Mitch Trubisky wasn’t perfect in 2018. He had ups and downs most of the season. The general consensus among his biggest critics was he had a really bad tendency to miss wide-open receivers. Something that cost his offense a lot of big-play opportunities. Trubisky himself even admitted as much, saying he left a lot of points on the field too often. Head coach Matt Nagy understands the frustration but also tried to remind people of certain facts.
It was Trubisky’s second year in the NFL and his first in a brand new offense. One that was significantly different from the one the quarterback was in as a rookie. Among the biggest issues that remained somewhat persistent at times? His footwork. One of the hardest things to master as a professional passer is precise movement of the feet. This is important because it can have such a dramatic effect on the accuracy of passes.
Especially ones down the field.
It’s not a coincidence that a high number of big misses that Trubisky had last season were in the intermediate-to-deep range. If people watched him, they’d often see his hips open too wide with his left foot stepping too far out. This led to the ball sailing on him. So far through several practices between minicamps and training camp, Nagy sees a huge difference. He said as much during an interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio.
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Matt Nagy knew all along that Trubisky just needed time
The enemy of a quarterback in an offensive system is time. Learning a complicated scheme can’t be done overnight. Not unless the quarterback has an outstanding cast around him from the start. See Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Trubisky wasn’t only new to Nagy’s system in 2018, he was also new to all his wide receivers. He’d never thrown a single pass to Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, or Anthony Miller prior to that year.
It takes time to gain chemistry with those players while also trying to learn the offense on the fly. It’s asking a lot. For Trubisky to deliver a 95.4 passer rating, win 11 games, and make a Pro Bowl as an alternate? That’s actually pretty impressive.
Now word out of training camp is he looks much sharper than at this time last year. He’s clearly not thinking as much. He’s reacting quicker and his passes are more consistent in their targeting. This was evidenced by a number of pretty shots to Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel. This isn’t just one-day events either. He’s been doing it consistently.
This is what Bears fans have waited for. Hopefully, it carries into the regular season and beyond.
