5 reasons the Chicago Bears will make the playoffs in 2018

Tru take-two

Mitchell Trubisky is perhaps the single greatest reason for optimism next year. It goes without saying that the Bears need him to take a giant leap forward in his second season if they want to be successful. Obviously, all that talent at the skill positions means nothing if Trubisky can’t get them the ball. Yet there is growing optimism that Trubisky will be able to do just that.

Seeing him mismanaged and misused last season was gutwrenching for all Bears fans. A good manager, whether it’s in professional sports, business or otherwise, knows how to extract the most value out of their personnel. Usually, they do that by putting them in a position that accentuates their strengths and minimizes their weaknesses.

This was not the case for Trubisky last year. In fact, John Fox seemed to do the exact opposite. Rather than play to Trubisky’s strengths, he went away from them. Do not expect that to happen with Matt Nagy calling the plays. Nagy will utilize the shotgun formation much more than Fox. Not just that, but he’ll use it in more than just obvious passing situations.

Set up for success

Placing Trubisky in a position he’s comfortable and familiar with, will help his confidence. A confident quarterback is usually a more productive one. And it’s becoming clear that Trubisky is gaining confidence in Nagy’s offense. Just take a look at this recent quote from Jordan Howard in describing Trubisky’s demeanor this year:

"“He asserted himself a lot last year, but I definitely feel like a lot more people are listening to him,” Howard said, via the team’s website. “He has a lot greater command of the locker room and stuff because he’s the quarterback for sure now.”"

The Bears have a much improved receiving corps, a solid offensive line, an outstanding running back, and a playoff caliber defense. When you look at it that way, if Trubisky can simply be average, they should dramatically improve their record.

As it was, Trubisky managed to complete nearly 60 percent of his passes last season. He did so playing for a coach who did him no favors — a coach who routinely put him in third and long out of the shotgun, protected by a depleted offensive line. Yet despite all of that, Trubisky managed to put up decent numbers while throwing to the worst receiving corps in the league. Now place him in a dynamic offense that plays to his strengths and keeps defenses honest, and it’s easy to imagine Trubisky improving enough to compete for a playoff spot.