Trubisky needs to emerge for Bears
If Mitchell Trubisky really is a special player, the kind a team trades up to draft No. 2 overall, it has to surface sometime.
The Chicago Bears have to hope that time is Sunday at Soldier Field, because even Khalil Mack and the fifth-ranked Chicago Bears defense could use some support against the league-leading Tampa Bay attack regardless of who throws the passes for the Buccaneers.
“Where am I at?” Trubisky said Wednesday, when asked about his comprehension of the offense. “I would say it varies between each play.”
Circumstances, defenses and the amount of repetitions Trubisky has had with a play determine his comfort level, and Trubisky puts the entire offense within this same framework because the players are all still going through coach Matt Nagy’s system for the first time.
“So we’re just going through this thing as a team and as an offense,” Trubisky said. “And there are definitely areas we need to get better at. Third down is always a key one. And definitely in the red zone stands out. So that’s going to be an emphasis for us this week and we just need to continue to get better.”
The Bears are 27th in red zone touchdown percentage. It’s been a problem leading to only four offensive touchdowns in three games. Trubisky’s passer rating of 77.8 is only a shade better than his 77.5 last year in a different offense.
Trubisky’s struggles have led Nagy to suggest he might consider simplifying the offensive game plan, now or in the future.
“It’s a lot,” Trubisky said about the offense. “So whatever they decide to put on my plate I have to study, I have to do my job on the field, and if they feel like we have to pull back this week or next week or whatever it is, and just simplify so we can play faster, they’re going to do what’s best for this offense and what they believe.”
There’s no reason to believe Trubisky is any less special than the Bears initially thought, according to Nagy.
“I know this: I know he made a special throw to Trey Burton on the deep cross the other day that not many quarterbacks in this league can make,” Nagy said. “And so I’ll take that as special.”
It might not be enough to satisfy some who look at Trubisky’s 4.9 yards net per pass attempt, or the fact he has only nine touchdown passes in 15 career starts.
“In this sport, at the quarterback position, there’s immense pressure, especially with a great team like we have here in the great city of Chicago,” Nagy said. “There are a lot of people and a lot of people that care, and so it’s easy to direct it at one person.
“And then you throw on top of that somebody that’s a high draft pick, that’s a lot of pressure. But that’s OK. This kid is willing to take anything and everything on. I want to make sure that he understands that there are so many parts to this offense that take time, and as long as I convey that to him, that the only thing he needs to worry about is what I tell him and how he’s going at our pace, that’s the only thing that matters.”
Nagy tried to shoulder some of the offensive blame. The former Kansas City offensive coordinator pointed out Trubisky is as new to the offense as Nagy is to being a head coach working with a different group of players.
“He’s where I thought he would be at,” Nagy said. “What I’m doing now is understanding what the plays are that he’s doing well with, that might have been different with me in the past.
“What’s neat is that there are concepts that weren’t as good to us in Kansas City that are good here, that are working. I’m learning that, and now those are the ones I’m going to start to go to because I see that. And vice versa — there’s some that we did well in Kansas City that might not be as efficient now. So I have to adjust to how I do that, and that’s OK.”
It’s all a case of the coach having his quarterback’s back, but there’s never been a doubt over it — at this point, anyway.
“He’s had my back and I love coach Nagy for that,” Trubisky said. “He’s just been very supportive.
“I believe in him and this process that we’re doing through and we’re going to have a breakthrough. Who knows when? But it’s going to come, and I believe in that.”
SERIES HISTORY: 59th regular-season meeting. Bears lead series, 38-20. Tampa Bay has won the last two, both at home, 29-7 and 36-10. The Bears’ last win was 26-21 in Tampa in 2015. The teams haven’t played in Chicago since a 21-13 Bears win on Nov. 23, 2014. The teams played twice a year when they were in the same division, the NFC Central, from 1977 to 2002.