Bears fire OC Helfrich, coaches Hiestand (OL), Gilbride (TE), Olivo (ST Asst.)

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Or, looking at those stats, if Nagy and his new coaching crew can sort out Trubisky's anemic passer rating, then the chance of seeing a big improvement in in the running game should similarly increase.

True, but would you say the Bears struggles with running are really on Trubisky? If your own eyes didn’t convince you that the blocking was appalling, just look at the offensive line stats that G08 supplied above. We can blame the QB for many things, but surely he can’t be held responsible for the flat out ineptitude of his linemen and/or the blocking scheme?

Also, consider this. There were 10 teams that averaged 4 ypc or less this season. The Dolphins had a new starting QB in Fitzpatrick, the Steelers lost Roethlisberger and ran with Rudolph and Hodges who were both playing for the first time, and the Jets had Darnold in his second year.

Here are the others that had a settled QB situation and how their stats from last season compared to this season:

Chicago Bears - Mitch Trubisky

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 4.1/3.7
Quarterback Passer Rating: 95.4/83.0
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 10%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 13.0%

Los Angeles Rams - Jared Goff

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 4.9/3.7
Quarterback Passer Rating: 101.1/86.5
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 24%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 14.0%

Tampa Bay Buccanneers - Jameis Winston

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 3.9/3.7
Quarterback Passer Rating: 90.2/84.3
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 7%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 5%

Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 4.5/3.8
Quarterback Passer Rating: 108.1/92.1
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 15%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 17%

New England Patriots - Tom Brady

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 4.3/3.8
Quarterback Passer Rating: 97.7/88.0
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 12%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 10%

Cincinatti Bengals - Andy Dalton

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 4.7/3.9
Quarterback Passer Rating: 89.6/78.3
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 17%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 13%

Los Angeles Chargers - Philip Rivers

2018/2019
Team Rushing Average (ypc): 4.7/4.0
Quarterback Passer Rating: 105.5/88.5
Team Rushing Average (ypc): Down 15%
Quarterback Passer Rating: Down 16%

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a future hall of famer like Brady and Rivers, a former NFL MVP like Matt Ryan, an NFC championship winner like Goff or a below average starter like Dalton or Winston, if your team’s average rushing yards per carry fell this season then your passer rating fell by broadly the same percentage. It should therefore be no surprise that the same is true of Trubisky.

With the calibre of some of the QBs on this list, can we really argue that the rushing issue is due to poor quarterback play rather than a poor running game?

[G08]

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a future hall of famer like Brady and Rivers, a former NFL MVP like Matt Ryan, an NFC championship winner like Goff or a below average starter like Dalton or Winston, if your team’s average rushing yards per carry fell this season then your passer rating fell by broadly the same percentage. It should therefore be no surprise that the same is true of Trubisky.

With the calibre of some of the QBs on this list, can we really argue that the rushing issue is due to poor quarterback play rather than a poor running game?

[dplank]

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a future hall of famer like Brady and Rivers, a former NFL MVP like Matt Ryan, an NFC championship winner like Goff or a below average starter like Dalton or Winston, if your team’s average rushing yards per carry fell this season then your passer rating fell by broadly the same percentage. It should therefore be no surprise that the same is true of Trubisky.

With the calibre of some of the QBs on this list, can we really argue that the rushing issue is due to poor quarterback play rather than a poor running game?

I've never seen a quarterback miss wide open receivers as often as Mitch does, and we have had some bad QB's come through here. There's no excuse for that, and blaming footwork is a cop out because all QB's have to make off balance throws in the NFL, it's part of the job.

While I think we can figure out how to win with him, that's really the wrong approach. I think we'd be much better off if we moved on from him. Took a steady vet this offseason and drafted his replacement this year or next.

[The Marshall Plan]

I've never seen a quarterback miss wide open receivers as often as Mitch does, and we have had some bad QB's come through here. There's no excuse for that, and blaming footwork is a cop out because all QB's have to make off balance throws in the NFL, it's part of the job.

While I think we can figure out how to win with him, that's really the wrong approach. I think we'd be much better off if we moved on from him. Took a steady vet this offseason and drafted his replacement this year or next.

I watched the condensed version of the Houston v KC game this morning.

Watson can make those deep throws at will. I'm sitting here thinking to myself when was the last time the Bears had a guy who whenever he threw the deep ball you were like yep that could be completed. And what in the hell did Pace see in Mitch that not only made him think he was better than Watson, but then also felt the need to move up one spot to draft Mitch? What were the specific qualities that made Mitch so much better?

