Chase Daniel knows his role moving forward
Another week, another win for Da Bears. It was hard-fought, gritty, ugly, but nonetheless, a win. That is exactly what we needed to continue the streak and move forward, now sitting with a record of 3-1. Let’s not take anything away from the Vikings. Yes, Kirk Cousins is abysmal, but their defense is not. Props to the offense for doing enough to get the job done.
First things first, we have to talk about the injury to Trubisky and what it means for the Bears going forward. We do not root for injuries here at Laced Up Sports, so to all the people out there saying that this was a good thing for the Bears, shame on you and you are flat out wrong. The Bears are not better off without Trubisky because if they really believe that he is their franchise Quarterback moving forward, they need him to play and continue to get reps and improve his game.
For the time being, Chase Daniel seems like a good option to replace Mitchell and carry us through his recovery. Here’s the positive, Chase knows the offense and has been with Nagy for a long time, all the way back to his days in Kansas City. His ceiling is not as high as Mitch, obviously, and he is not as dynamic as Mitch, but the Bears can still win games with him and here’s how…
Keep it simple, stupid.
I must give a quick shout out to now Former Cubs Manager Joe Maddon as that was one of his favorite sayings. In this case, it holds true for the Bears moving forward with Chase Daniel. Daniel is one of the better options as a backup in this league because he knows his role, and he knows it very well. His role, as the backup quarterback, is to not lose you games. What I mean by that is don’t turn the ball over, and don’t try and do too much. The Bears' defense is good enough to keep them close with any team in the NFL, so it is up to Chase Daniel to do at least the bare minimum to squeak out wins.
These next few games (or however long Trubisky is going to be out) are not going to be pretty games. Moving forward, I expect a relatively high completion percentage from Chase Daniel, similar to his 22/30 on Sunday, with no more than 1-2 TDs per game, and around 175-250 yards passing. On paper, the Bears are going to win a lot of close games, but they won’t really feel all that close, very similar to the way that the Vikings game felt on Sunday.
From the get-go, it never felt like the Vikings were ever in the game. The final score was 16-6, but it felt much more like a 28-6, or 35-10 victory for the Bears. That is how good this defense is, they are going to give us a chance each and every week to win, it’s just up to Chase Daniel and the offense to do enough in those games to come away victorious. Remember, this is the NFL it is NOT the NCAA. There are no style-points awarded for beating the crap out of an opponent.
Going off my point about how the game didn’t feel as close as the final score dictated, I question why Matt Nagy decided to take his foot off the gas late in games when the Bears had a lead. He did it against the Redskins and again versus the Vikings. If I am the coach and I know my opponent is struggling, I go pedal to the medal and jam it down their throats. My guess as to why Nagy decided to play it more conservatively was for the exact reason I talked about earlier, he didn’t want to put the fate of the game in Chase Daniel’s hands. He would much rather put that fate in the hands of his defense, which he knows is the best in all of football.
Bears take a trip across the pond and square off against the Raiders, or shall I dub it “the Khalil Mack Revenge Game.” God help us all, we are not worthy of what we are about to witness on Sunday. Best wishes to Derek Carr or whoever Jon Gruden decides to throw out there at QB.
