. That’s the way you answer a mistake.
Now, fast-forward to the fourth quarter. We’ve been waiting for Trubisky to engineer the fourth-quarter, game-winning drive that the great quarterbacks engineer. We’ve been waiting for clutch payoffs like we saw against the Ravens more than a month ago. Trubisky had chances against the Vikings, Saints and Packers. He failed each time.
Trubisky would end up with two chances at game-tying drives against the Lions, and would be 2-for-2 if there was football justice or if Fox had a clue about kickers.
With less than 10 minutes to go and the Bears down 24-17, bang, Trubisky directed an eight-play 78-yard TD drive. Jordan Howard ran for 37 yards, Trubisky hit Dontrelle Inman for 17 on a play that the Bears gained another 15 on a roughing the passer call, and eventually Tarik Cohen took a pitch 15 yards and leaped over a defender for the tying score with 5:02 to go. That’s a fourth-quarter, game-tying drive in front of the opposing quarterback who does that kind of stuff regularly.
And Stafford proceeded to do just that again, leading a drive that produced a go-ahead field goal. Trubisky, then, was staring at another chance to be a hero, and he appeared to have done it, orchestrating a game-tying drive with a crazy-legged, loose-hipped 19-yard scramble on fourth-and-13 and then firing a 15-yard laser to Inman to get the Bears within field-goal range with eight seconds remaining.
But Connor Barth, the kicker that Fox apparently just had to have instead of reliable, franchise leading scorer Robbie Gould, shanked a 46-yarder wide right. Lions win.
And so did the Bears. Stevie Sunshine is here to tell you it was a win-win: Trubisky will have more chances — and will complete them — but in the meantime we’ve move one loss closer to the end of Fox.
Source: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/rosenblog/ct-spt-mitch-trubisky-bears-lions-rosenbloom-20171119-story.html
I agree..
