John Fox has a plan. He's not going to deviate from that plan after one preseason game. That's why he calls it a plan.
The Chicago Bears coach won't crown rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky after Thursday night's impressive performance. He's also not demoting Mike Glennon after an inauspicious beginning.
"Our depth chart is not going to change after one game. In particularly a preseason game," Fox said after the 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos. "That's a really good defense our first unit went against -- probably one of the top three defenses in the league. I think you have to look at a lot of different things. I can understand how you guys might think, but we're not going to change a whole lot after one game."
Fox tossing a bucket of water on the Trubisky hype was the most predictable part of Thursday night's festivities.
It's fair for Fox to play it cautious with his quarterback situation. Glennon faced the No Fly Zone. Trubisky faced special teams candidates.
Yet Glennon's start couldn't have gone worse. The quarterback overthrew a pass that became a pick-six on his second toss of the game. He finished 2-of-8 passing for 20 yards and a 0.0 QB rating. Glennon looked shaky in the pocket, displayed little command and misplaced almost all of his eight tosses.
When asked if he's worried about Glennon's confidence moving forward after such a bad start, Fox replied simply: "Not at all."
You can find excuses for Glennon if you look hard enough. He hasn't tossed a meaningful football in two years while wallowing as a backup. He faced a smothering secondary. He got little help from his linemen, getting pressured on most dropbacks. His receivers didn't make plays for him. But excuses are like avocados; every millennial has one -- or 60 -- and they rot quickly.
Trubisky, on the other hand, couldn't have played better. He finished 18 of 25 for 166 yards and one touchdown. Of those seven incompletions, two were spikes and one was a drop. He finished with a 103.1 QB rating. The No. 2 overall pick displayed poise that belied his 13 career college starts. He boasted superior athleticism. His accuracy was off the charts, especially when on the move. He sliced up Broncos defenders, most of whom will be cut before the regular season starts, like Drogon scoring Lannister troops.
"I thought he had pretty good command, it wasn't all perfect," Fox said of Trubisky's performance. "Obviously you can see why he was picked in the draft where he was picked. I think that was evident. But we still have a long way to go as a football team and like I said, it was one preseason game. The coaches will all look at the film inside and out and we'll make corrections. But all in all, I thought he moved the team well and made things happen, in particularly with his feet."
For a Bears' offense in dire need of someone to make plays in the passing game, Trubisky lit a fire.
One preseason game won't cause Fox to ditch his plan, but it should underscore Trubisky taking No. 3 snaps behind Mark Sanchez is a joke. If the coach is going to change his depth chart, moving the rookie to No. 2 ahead of next week's game is a no-brainer.
If Glennon continues to struggle and Trubisky shines, it's only a matter of time before Fox -- who enters the season on the hot seat -- has no choice but to revisit the depth chart and elevate the rookie to the top. Whether it's Week 1, Week 5 or Week 10, we expect Trubisky to play at some point in 2017.