Now there are contributing factors to why Mitch can't make those throws. Yes, without question, the accuracy issues are there. 100%.

However, the OL for Mitch was dogshit and I wonder how much of that was part of the problem. We'll only know if they decide to take that issue seriously and upgrade the OL.

The issues with the running game and the playcalling are undeniable. Both are dogshit.

All of this to me points to the conclusion that we need a new head coach. Nagy can't take the job being an offensive guru, have the ENTIRE offense go to shit, and expect to keep his job.

Now that all the good HC candidates (I would've been in a state of bliss if we got Rivera. McCarthy too.) are gone Nagy has to stay. I'm not sure who the candidates after the 2020 season would be. Too early to tell.

[G08]

I've never seen a quarterback miss wide open receivers as often as Mitch does, and we have had some bad QB's come through here. There's no excuse for that, and blaming footwork is a cop out because all QB's have to make off balance throws in the NFL, it's part of the job.

While I think we can figure out how to win with him, that's really the wrong approach. I think we'd be much better off if we moved on from him. Took a steady vet this offseason and drafted his replacement this year or next.

Every QB misses throws my friend but I will agree that Mitch has missed some wide, WIDE open WRs. He also threw dimes during the season as well. He has work to do, Nagy has mentioned his footwork already and personally I want to see him tighten up his upper body while shortening his throwing motion, but obviously I have no say in this.

Completions he made to Miller against the Lions (for example) indicate to me that he can be accurate. He needs to find consistency.

[G08]

I've never seen a quarterback miss wide open receivers as often as Mitch does, and we have had some bad QB's come through here. There's no excuse for that, and blaming footwork is a cop out because all QB's have to make off balance throws in the NFL, it's part of the job.

While I think we can figure out how to win with him, that's really the wrong approach. I think we'd be much better off if we moved on from him. Took a steady vet this offseason and drafted his replacement this year or next.

Tannehill just overthrew what would have been a TD as I type this

[dplank]

I've never seen a quarterback miss wide open receivers as often as Mitch does, and we have had some bad QB's come through here. There's no excuse for that, and blaming footwork is a cop out because all QB's have to make off balance throws in the NFL, it's part of the job.

While I think we can figure out how to win with him, that's really the wrong approach. I think we'd be much better off if we moved on from him. Took a steady vet this offseason and drafted his replacement this year or next.

Every QB misses throws my friend but I will agree that Mitch has missed some wide, WIDE open WRs. He also threw dimes during the season as well. He has work to do, Nagy has mentioned his footwork already and personally I want to see him tighten up his upper body while shortening his throwing motion, but obviously I have no say in this.

Completions he made to Miller against the Lions (for example) indicate to me that he can be accurate. He needs to find consistency.

EVery QB misses throws, but my point was that I've never seen any QB miss as many wide open ones as him. And that includes guys like Krenzel, Burris, McNown, etc...it's almost "yip"ish, like a golfer who gets in that mental block state. It's sorta like if I say Barney Gumble from the Simpsons drinks too much, and you reply "Well everyone drinks". Not really the point. The frequency/severity of the issue is the point, and I don't believe that mechanics are a valid excuse. It's the NFL, you just aren't going to have perfect circumstances to throw the ball very often, so you can either still be accurate in spite of that or you can be out of the NFL.

[G08]

Every QB misses throws my friend but I will agree that Mitch has missed some wide, WIDE open WRs. He also threw dimes during the season as well. He has work to do, Nagy has mentioned his footwork already and personally I want to see him tighten up his upper body while shortening his throwing motion, but obviously I have no say in this.

Completions he made to Miller against the Lions (for example) indicate to me that he can be accurate. He needs to find consistency.

EVery QB misses throws, but my point was that I've never seen any QB miss as many wide open ones as him. And that includes guys like Krenzel, Burris, McNown, etc...it's almost "yip"ish, like a golfer who gets in that mental block state. It's sorta like if I say Barney Gumble from the Simpsons drinks too much, and you reply "Well everyone drinks". Not really the point. The frequency/severity of the issue is the point, and I don't believe that mechanics are a valid excuse. It's the NFL, you just aren't going to have perfect circumstances to throw the ball very often, so you can either still be accurate in spite of that or you can be out of the NFL.

