The men who get the most credit for whether a quarterback becomes an NFL success are the obvious ones: the head coach, the offensive coordinator and the quarterbacks coach. They are most directly responsible for how he approaches learning the pro game, so this makes sense. However, it’s also a bit short-sighted. One man who could end up being just as vital to the Mitch Trubisky development for the Bears? That would be defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
It was a minor surprise when offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains credited his counterpart with helping to accelerate Trubisky’s ability to absorb the speed and complexities of the NFL level. He quoted to Adam Jahn of Chicago Sun-Times and others how exactly this is such a benefit.
By all accounts, Trubisky remains a work in progress. He still has the occasional bobbled snap, and where he looks for his keys before the snap is a point of emphasis. But Loggains believes facing Fangio’s defense daily has led to growth.
“Coach Fangio does a great job and runs more coverages than anyone in the NFL,” Loggains said. “To see him get exposure to all that and be able to get as many reps as he’s gotten has been tremendous.”
What’s even more encouraging beyond that is the fact that Trubisky continues to see these coverages and still has just one documented interception in practice.
History shows practicing against good defenses helps
People don’t often mention how valuable practicing against good defenses can help the effectiveness of a quarterback. There are actually plenty of example of an average quarterback having a great year when given that challenge. Brad Johnson had his career best season with the Buccaneers in 2002. Jim McMahon went to his only Pro Bowl in 1985 with the Bears. Terry Bradshaw is a Hall of Famer having played across from that Steel Curtain unit in the 1970s.
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Brady evades the pressure from…Bill Belichick & Josh McDaniels!? pic.twitter.com/I4ggZRMnox
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) August 1, 2017
Sit back and wonder how great Tom Brady would be if he didn’t have the defensive mastery of Bill Belichick to practice against every single day. It’s a fair question. The two highest-rated seasons of Brett Favre’s career were years his team boasted a top 10 defense. This is something that can’t be overstated. Having Fangio isn’t just good for the Bears hopes on defense. He can also do so much to help solve their quarterback issues once and for all.
The rest will be up to Trubisky himself.
