You might’ve heard: The Bears have some quarterback business to sort through and figure out.
So, what will be their big play during this all-important offseason for general manager Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy? There are veteran starters out there, a couple of well-known free agents, a bunch of intriguing possibilities in the upcoming NFL draft and … what’s his name again?
Oh, yes. Mitch Trubisky. The Bears could always re-up with ol’ No. 10.
In this week’s “Polling Place” — your home for Sun-Times sports polls on Twitter — we asked what the Bears should do at the most important position in team sports. The voting was far from conclusive.
“Weird,” commented @NTucc, “it’s almost like there’s no magic solution for the Bears to fix their QB issue.”
It almost kind of is, isn’t it?
We also asked respondents to weigh in on what to expect from new/old Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta and new/old White Sox manager Tony La Russa. On to the polls:
Poll No. 1: How should the Bears move forward at the quarterback position?
It’s time again for our weekly @suntimes "Polling Place" questions. Let us hear from you! Selected comments will appear in Saturday's paper.
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) February 18, 2021
Q1: How should the Bears move forward at the quarterback position?
Upshot: You can see which option barely has it. Not that everyone recognizes the logic — any logic — in going the “C” route. “People want Ryan Pace to trade up in the draft? Ryan Pace?” commented @Max_Power10. “I say it all the time: What’s wrong with people?” Yes, well, one supposes Pace has done the whole trade-up-to-draft-a QB thing before, hasn’t he? Frankly, it didn’t go so well.
Poll No. 2: How do you predict Jake Arrieta will fare in his second go-round with the Cubs?
Q2: How do you predict Jake Arrieta will fare in his second go-round with the Cubs?
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) February 18, 2021
Upshot: It’s almost impossible to view Arrieta outside the context of his brilliant first run with the Cubs, when he went 68-31 with a 2.73 ERA and won a Cy Young. No, of course he won’t perform like that again. “I’m saying ‘A’ but I’m really being a homer here,” wrote @johnmac161. “I think, in reality, he has more mediocre to bad outings than good ones. Definitely will not see the 2014, ’15 and ’16 Jake.”
Poll No. 3: Tony La Russa’s second go-round as White Sox manager will be:
Q3: Tony La Russa’s second go-round as White Sox manager will be:
— Chicago Sun-Times (@Suntimes) February 18, 2021
Upshot: “Seems like there should be a middle-ground option here,” offered @MrBradleyTodd. Nope. Look at it this way: The Sox are either going to win a World Series under La Russa, in which case he’ll go on the city’s Mount Rushmore of managers, or they’ll fall tragically short, in which case everyone will hammer him unmercifully. OK, fine, so maybe there’s a tiny bit of room in the middle.
