‘MNF’ analyst Booger McFarland expects Bears QB Mitch Trubisky to bounce back vs. Redskins

But if he struggles against a defense ‘tailor-made’ for a young quarterback, the Bears have a big problem.

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Booger McFarland and Joe Tessitore will call the Bears-Redskins game Monday night at FedExField.

Phil Ellsworth/ESPN Images

Booger McFarland isn’t telling Bears fans to sound the alarm. He’s only suggesting they find out where it is.

That’s the sentiment the “Monday Night Football” analyst has regarding quarterback Mitch Trubisky, whose play after two games has fans in a panic. And while McFarland expects Trubisky to bounce back Monday against the Redskins, he makes no bones about how fans should feel if Trubisky doesn’t.

“If he comes out of this game still struggling,” he said, “the concern meter in Chicago needs to go extremely high.”

McFarland, who will be on the call with Joe Tessitore for the Bears’ only ESPN appearance of the season, said the Redskins’ defense is “tailor-made” for a young quarterback because of its simplicity. He expects Trubisky to have plenty of chances to make plays.

“I would expect Mitch to have his best game so far because the Redskins’ defense hasn’t been great, they don’t get a ton of pressure on the quarterback, they’ve been giving up yards against the run,” McFarland said. “So this is kind of like, ‘OK, let’s get our rhythm back and continue to get this offense back up to speed the way it was last year.’ ”

McFarland believes Trubisky isn’t playing with the same confidence he had last year and expressed concern about his progress relative to fellow 2017 first-round picks Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. McFarland said the key for coach Matt Nagy is to avoid turning Trubisky into the type of quarterback he isn’t.

“He’s a quarterback that’s athletic, he can use his feet,” he said. “You’re gonna do the RPO [run-pass option] game and get him on the edge and let him run. Do what Baltimore is doing with Lamar Jackson. Let him run 10 or 15 times a game. But don’t try to make him into something he’s not. Take what he is and just build on it.”

McFarland has no concerns about the Bears’ defense, which he called Super Bowl-caliber. A former defensive lineman who helped anchor the Buccaneers’ ferocious defense in the early 2000s, McFarland has a great appreciation for the Bears’ unit. He said it can pick up the slack for an offense that’s leaving a lot to be desired.

“We had a saying in Tampa when we had our great defense: If the offense would just give us 17 points, we’ll make it stand most Sundays,” McFarland said. “And I gotta think that if you’d ask [Bears defensive coordinator] Chuck Pagano and [linebacker] Khalil Mack and those guys, could you make it stand? I gotta feel like they could.”

McFarland is in his second year in the “MNF” booth but first as the solo analyst. He was on the field last season in the much-disparaged “Booger Mobile” while former-turned-current Cowboys tight end Jason Witten joined Tessitore in the booth. The heightened perspective from the sideline didn’t offer any bang for the bucks it cost to build the contraption, and McFarland’s separation was difficult for all involved.

ESPN ditched the crane and put the trio in the booth for its final two games last season. The crane didn’t return, and neither did Witten, forcing ESPN to reinvent “MNF” again. After failing to coax Peyton Manning into the booth, the network stuck with “Boog” and “Tess.” It was the most practical choice, but McFarland understands that the duo faces a lot of scrutiny.

“The hierarchy at ESPN has put a lot of trust and confidence in me, and they’ve given me the power to be myself,” McFarland said. “There’s a lot of significance being the 50th season [of “MNF], and there’s a lot of scrutiny and eyeballs that come with it. But name me something in life that’s worth working for that’s not really highly scrutinized and highly picked apart. So I relish this opportunity.”

McFarland said the biggest lesson he took from last season was to let the good games speak for themselves. In other words, don’t take away from them by doing too much himself. And he explained that in a way that shows the personality and potential he brings to the booth.

“I’m a Southern boy from Louisiana, so I equate a lot of things to food,” he said. “When I go to a barbecue restaurant, if the barbecue is really good, I don’t need any sauce on it. I’m just kind of getting in the way of the meat. And I equate that to the game. If the game is really good, then you should do less better. It’s up to us to adjust to the type of game that we’re getting.”

The crew had a doozy in Week 1 and a dud in Week 2. We’ll see if Bears-Redskins requires any sauce.

Remote patrol

  • The AHL Western Conference champion Wolves will be the kings of the over-the-air sports scene locally, with 40 games scheduled to air on WPWR-Ch. 50. The first is the season opener against Grand Rapids at 7 p.m. Oct. 5 at Allstate Arena. Play-by-play voice Jason Shaver and analyst Bill Gardner return for their 12th season together.
  • [bullet] WGN-Ch. 9 will have the over-the-air broadcast of the Bears-Redskins game Monday, with Lauren Magiera and Jarrett Payton hosting a pregame show from FedExField starting at 7 p.m.

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