The Chicago Bears have done a lot of things to help Mitch Trubisky snap out of his extended funk this year. They’ve reportedly scaled back the volume of offense each week to not overwhelm him. They switched Cody Whitehair back to center. Somebody Trubisky trusts and has great chemistry with. Then they’ve begun to implement more power running and play action from under center than when the year began. The results have been somewhat positive but still not enough to truly turn the corner.
There is one thing they’ve haven’t fully embraced yet. Something that wasn’t really an option in 2018 but suddenly has become one based on recent results. That is a no-huddle offense. The benefits of such an approach are that it requires less thinking and more reaction from the quarterback. It keeps the defense on the field and doesn’t allow them to substitute frequently, which can drain their pass rushers over the course of a game.
Last year Trubisky didn’t run a lot of tempo offense because he wasn’t all that good at it. However, that seems to have changed as he’s significant improved in both completion percentage and passer rating whenever the Bears have employed such an approach. Yet for whatever reason, they’ve seemed hesitant to try it more often.
- 2018: 17-of-29, 252 yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions, 69.9 passer rating
- 2019: 20-of-29, 147 yards, 1 TD, 0 interceptions, 92.2 passer rating
Nagy seems reluctant to have Mitch Trubisky go tempo
This isn’t just an offensive mindset in general too. It’s purely about Trubisky. Across nine games this season, the 25-year old has thrown just 29 passes in a no-huddle situation. By contrast, his backup Chase Daniel threw 18 between his two appearances against the Vikings and Raiders. So this is a definite decision by head coach Matt Nagy to hold off on such an approach. This despite a clear indication from the quarterback himself that he likes going up-tempo.
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He explained why he and the offense seemed to have some success doing so against the Lions last week.
“I think for me and the other guys on offense, it’s not as much thinking. The plays are a little bit simpler. There’s not as much motion. The defense is usually a little more vanilla. They don’t bring as exotic of looks. So we just go out there (and) we’re playing fast and everybody’s in their spot. Everybody knows their job. We’re not thinking. We’re just doing what comes natural. Following our instincts and playing fast.”
Clearly Trubisky has a greater comfort level with this style of offense. It’s possible that is because he doesn’t have to digest as much complexity of what both his offense and the defense is trying to do. Things are kept simpler and he’s allowed to use his talent a little more than his mind. It may not be the solution people had hoped for but if it will get him to play better down the stretch, this is something the Bears definitely have to implement more often.
