Nick Foles Supplies QB Wisdom Mitchell Trubisky Still Needs

Analysis: Going through four teams before the Bears in his first eight NFL seasons has left Nick Foles with the proper perspective and a nice macro view of how to succeed at quarterback

The contrasting styles of Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky directly reflect their experience within the NFL.

On one hand, you have Mitchell Trubisky coming into this Chicago Bears quarterback battle of all battles saying how motivated he is by the negative press and social media he receives.

"It's got to light a fire under you, which it has for me and I'm just trying to prove everybody wrong and prove my teammates right," Trubisky said during his Friday teleconference.

On the other hand, you have Nick Foles with a different perspective, a quarterback who has been where all the others want to go. He won a Super Bowl and was MVP.

Sure, he has much to prove still but he's only talking about making the team better. The quarterback battle will fall where the quarterback battle will fall.

Foles is the ultimate macro engineer, just focusing on the details and letting the big stuff happen the right way because the details have been addressed.

"I'd say the big thing is focus on getting to be myself out there on the field and when a play is called, playing to the best of my ability," Foles said.

Foles is talking about upgrading the whole quarterback room.

"I know what I can do in this offense," Foles said. "But all that stuff gives me is wisdom–wisdom to go out there and help my teammates, to help Mitch, to help Tyler (Bray). I’m not keeping secrets from Mitch. Like, I want to help Mitch.

"So if there is a play that I've ran a lot and I know a lot, I'm going to give him that information just like I know he will with me because we're working to help each other. You know when he makes a great throw, I'm going to be right there to slap him a five and then they'll probably have to like to sanitize our hands, but I'm going to do it. That's part of this thing. It is a competition but we're all on the same team so we’re going to push each other every day but there's got to be a healthy way to do it."

When Foles said healthy, he didn't refer to COVID-19 but to building closeness within the quarterback room despite battling on a daily basis.

"You've got to build those relationships with teammates," Foles said. "That's the biggest thing that's not talked about. It's building the camaraderie, it's building the culture.

"I mean player's make plays. You watch film, you're not running routes on paper. There's a five-step route that I've thrown in games that turns into a three-step route because a guy did his thing. If he had ran it on paper, it would not have worked. Players make plays. Nagy will tell you the same thing. This is me focusing in on what's coming because competition is fourth quarter, overtime, you've got to be at your best, absolutely. But competitions are really good. I love competitions in practice. I love competition in whatever. But sometimes competitions, if you approach them the wrong way, become very toxic for a team and an organization because it becomes about 'me' and not about the team."

Foles' outlook is one woven over eight-plus seasons and five teams. His perspective is far different as a veteran with nothing to prove other than he can start at quarterback and play every game for the first time in his career.

Foles isn't bearing the burden of failure owned by Trubisky after last year and a declined fifth-year contract option.

Yet Foles went through all of that in the past, in St. Louis after he'd enjoyed some success early in his career.

"Whoever is the best person at executing this offense, that can help the Chicago Bears win games and lead this team should be the starter," Foles said.

It was spoken with wisdom by a quarterback who knows.

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