Bears' Belief in Mitchell Trubisky Solid As Wild Rumors Explode
Once the snowball of speculation gets rolling, it's difficult to stop.
In a week and a half since Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace made it clear they expect Mitchell Trubisky to improve and will provide help and competition bring it out of him, speculators have been busy trying to roll more snowballs downhill.
There have been Andy Dalton reports, more Derek Carr speculation, a Case Keenum assumption and even a false claim team reps had dinner Wednesday with retired Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
And then there is the completely ridiculous.
Former NFL player James Jones said on NFL Network only quarterback is holding back the Bears from being a Super Bowl contender and simply by obtaining Derek Carr, a quarterback who has never made a playoff appearance, they could be back in the Super Bowl talk. This is a quarterback who only elevated one team to a winning record in his six NFL seasons. At least Trubisky has been in the playoffs and actually put the Bears in position to win the game.
All the theorizing and wild guesses are only going to get worse before the March 16 free agency negotiating period begins, but in the meantime the only concrete certainty is the Bears believe Trubisky is going to be better.
A healthy Trubisky might have beaten the Raiders last year, a better Trubisky might have beaten the Chargers, Rams or even the Packers once. Then the Bears are in the playoffs and no one except Michael Lombardi and Pro Football Focus is complaining about him.
The Bears see the next quarterback they obtain as an insurance policy because they still believe in Trubisky, and not because they're just planning to dump him. These are their reasons for thinking this:
1. He'll Have Better Run Support
They finished 29th in yards per rushing attempt last year. They were only slightly better at 27th in 2018. Trubisky was at his best against Dallas and Minnesota at season's end when he had a viable running game on his side and it's always been this way. The running back to make it work is in place. With a new offensive line coach and changes being made in line personnel and to the blocking system, the Bears have to be hopeful they can kick-start the running game to help Trubisky. It wouldn't hurt if Trubisky improves at quickly processing plays, as well. He ran for 228 more yards on 20 more attempts in 2018 than last year, and the impact of this yeardage was huge.
2. They Will Be Better at Tight End
The tight end is a quarterback's best friend, and in this offense it's especially the case. Pace pointed out so much of the offense runs through the U-tight end in the Bears offense and they had pinned their hopes on an injured Trey Burton last year. Burton may or may not be healthier. Either way they appear serious about adding another tight end in free agency or the draft who can make an impact as a mismatch maker.
3. Trubisky Will Be Coached Better
Trubisky's footwork and ability to see the field were constantly being cited by coaches as a problem last year and new quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo has a far better track record than Dave Ragone. They think he'll improve Trubisky's fundamentals. DeFilippo won a Super Bowl coaching up a backup quarterback in Philadelphia. Improved fundamentals could finally make Trubisky the more accurate deep passer Pace envisioned on Draft day, 2017. Last year as offensive coordinator in Jacksonville, he helped elevate rookie Gardner Minshew.
"What I see in him is somebody, and to each their own, but he's a guy that comes in as a quarterback coach that's going to be real big with drill work with fundamentals, with really seeing the field," Nagy said. "And we talked about that with Mitch, with processing, with being able to understand that he's an expert in that.
"And that's no slight to (Ragone) because Dave's in a great role now, of schematically, in the passing game. But sometimes for all of us, if you hear a new voice that can help, and Flip, I like his aggressiveness as a teacher."
4. He'll Be Pushed
Trubisky never has been said to get complacent, but with only Chase Daniel behind him there was no real concern about losing his job. No matter how good a competitor someone is, the sense of urgency has to heighten if someone capable is behind them. The capability of these potential backups is open to debate. There are those who see Dalton as a better starter than Trubisky from Day 1, or people like Jones who saw Super Bowl contention for the Bears using Carr, a quarterback who hasn't been in a playoff game. Keenum might not be viewed as he was two years ago, but did take a team within a win of the Super Bowl. Regardless, with any of those three it's certain he would be receiving real job competition.
5. He Has Been Better
When Trubisky had just a healthy Burton, a slightly better running game and wasn't yet pushed for his job, he already was better in 2018. This is the base line they know he can reach by improving, but should be even better.
6 Time
Pace keeps pointing out how different quarterbacks make strides at different rates, and cited his experience with being around Drew Brees as a passer who blossomed into a certain Hall of Fame passer after a very slow start. The Bears simply believe it will finally be time when everything Trubisky has learned takes hold.
Are they right in all these beliefs?
Well, they do make more sense than expecting a team to be saved by an old NFL quarterback who was seen having dinner somewhere.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
