Chicago Bears Mailbag: The Trubisky panic, Harrison Smith and more
By Erik Lambert
The Chicago Bears mailbag is back, and this time it comes off the team’s first win of the 2018 season in a 24-17 triumph over Seattle.
It’s apparent that things are headed in the right direction but there is still plenty for them to work on, particularly on offense. The coaches don’t seem too concerned about it. They understand that this is a process and one that requires patience and persistence. Fans though are all about results. They’ve been starved for a winner going on eight years now. When can they finally elevate their expectations? Find that out and more.
@bigfliip - how much does Mitch have to improve for this team, with this defense, to be perennial contenders?
The quality of the Bears roster is substantially improved from where it was even last years, let alone a couple years ago. The defense is on the doorstep of elite status and they have a talented supporting cast on offense. Trubisky doesn’t have to be a superstar in order for this team to win. I recall Trent Dilfer had a great line about his year with the Ravens in 2000.
"“We’re only trying to score 17 points here. If we score 17 points, we’re not going to lose.”"
Trubisky can have a similar mindset. He doesn’t have to be great, just good and put up a couple touchdowns each week. We’ll say around 20 points. If he does that, there’s a strong chance this team will win a lot of football games. Honestly? I think he’ll put up more than that by the end of the season.
@rbfrosty26 - After 2 weeks in this offense, what are the top 3 things Mitch needs to improve on?
The thing I’ve harped on the most by far is his footwork. Nearly all of his inaccurate throws over the past months can be directly attributed to his feet being in the wrong position when he let the ball go. It was evident again in the Seahawks game. Next is the pocket awareness. Too often I think he’s looking to run before he’s exhausted every progression on a passing play. He’s a great athlete but he’s going to take a beating if he keeps favoring the scramble like he has.
Lastly, and this is a personal thing with me. I’m hoping the coaches can get him to elevate his throwing motion. Mitch has a tendency to three-quarters his throws a lot, and this leads to a ton of tipped passes. One of which was intercepted on Monday Night. That wouldn’t happen as much if he threw with a more over-the-top motion.
@CrisxBaker - Is Mitchell Trubisky on a trend upward? Despite the two interceptions a good amount of reads he made were exceptional. But some (back endzone corner into double coverage) were iffy.
Trubisky is progressing exactly as one should expect. He’s still technically in his first season starting. Monday night was his 14th career game in a Bears uniform and just his second in this new offense. There are going to be times he misreads a coverage and makes a bad decision like that. He doesn’t trust what he sees yet because he isn’t comfortable with the scheme. That said, he showed considerable improvement from week one to week two. He was more decisive on his throws and he weathered early struggles to produce a crucial touchdown late in the game.
@EliseoG05034857 - Appears to me that Trubisky lacks pocket presence. Is this something that can be coached or you just have to have it!
The majority of college quarterbacks these days don’t have a true pocket presence. They come from spread systems that are often designed to get the ball out fast and use athletes to run options and other such concepts. Few quarterbacks are truly asked to stand in the pocket for 2-3 seconds and survey the field. Trubisky is still getting over his college mindset to run when his first read isn’t there. It goes against his natural instinct. That takes time to adjust to for everybody.