| Without a full week of
preseason games in the books, one QB competition already has been won. Well,
"won" may be pushing it.
On Wednesday, Bears head coach Dick Jauron named Shane Matthews his No. 1 quarterback.
Now, that could change at any given moment, but at least an official order has been made.
If the regular season were to begin tomorrow, Matthews would start.
A curious decision this is, mostly because the Bears have played just one exhibition,
in which Matthews completed 2-of-4 passes for three yards. But the decision was made
without that game in mind. Instead, it was made with the help of practice and film
sessions, as well as plain old common sense.
Oh, and the process of elimination.
You see, Matthews’ main competitors, Jim Miller and Cade McNown, really never had
a chance to unseat Matthews, who finished last season as the starter. Miller went down on
the first day of training camp with a strained hamstring and was lost for two weeks.
He’s being brought back slowly.
McNown has yet to see the light. Not only has he looked bad in practice, he hasn’t
taken to the leadership role that comes with the position. Fourth-stringer Danny Wuerffel
showed some flashes of ability in the Bears’ preseason opener, but he doesn’t
figure to earn a top-three spot on the QB depth chart.
That leaves Matthews, who has the best command of the game but limits the offense the
most. His marginal arm strength and limited mobility will put a cap on the Bears’ big
plays, but his consistency and intelligence will keep the team out of many sticky
situations.
But keep in mind the words Jauron used when he announced his decision.
"Shane is our guy right now," Jauron said. "Shane is penciled in to that
spot. … I feel comfortable with him right now. It doesn’t mean that one of those
three other guys couldn’t come up and take the job from him."
"Right now" means presently, and "penciled in" is far from
permanent. After all, pencils have erasers.
Jauron left the door open because he’s seen Miller throw the ball twice as well as
both Matthews and McNown in practice, even though Miller isn’t fully mobile yet.
Jauron also remembers how effectively Miller has run the offense in seasons past. That
27-24 upset of the Colts last season was Miller’s handiwork. Unfortunately, it was
his only complete game of the season.
But Jauron needed to name a starter as soon as he could. He needs someone to develop a
rapport with the first-team offense. He can’t keep changing quarterbacks every few
plays in practice. He needs cohesiveness, consistency and control.
If Matthews does indeed start the season and the offense sputters, it would surprise no
one to see Miller take the reins. And if Miller goes down with another injury, it would
surprise no one to see McNown thrown to the wolves to see if he’s learned anything.
After all, all three have seen action the last two seasons. Why should this season be
any different? |
