Chicago Bears: Offering a different perspective on Mitchell Trubisky’s growth

What should you make of Chicago Bears quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s training camp performance so far?

When the Chicago Bears moved up to No. 2 to select Mitchell Trubisky in the 2017 NFL Draft, expectations were really high. The team hoped and believed they had finally found their franchise quarterback, which had eluded them for so many years.

However, that offseason, they had signed Mike Glennon to a pretty lucrative deal and so the young signal-caller out of the University of North Carolina would have to wait his turn. Trubisky didn’t have to wait long though, as the Glennon experiment bombed and he was inserted into the starting lineup in game number five.

Although he was handed the reigns, he did not have control of the team or more specifically, the offense. That responsibility fell to John Fox and Dowell Loggains, who continuously put Trubisky in terrible situations. Bears fans grew accustomed to running plays on first and second downs, followed by a third-down pass play in a long yardage situation. Even those throws were wide receiver screens, short outs, quick slants or screens.

In other words, Trubisky was playing the position with one hand tied behind his back. For the duration of his first year, Bears fans were clamoring for the team to take the “training wheels” off to see what he could do. But they didn’t. Instead, Fox drilled deep into the recesses of Trubisky’s brain the importance of not making a big mistake.

Remember, Fox had delusions of saving his job and thought a good defense combined with a conservative offense could be enough to get it done. We all know how misguided that thought was, but it still had an effect on Trubisky. This young, impressionable quarterback with a total of thirteen college starts coming into that year was molded to be cautious and risk-averse.

That offseason Fox was mercifully fired, and the Bears brought in an offensive innovator in Matt Nagy who immediately went to work trying to reprogram Trubisky’s brain. However, in addition to washing the “Fox stink” off of Trubisky, he also had to help the inexperienced quarterback learn a new, complicated offense with new wide receivers. No easy task to be sure.

Now, with an entire season (and offseason) of Matt Nagy tutelage under his belt, Trubisky can begin to take the next step in that progression, which includes experimenting with his outer boundaries as a quarterback. In other words, the training wheels are coming off and both Nagy and Trubisky are seeing what they can get away with.

Consequently, he is making more “mistakes” than fans and many in the media are comfortable with. He is testing the limits and throwing more interceptions.

Interestingly enough, last offseason, there was another young quarterback in his second year of an Andy Reid offense who threw a ton of interceptions in training camp — and then Patrick Mahomes went on to win the MVP.

While Trubisky may not win the MVP this year, the point is the interception talk is overblown.

Trubisky is the most over-scrutinized quarterback in the NFL and in a quarterback starved town like Chicago, his every move will be dissected more than a medical school cadaver. But the point is other quarterbacks throw interceptions in training camp and go on to do great things in the regular season. Why? Because results don’t really matter in training camp.

Take a look at the following two quotes:

"“I want him to test the offense . . . If you don’t have the intestinal fortitude to go test it you’re going to be one of those quarterbacks who checks it down every time. That’s not what it’s all about. When he does make a mistake he comes back and he can talk to you about it.”"

"“We have big picture. There’s going to be some balls in here, there’s interceptions. We don’t get frustrated over that. We’re testing some things out. That’s your guys’ job — to be critical of him and me. We know how to balance that. We know what’s real and what’s not real. That’s what we do.”"

They look similar, don’t they? Well, they should. The first was Andy Reid talking about Patrick Mahomes during training camp last year. The second was Matt Nagy (Reid’s protege) talking about Trubisky this training camp. The two quotes are eerily similar. It just goes to show that looking only at the end result of a play can be fool’s gold. It’s why definitive statements about Trubisky at this point should be summarily dismissed.

This camp is really about Trubisky making incremental, continued progress. So if Nagy and staff feel he’s doing that, then that’s all that matters. Evaluating each practice or each throw will drive you nuts and won’t answer the question whether Trubisky will be ready for Week 1.

So between now and opening night against the Green Bay Packers, try to keep an open mind and take these reports with a grain of salt. The training wheels have come off and Trubisky is finally learning to ride. While he may endure a few skinned knees along the way, the Bears are hoping the end result is a tour de force that rips through the NFL. After all, there is a recent precedent.