There's a quarterback competition in Chicago, perhaps you've heard.
Nick Foles has arrived and is aiming to unseat Mitchell Trubisky.
As training camp carries on and the QB1 battle wages, the face of the franchise Khalil Mack let it be known where his loyalty lies: Winning.
"Whether it's [No.] 9 or 10, we're gonna win," Mack said Saturday, via the Chicago Sun-Times’ Patrick Finley.
No. 9 is Foles, No. 10 is Trubisky and eight is the number of wins the Bears cobbled together in a 2019 season that collapsed short of expectations put forth by an NFC North-championship 2018 campaign.
When last season limped to its conclusion, the biggest, baddest Bear's final comments to reporters in December were that the season "definitely wasn’t what I wanted."
On a summer Saturday in Chi-Town, he echoed those same sentiments.
"I wasn't good enough," Mack said, via USA Today. "Wasn't good enough at all. Understanding that, there are different intangibles that came with it. I don't make any excuses. I just rise to the occasion and I am getting ready for this one. It's gonna be a fun one, man, I can't wait."
A Chicago Bear emerging from hibernation and channeling his inner Bart Scott, Mack's comments are those of a midway monster left hungry from a 2019 season that was hardly filling.
Across the NFL and the world at large, there is much trepidation for the unknown ahead amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Mack, one of the most feared pass rushers in all the land, is speaking of fun and anticipation, sure to curve a smile upon Bears fans' faces and strike a bit of fear into opposing quarterbacks.
"I know myself," he said. "I know what I'm capable of. And this is gonna be fun, man. I can't wait to get out there with my teammates and make plays and give oohs and ahhs to the TV crowd. And all that that brings, it brings me joy, man. I love this game. It's fun. I don't stress over this game. But I love it and I just can't wait to get out there with my guys."
