Josh Alper at profootballtalk.com quotes Indianapolis offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni as he describes what he wants to see quarterback Jacoby Brissett improve upon next year:
“Sirianni said that Brissett’s ‘ability to create and extend plays’ was a big plus during the 2019 season and that the quarterback ‘always knew where to go with the football.’ Where he’d like to see improvement in the future is in how quickly Brissett gets to that point.
“’And that comes with experience, and that comes with playing time,’ Sirianni said, via the team’s website. ‘You know, you see these guys that have been starting at quarterback at some of these franchises for, you know, 15, 16, 17, 18 years — like, there’s nothing those guys haven’t seen, alright? So sometimes it’s brand new, what he sees, but as you build those reps and you build that game experience, that really will speed that up. And that’s nothing but reps, and you get that in practice, and you really get that in games.'”
For those who are looking for hope for quarterback Mitch Trubisky, you need look no farther than these comments.
Brissett was drafted in 2016, one year ahead of Trubisky and yet Sirianni still thinks that hasn’t been enough time to for him to become really proficient at handling the things he sees on the field. Add that Trubisky only started one year in college and you can see how his lack of experience could really be an issue even three years into his career.
The fact that Trubisky had to sit behind Marquis Williams, a relatively unknown quarterback with inferior talent, for his first three years of college was a red flag for many scouts going into the 2017 NFL draft. One interpretation of this might be that Trubisky is one of those guys who is a bit slow to develop. However, the fact that he was so good when it finally all came together also gave hope that the same thing might happen with time with the Bears.
We could be seeing that come into play.
It’s not a surprise that both Trubisky and Brissett are under fire and may lose their jobs this offseason. The rapid development of other young quarterbacks in the league like Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson under mines them and it becomes hard to have patience with guys who may be slower to put it all together. But its worth considering that it may be worth the wait.