Maybe my memory is failing me here, but how many wide open missed throws are you recalling from this season? Love the Barney Gumble reference but I don't think I'd equate Trubisky's errant passes with Barney's drinking problem

[wab]

Every QB misses throws my friend but I will agree that Mitch has missed some wide, WIDE open WRs. He also threw dimes during the season as well. He has work to do, Nagy has mentioned his footwork already and personally I want to see him tighten up his upper body while shortening his throwing motion, but obviously I have no say in this.

Completions he made to Miller against the Lions (for example) indicate to me that he can be accurate. He needs to find consistency.

EVery QB misses throws, but my point was that I've never seen any QB miss as many wide open ones as him. And that includes guys like Krenzel, Burris, McNown, etc...it's almost "yip"ish, like a golfer who gets in that mental block state. It's sorta like if I say Barney Gumble from the Simpsons drinks too much, and you reply "Well everyone drinks". Not really the point. The frequency/severity of the issue is the point, and I don't believe that mechanics are a valid excuse. It's the NFL, you just aren't going to have perfect circumstances to throw the ball very often, so you can either still be accurate in spite of that or you can be out of the NFL.

You have any stats on this?

[dplank]

No, not really possible without watching about 40 years worth of Bears games and mark them by hand. I'm not talking about any stat that's actually collected, I'm talking about missing a wide open receiver. Layups per se. They chart something called "bad throws" now, but that's not exactly what I'm talking about, I'm talking about those weird ones where he misses a wide open receiver and it just isn't even close. I've watched every Bears game since roughly 1983, minus maybe 2 or 3. And as far as I can recollect, I don't remember any QB missing wide open throws as frequently as Mitch does. It's truly odd. He's not the worst QB by a long shot, he just has this weird tik or something.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Hm, I have to say that's not the most convincing argument ever posted on these boards dplank.

We can all see different things unless we truly deep dive into the tape and the tape on other teams (and even then we might not agree on what we're seeing). That's why statistics can be useful; they provide a summary of information for comparison without having to spend hours going through all that tape! But of course they have their limitations and can be skewed to support one argument or another if one so chooses.

I've seen the same games Trubisky's played as you have and yet I'm far from convinced by this 'he regularly misses wide open receivers, far more so than other QBs' narrative for a number reasons:

1. I don't remember seeing Bears receivers getting wide open all that often this season unfortunately. I don't believe I'm alone in this because I've seen other posters refer to how other teams' receivers seem to manage to get wide open all the time compared with the Bears.

2. I don't recall Trubisky missing wide open receivers regularly, on the contrary on the relatively rare occasions receivers got wide open (mostly finding soft spots in zone coverage on curl routes) he usually seemed to hit them, but I guess that depends on your definition of 'wide open' as opposed to just 'open' in NFL terms. He did miss a handful of deep throws over the top and those were memorable for all the wrong reasons.

3. There must surely be a degree of frequency bias. Can anyone really remember what other Bears QBs were like accuracy-wise going back years? I re-watched a couple of '85 Bears games on YouTube a few weeks back and McMahon threw quite a few WTF balls, but of course that was a very different era. With all the dross we've had at the position, I find it hard to believe that Trubisky misses 'wide open' receivers far more regularly than any other QB the Bears have had in the last 4 decades.

4. When the Bears aren't playing I often have Red Zone on, flicking between the action of all the ongoing games, and sometimes I watch other complete games too. I've seen loads of QBs missing open receivers. Now that doesn't mean the same ones missing all the time, but even the best miss those throws sometimes. I don't think it's possible to draw any conclusions on Trubisky's supposed tendency to miss wide open receivers without comparing it to all the other QBs in the league.

5. Unless you're someone who watches lots of games with the same level of scrutiny as the Bears, and I know I don't, I'd suggest that there is a tendency to focus rather more on Trubisky's mistakes than other QBs.

As I say, these are my observations with no more data to back them than yours.

[Z Bear]

Trubisky has definitely had a bad miss or two each game. I am not talking about a pass with someone in his face or with no open receivers and he is throwing it out of bounds. There has been one or two times each game in which he air mailed (it is always way high) a pass to a wide open WR with no pressure on him. The maddening aspect of this is he has also made some ridiculously good throws into tight coverage...even while on the run.

[docc]

I am a football fan..watch as many games as possible for many years. Went to my first Bears game in 1955..
I saw many QBs miss "wide open" receivers.. but notice the situation..pressure..line collapse etc.. I see people mention..Burris,,Krenzel..Stewart..Moreno..all the dreck..
Orton never threw a long ball..Rex did..ever watch McClown..Rick fucking Mirer..

Get a grip..