Chicago Bears: 4 players who earned midseason awards
By Ryan Heckman
Offensive MVP: Quarterback Mitch Trubisky
Stop with the Patrick Mahomes talk. The 2017 NFL Draft is over. Stop with the DeShaun Watson talk. Again, it’s over. The Bears drafted Mitch Trubisky, and this offense would not be the same under Mike Glennon, Chase Daniel or even Jay Cutler.
Those were the previous (and current) options. Trubisky is (and will continue to be) better, period.
Are we clear? Good, now on to the topic at hand.
Trubisky has improved each and every week when it comes to the little things. Mind you, he still has plenty to continue and work on (holding the ball too long at times, deep ball accuracy). But, there are a lot of little things which take quarterbacks a while to learn, and Trubisky has become much better at them.
One of the things he’s become better at is throwing under pressure.
Mitchell Trubisky's passer rating versus the Bills, via @PFF_Bears
— Lorin Cox (@CoxSports1) November 6, 2018
Under pressure: 131.2 (1st)
Kept clean: 30.9 (Last)#Bears
It’s actually humorous. Efficiency in a clean pocket should be much easier, right? Thats coachable. That’s fixable. Don’t be too stressed out about the easy stuff.
Instead, be impressed with the fact that Trubisky has gotten much more comfortable under pressure. Not only has he delivered some strikes under duress, but he’s also found the most opportune times to take off and run.
Remember in the offseason when Bobby Massie said Trubisky could run for 40-to-60 yards per game, and most of us laughed him off? Well, how’s this for a news flash: Trubisky is currently averaging 37.2 rushing yards per game.
That’s not too far off from 40.
Disregard the narrative that Trubisky has benefited from yards after the catch, and that he throws the ball short on the majority of his completions.
Related Story. Bears: Teammates tired of Trubisky criticism. light
Seriously, disregard it.
The Bears are no where to be found among the top 10 teams when it comes to throws of five yards or less.
The Chiefs and Rams rank first and fourth, respectively, in yards after the catch. The Bears, once again, didn’t crack the top 10.
The Bears rank 9th in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage at over 65 percent.
Trubisky has done what’s necessary to score points — period. The Bears are one of only two teams to rank in the top 10 of scoring offense and scoring defense. Do you think that’s an accident? Absolutely not. Trubisky has been much better than people give him credit for.
Has he been perfect? Of course not. Has he been the Bears’ most valuable asset on offense? Absolutely.