Mitch Trubisky will start against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night, October 9th. And so begins the future of the Chicago Bears. Three thoughts:

(1) There was no other acceptable decision for the Bears organization at this time. Their Mike Glennon plan was a colossal failure and they could not turn the reigns over to a journeyman like Mark Sanchez. The locker room and fan base were at wit’s end. If they had any intention of making 2017 a season of value, Trubisky had to start Monday night.

(2) Offensive staff, especially Dowell Loggains, were fierce advocates for the move of late. It wasn’t entirely about Mike Glennon’s limitations, either. The injuries to both Cam Meredith and Kevin White required changes to the team’s offensive approach and those changes did not fit Glennon. This crop of receivers need time to win their one-on-one battles. Trubisky’s legs can give them that time.

(3) This will not be a smooth and easy twelve games for Trubisky. He will make mistakes, just like all rookie QBs do. But those mistakes now have value. Interceptions now have value. Losses now have value. And as Bears fans, we must not hope that come January we’ve seen enough from the kid to have excitement and anticipation for the 2018 campaign.

(3a) Thank the lord.

The 2017 Chicago Bears have played four games, all against teams that finished 2016 with a winning record.  It is easily the most difficult four-game stretch of their entire campaign and, at 1-3, they’ve dug themselves a hole. But it’s not an inescapable one. But they can only escape the hole by embracing reality and turning the football over to the future of the franchise.

At home they ranged from respectable to downright terrific, sporting a powerful rushing attack and a tough, improved defense. They should have beaten the defending conference champions and without the use of a professional quarterback, they hung on for dear life to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On the road they were a disaster worthy of J.J. Watt’s charity. The quarterback was an embarrassment and as a result the team was rendered non-competitive.

Now the Mike Glennon Experience must come to its humiliating end. Signing Glennon can be viewed two ways. Many believe GM Ryan Pace committed starter money to the Once & Future Backup in an act of draft-jockeying subterfuge, allowing the Bears to pursue their quarterback of the future (Trubisky, Mitch) without the other thirty-one clubs getting wind of their intentions. Even if you buy that theory, it doesn’t answer one important question: why did they still play Glennon in September when he was so poor all summer?

Other folks, including the author of this piece, believe the Glennon signing to be a grotesque evaluative error. Pace and his pro personnel people believed Glennon was good enough to hold down the starting gig for the entirety of 2017 and win a bunch of games. Remember, the Bears were not guaranteed Trubisky. Two weeks before the draft the Browns were rumored to be considering him with the top pick. Pace thought Glennon was a viable NFL starter. Everything the misshapen signal caller has done since his signing in March has proven him 100% wrong.

[Author’s Note: I can’t tell you how happy I am to wrap up that paragraph and wrap up my Mike Glennon writing career. I took little joy in the last seven months of DBB. And I’ll never understand why the Bears did what they did.]

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On this episode of the Weekend Show:

• Jeff breaks down the BS surrounding the Bears not playing Mitch Trubisky, including their “plan”.
• Adam Jahns of the Sun-Times on injuries (“too big, too strong”), Loggains/Fangio (I got him leaning Loggains) and the main event at QB – where he disputes much of what Jeff believes, including arguing for an actual plan based upon the career of Drew Brees.
• Reverend Dave on Patriots fans in London, with a special shoutout to St. Croix and Puerto Rico.
• Music from The Beatles! New opening number! Same closing number!

John Fox says Mike Glennon is still his starting QB.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) September 18, 2017

2018 Needs Rankings

Need 1. Wide Receiver

Outside of a few teams desperate for a quarterback, the Bears may have a bigger need at WR than any team’s need at any position. In the last few weeks they have lost their number one and number two options while already heading into 2017 with one of the weakest receiving tandems in the game. It would be great to know if the quarterback of the future is capable of elevating lesser receiving talents before the Bears invest big money/high pick in the position, wouldn’t it?

Need 2. Pass Rusher

Bears have Leonard Floyd. They need another one.

Need 3. Smooth Tackling Safety

Bears need a bopper at the third level. They need a sure-thing tackling machine. Quintin Demps Sunday missed two pivotal tackles, one in the backfield and one down field on the big Hooper touchdown. Make those tackles, change the score.

Hoge on the Glennon/Barkley Comparison

This is as good a passage as I’ve read from a beat this season:

Last November against the Titans, Matt Barkley was the quarterback making his first start for the Chicago Bears. He wasn’t great early, but surprised everyone in the fourth quarter as offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains aired it out in a comeback attempt. Operating with replacement-level receivers, Barkley got the Bears down to the Titans’ 7-yard-line with 47 seconds left in the game. On first down, Bellamy dropped a touchdown. On second and third down, Barkley failed to connect with his intended targets. And on fourth down, Deonte Thompson failed to haul in a low, but catchable pass in the end zone. The Bears lost.

