Are Bills Fans Being Buffaloed?
First glances can be deceiving, and Mitchell Trubisky provided a great example of this.
In 2017 he showed up at Halas Hall for his first rookie minicamp and all the reviews came back positive, though coach John Fox put a damper on things.
"I don't know that we're really quite ready after one practice to define his career," Fox said then.
Maybe people should have listened.
The Buffalo Bills are elated with Trubisky, according to the reports coming from OTAs in Buffalo.
Is it time to worry? Did the Bears miss something in their four years of Trubisky before letting him leave?
Observations made by the Buffalo News doled praise out on Trubisky for his passing and sharp play in general throughout the session of OTAs when media was allowed in for a peek.
Trubisky's accuracy especially was stressed throughout the Buffalo News report, and his improved completion percentage from 63.2% in 2019 to 67% last year with the Bears was mentioned. No one mentioned the red-zone interceptions, though, and he led the league in 2019 while committing a few more costly ones last year.
The Bears will get another look at their old quarterback in the preseason when he comes to Soldier Field on Aug. 21.
He'll likely be playing against Justin Fields. It will be one Bears hope for the future against their former hope for the future.
Buffalo fans shouldn't be overly encouraged by such positive reports on their backup, and probably aren't.
After all, they have Josh Allen starting. So, whatever Trubisky does will have little meaning unless something happens to the starter. And a team can do much worse than a backup like Trubisky, who has 50 career starts, including 29 victories.
However, Trubisky's problems rarely surface in practices and especially in practices against "air," like in much of the OTAs. It's when he goes against actual humans and defenses that he has trouble.
Fields against Trubisky will likely be the highlight of preseason, and preseasons in Chicago have been something to snore about in general.
It won't be boring this year.
Fields will get much of the playing time in three preseason games. There's no point in the Bears using Nick Foles much because both Andy Dalton and Fields will need the play repetitions.
The last preseason game at Tennessee promises to even be of interest, for a change. With 15 days between the last preseason game and season opener at L.A., starters figure to play in the game.
Mark the Aug. 21 date, though, and make sure to tell Bills fans there's no need to worry until Trubisky gets his team to the red zone.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
