The Offensive Line

[BearsWillWin]

Foles is a guy who has succeeded when the pieces have been in place around him and failed when they haven't been. In Philly, the one thing he had during his pair of hot streaks was a great O-line. We definitely need an improvement there.

I also have no idea if Foles will start. Nagy said some things recently that REALLY got me nervous about the idea that this could all be setup for Mitch to win in camp. I am getting a bad feeling that Foles is just the "eject button" that Nagy/Pace are putting nearby. Just there to be pressed incase we start 2-2/3-3 with an anemic offense. To give them one last ditch effort to try and save their jobs.

Foles is essentially what Trubisky would be if he could read a defense and make progressions.

You nailed it with Foles….he will succeed IF the pieces around him are right. The same could be said for Mitch but with Mitch he also has his own flaws that might or might not be able to be fixed.

I think there are only two scenarios where Foles doesn't start....

1. He gets injured.

2. Nagy doesn't make it a true competition and it is as you say, a setup, for Mitch.

I think if it is an open competition that, barring injury, there's no way Foles wouldn't look better than Mitch and Nagy would have to start him.

I struggle to understand what Nagy actually thinks of Mitch. There are times during interviews and in game that he seems to ride him and openly question him and there are times it feels like he is just coddling him. So who knows.

 

[richig07]

Foles is essentially what Trubisky would be if he could read a defense and make progressions.

You nailed it with Foles….he will succeed IF the pieces around him are right. The same could be said for Mitch but with Mitch he also has his own flaws that might or might not be able to be fixed.

I think there are only two scenarios where Foles doesn't start....

1. He gets injured.

2. Nagy doesn't make it a true competition and it is as you say, a setup, for Mitch.

I think if it is an open competition that, barring injury, there's no way Foles wouldn't look better than Mitch and Nagy would have to start him.

I struggle to understand what Nagy actually thinks of Mitch. There are times during interviews and in game that he seems to ride him and openly question him and there are times it feels like he is just coddling him. So who knows.

The one area where Mitch would still struggle to make up ground on Foles (even if he did figure out defense's and progressions) is that Foles throws a beautiful, high arching deep ball. Trubisky just has absolutely no feel for it and I don't know how much that can be taught/learned.

Given our inability to create big plays last season - that's pretty big.

I do wonder about Nagy's actual thoughts on Mitch as well. On the surface, he seems so pro-Mitch with everything he says. However, behind the scenes reports were saying that Nagy was frustrated when Mitch still needed the training wheels version of the offense last training camp. I was recently watching Michael Wilbon talk about how Nagy never wanted to coach Mitch to begin with.

There's really no excuse for starting Mitch if he doesn't demonstrate tangible improvement in the pre-season games. Foles should be the default choice, IMO, if it's a true toss up.

 

[BsGenius]

While i agree with most regarding Mitch i do hold some optimism that Mitch will take a bigger step this upcoming season.

One reason being, he did show some promise in the second half of last year when the playbook was cut in half.

But the main reason is, simply the lack of actual playing time Mitch has had since college to the pros. His college body of work is not a lot, now with a couple years under him in the pros, this would be the time Mitch peaks.

That being said however, I'm not sure how much contribution a lack of experience would result in making some seriously inaccurate throws. Which is the best argument I think for Mitch being a bust.

I hope Mitch beats out Foles as that would be the best scenario and I'm not that high on Foles in general.

 

[LambeauLegs]

Maybe a year off after getting cut helped him out

Bears signing former Packers OT Jason Spriggs to 1-year deal

 

[richig07]

Maybe a year off after getting cut helped him out

Bears signing former Packers OT Jason Spriggs to 1-year deal

I like him as a potential swing tackle that will have to earn his roster spot. Maybe some upside there as he was a former 2nd round pick that was mostly derailed by injuries. Probably just decent depth, though. Both of our tackles are notorious for hardly ever (never in Leno's case) being hurt. So, hopefully we wouldn't need him much.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I seem to remember the Pack traded up ahead of us in that draft in part because the Bears were supposedly set to take him. At least it was the going scuttlebut at the time. He never lived up to expectations tho. Who knows, maybe a change of scenery will bring him to life.

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

While i agree with most regarding Mitch i do hold some optimism that Mitch will take a bigger step this upcoming season.

One reason being, he did show some promise in the second half of last year when the playbook was cut in half.

But the main reason is, simply the lack of actual playing time Mitch has had since college to the pros. His college body of work is not a lot, now with a couple years under him in the pros, this would be the time Mitch peaks.

That being said however, I'm not sure how much contribution a lack of experience would result in making some seriously inaccurate throws. Which is the best argument I think for Mitch being a bust.

I hope Mitch beats out Foles as that would be the best scenario and I'm not that high on Foles in general.

Wow. My thoughts too. Where is the real BS buried?