There was some consternation Monday night when ESPN analyst Ryan Clark suggested that Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky could become another Ryan Leaf or JaMarcus Russell if he didn’t improve. Trubisky had just completed 81 percent of his passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns in a dominating Bears victory over Washington.



Clark, a retired 13-year NFL safety with a Pro Bowl and Super Bowl victory on his resume, later acknowledged he had exaggerated. Trubisky, three games into his third season, has already outperformed Leaf and Russell. But there remains a large gap between the stat line Trubisky produced Monday night and what football people see as the reality. Tightening up one of the more loosely used terms in football reporting helps navigate the divide.



The term “dropback” has become ubiquitous for describing what quarterbacks do every time they take the snap and set up to pass. After Monday night, we plausibly could have heard about...