Chicago Bears: Mitchell Trubisky’s telling comment in press conference

Did Chicago Bears’ quarterback Mitchell Trubisky make some telling comments in his press conference?

Twitter lit up after the Chicago Bears‘ quarterback Mitchell Trubisky spoke to reporters on Wednesday. The buzz was that Trubisky seemed to have a different “edge” to him, seemingly more serious and focused. He gave many short, terse responses, even interrupting reporters’ questions at times to answer.

Who knows whether any of that will matter come Sunday when he suits up to take on the Los Angeles Chargers, and we’re not here to dissect his body language, but sometimes it just takes something minor to get a player going, so perhaps it will help.

However, what was more revealing to me, were some of his comments toward the beginning of the presser. Starting around the 1:00 mark of the press conference, Trubisky was asked about the fact that he has fewer running opportunities this season than last.

Through four games played, Trubisky has just five total rushes. Compare that to his first four games from last year when he rushed 17 times. That is a precipitous drop and one that has been very noticeable.

So what’s the reason for the decrease? Well according to Trubisky, he’s “trying to be a pass-first guy.” However, in responding to the reporter’s question, it came across as him making a concerted effort to throw rather than run, when instead, he should simply be taking what the defense is giving him.

Look, a quarterback’s primary responsibility is to throw the ball, so I get his desire to not want to drop his eyes too quickly and take off. But that’s not what we’ve seen this year. Instead, we’ve seen instances where it’s clear nothing is open, and yet instead of taking off, he panics in the pocket with happy feet.

This needs to change quickly if the Bears want to turn their offense around. Mitch has to understand that using your feet to extend drives and churn out positive yardage shouldn’t be seen as an indictment of him as a “thrower.” Rather, it’s an opportunity to build and keep momentum, as well as your defense off the field. It’s a way to be good enough on offense, while still allowing Mitch to learn and develop on the fly.

It’s not reasonable to expect a player with such limited college experience to transition in the NFL from a quarterback who uses his feet to a pure pocket passer in just a few years. That kind of progression should take place over a number of years. So if the Bears are trying to get him to switch cold-turkey, then shame on them. Let him be who he is for now, and gradually turn him into who he needs to be over time — because who he is can be enough for this team offensively.