Sunday against the Falcons, Mike Glennon was the quarterback making his first start for the Chicago Bears. He wasn’t great early, but surprised everyone in the fourth quarter as Loggains aired it out in a comeback attempt. Operating with replacement-level receivers, Glennon got the Bears down to the Falcons’ 5-yard-line with 21 seconds left in the game. On first down, Bellamy was held slightly coming out of his break and couldn’t secure a catchable pass in the end zone. On second down, running back Jordan Howard dropped Glennon’s pass near the goal line. On third down, Glennon failed to connect with tight end Zach Miller and on fourth down, Glennon was sacked. The Bears lost.

Not much was different Sunday at Soldier Field. Except that this time the Bears might have had their own Marcus Mariota standing on their sideline in uniform.

Was Mike Glennon the reason why the Bears lost to the Falcons? No. But Trubisky could have been the reason why they beat the Falcons. We’ll never know.

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On this episode of the Weekend Show:

• Jeff continues his obsession with the Glennon/Trubisky saga (with help from Eric Carmen).
• Sun-Times beat Adam Jahns discusses the Bears plan for Adam Shaheen, the emergence of the rookie class, when Trubisky will be on the field and why he’s still concerned about the secondary.
• The Reverend spends way more time on Newcastle than he should. Bear down!

Last Thoughts on Glennon

Many have spent countless Twitter hours arguing I am wrong to be rooting against Mike Glennon. I am not rooting against Mike Glennon. I hope he wins every start of his Chicago Bears career. I simply believe Mitch Trubisky – even right this very second – gives the Bears the best chance to win football games.

And the Bears should be all-in on winning football games in 2017. They have a good defense, great running attack and solid specials. If they get production from their passing attack they are going to have an opportunity to play in the postseason.

With Glennon, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains needs to be perfect. Because if the play breaks down, the play is dead. With Trubisky, the play breaking down is simply an opportunity for a great talent to showcase his ability.

I’m just hoping the Glennon-led Bears don’t put the 2017 team in too big of a hole.

Adam Jahns does a far better just illustrating this point in the Sun-Times. Read his column by CLICKING HERE.

Long Snapper For Long Snapper

I’m told #Bears are expected to sign long snapper Jeff Overbaugh after a tryout at Halas Hall this morning.

— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 28, 2017

And if you want to see the most boring workout video in the history of man, look no further!

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On this episode of the Weekend Show, Adam Jahns tells us a whole bunch of stuff, including:

• How he views the situation with Glennon and Trubisky.
• What the locker room is seeing on the practice field (hint: it’s not good news for Glennon).
• Eddie Jackson may have been the best member of the Bears’ secondary this summer.
• McPhee ain’t McHealthy.
• Trevathan back.
• Long not so much.
• Lots and lots and lots on the whole Glennon playing thing…

And music from Mike and the Suspects!

The question was asked and the question was answered.

Reporter to John Fox: Will Trubisky play with the ones this week?

Fox: “We’ll meet on that, we’ll talk and we’ll keep you guys posted.”

— Zach Zaidman (@ZachZaidman) August 21, 2017

The follow-up was asked and the follow-up was answered.

. @MarkPotash : Is there a way to work Trubisky in with 1s without it being an “affront” to Glennon?#Bears coach John Fox: “Probably not.”

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 21, 2017

The Chicago Bears have a chance to do the right thing for the 2017 season. They have a chance to admit their mistake – acknowledge giving Glennon 18 million anything was insane – and take an important first step towards the future of this franchise. They can do it Sunday in Tennessee.

Three thoughts for tonight:

• Jordan Howard isn’t playing. And Jordan Howard shouldn’t be touched by another defender until that defender is wearing the uniform of the Atlanta Falcons. Running backs only have so much wear and tear in their bodies. Howard’s style – tough, bruising, absorbing contact – will have less than most.
• In the absence of Howard, will the Bears start Tarik Cohen? He was first off the bench a week ago. I think they’re making a mistake if they try to use this kid as an every down back. Kick returner. Third down, scat back. 3-5 carries as a change of pace.
• This is truly a rough spot for Mike Glennon tonight. He will be under an immense amount of pressure and facing one of the feistiest secondaries in the sport. It just seems the stars are aligning for Mitch Trubisky to take this gig. (And in case I haven’t made it clear, that’s in the best interest of the Bears organization moving forward.)