NEWSLETTER
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles was traded to the Chicago Bears this morning for a 4th round pick, and while fans have had … less than positive things to say in the wake of that deal, there were a few sober, more optimistic takes out there. If you knew where to look.
Retired Chicago Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long, for example, provided plenty of feedback, and I think you’ll enjoy what he had to say:
im really looking forward to watching mitch trubisky, who has a lot of folks asking questions about a shaky 2019 come into camp with a clear QB competition and an opportunity to earn the job. nick foles presence equally lookforwardtoable #bears #are #back
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 18, 2020
Ditto (kinda).
Whether the Bears like it or not, they’ve already thrown their eggs into the Mitchell Trubisky basket over the past couple of seasons. And given the nature of the recent QB rumors before today’s deal (Nick Foles, Andy Dalton, etc.), it’s clear they were never looking for someone to steal his job right away – instead, searching for someone to pose a worthy challenge while mitigating against the risk of missing the playoffs (again) despite a roster that probably could otherwise contend. If you’ve ever wondered what Trubisky’s truly made of, I think we’re about to find out.
As for Foles, Long is basically correct in identifying his presence as “equally look-forward-to-able.” Sure, he may not be all that exciting, but we’ve seen evidence of his upside in the very recent past (the, uhm … Super Bowl). Ultimately, Foles can be the steady presence this team needs under center to push them back into real contention. He’s a veteran leader who has experience with Nagy, his system, and a couple other coaches, and has already played on the world’s biggest stage. I’m not saying we should fire off confetti cannons, but let’s not act like he’s the second coming of Mike Glennon. There’s a difference.
And who knows, this could be good for both QBs (or a complete trainwreck … the world needs some positivity right now, though so lay off me)! And Long makes that point quite aptly:
iron sharpens iron, its in every freaking weight room in football from HS to the NFL. (most weight rooms lol) lets see if this is true with mitch and nick…if we are truly all about the bears we wanna see both QBs get better. dont shit on either lol
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 18, 2020
It’s always valuable to hear what a former player has to say, especially someone as in-tune with the current state of the Bears as Long (who, may I remind you, retired just back in January). Indeed, according to Long, the Bears offense needs to take a more traditional approach to the game, something with which I couldn’t agree more with Foles now in the mix.
with the offseason QB questions answered, its important bears fans understand the importance of acquiring dominant running game specialist OL who are good enough in pass protection to hold up in the playaction game need to establish a run first identity to win in passing game
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 18, 2020
establish the running game, force the defense to honor it and then gash them with downfield concepts in playaction and QB movement
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 18, 2020
*Screaming head emoji:* IMPROVE THE O-LINE!!
Long knows for this team (and its QB) to have any chance at winning, they need to establish the run game. As Trubisky struggled to connect with receivers time and again last season, this was exceedingly evident. Not to mention, we haven’t been given many reasons NOT to like the potential of David Montgomery in the backfield (but I digress).
Long understands that the offense just needs to be average, because the Bears’ bread-and-butter is on the other side of the ball.
and let @The_Dream99 and the rest of his posse wreak hAvoc on the opposing running game/QBs …. we have the pieces (almost) just need to acquire on or two more and the bears are truly back in the hunt (if we run the ball)
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 18, 2020
I don’t know about you, but I pretty much agree with most of what Long’s saying.
If you don’t, that’s okay though, because I’m sure we can all agree on this one thing:
i REALLY hope @TarikCohen keeps his camera away pic.twitter.com/igrzeAJ2fU
— Kyle Long (@Ky1eLong) March 18, 2020
(In case you don’t know, Tarik Cohen kind of let the world see a *clears throat* very exposed Kyle Long while going live in the locker room last season. Despite Foles’ famous nickname, I don’t think we need any confirmation).
