Is Matt Barkley the future for the Chicago Bears at QB?
Matt Barkley almost mounted a tremendous comeback for the Chicago Bears on Sunday, is he the future QB of the team?
Let’s start off the article by saying, no. No, Matt Barkley is not, and will not, be the future of the Chicago Bears at quarterback. But thanks for clicking.
Just because Barkley isn’t the future, doesn’t mean he shouldn’t continue to play quarterback. Don’t let Sunday’s fourth quarter fool you. Barkley will not become a viable starting quarterback in the NFL. Barkley was rotten in previous opportunities before this season- he was rotten against the Green Bay Packers and he was rotten for three quarters against the Tennessee Titans.
However, the fourth quarter showed you that Barkley does have redeeming qualities as a quarterback. He can run a two-minute offense, he can make NFL throws, and he doesn’t get rattled when his teammates are letting him down (the drops). I don’t want to pile on Jay Cutler, but could you imagine his attitude against Tennessee if his receivers had dropped 10 passes? Barkley’s fourth quarter performance proved that he is at least worth a look. Not for the future franchise QB of the Bears, but perhaps he’s a viable backup quarterback.
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No one should get ahead of themselves. The Titans defense went very soft and gave Barkley plenty of room and dared him to beat them. To Barkley’s credit, he was able to take advantage of that space and the Bears were a Josh Bellamy drop from coming back from 20 in the fourth quarter and winning in improbable fashion.
With this season being a total dumpster fire, the Bears need to treat these games as an extended preseason for 2017. They need to get as many first and second year players as much time as possible and get a head start on developing next year’s roster.
The fact that John Fox is even flirting with the idea of going back to Cutler if he’s healthy shows that Fox is in this of himself and not for the good of the franchise. Fox wants to win games. He wants to play the veterans when they are healthy and see if he can salvage a respectably bad 5-11 record rather than an abysmal 2-14.
That reason alone is why Fox needs to be fired. Not because he wants to win, every coach wants to win. But because he’s putting 2016 wins before the good of the franchise. If Fox tries to go back to Cutler, Ryan Pace must intervene and show that he’s not just a talent evaluator, but the general manager of a football team. He must dictate to Fox that Barkley or David Fales needs to start and that Cutler will not play.
Nov 27, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears head coach John Fox looks at the scoreboard at Soldier Field. Tennessee Titans won 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
If Fox goes back to Cutler, it shows that Pace doesn’t have the type of control over the franchise that he should. This season is over. Evaluate for 2017 and determine what you want to do with John Fox after the season. Fox’s future won’t just be Pace’s decision. With two years left on his contract, that decision will be made collectively by ownership, Ted Phillips, and Pace.
If Barkley reverts back to the QB we saw against Green Bay and the early portion of the Tennessee game than the Bears should go to David Fales. Every player on this roster must be evaluated, especially at the QB position.
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No, Matt Barkley isn’t going to be the future starting QB of the Chicago Bears, but he might be able to develop into a viable backup at the position. For a team that needs desperate help in multiple areas, every little bit helps.
Jay Cutler’s time in Chicago needs to be over. It’s Matt Barkley’s time now. As sad as that sentence might sound, that’s where the 2016 Chicago Bears are and they need to make the proper decisions for the future of the franchise, not to try to squeeze out one or two more wins.
Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.
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