NEWSLETTER
If you haven’t loved what you have seen from Mitch Trubisky in 2019, just know you are not alone.
In fact, Trubisky is in your corner.
After losing last week’s game against the Chargers, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy had Trubisky watch Bears-Chargers tape — but with a twist. Trubisky had to watch the television re-broadcast. An interesting wrinkle, to be sure. So what did Trubisky glean from the re-watch? In short, he saw something he didn’t like.
“It was mostly just like a guy who looks super serious, kind of tense,” Trubisky said, via SI.com’s Kalyn Kahler. “And that’s really not me. Especially when you’re going out on the field and playing the game you love. You should be out there having fun, which I usually am. But I’m not showing that.”
There hasn’t been much fun to be had when Trubisky has been orchestrating the offense. And while there are several “F” words I would use to describe Nagy’s offense to this point of the season, “fun” wouldn’t be one of them.
But back to what Trubisky said about what he saw from himself as a quarterback, if only because he is seeing what everyone else has seen so far this season. Trubisky has looked tense, stressed, robotic, and fearful of making a mistake. That isn’t how football should be played. And that is certainly not how the quarterback position should be played, either. And while I would fall short of saying that playing loose and fun *IS* the cure to what ails Trubisky, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he plays his best when improvising, playing on the move, and making things happen off-script.
We have talked about scaling things back and making it simple for Trubisky. But perhaps it needs to be dialed down to the basics of going out and playing some back-yard type of football. And because nothing else has worked to this point, the Bears might as well give this a shot.
Let the games begin!
Game Info
Chicago Bears (3-4, 4th NFC North) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-4, 2nd NFC East), noon CT, FOX-TV (Dick Stockton, Mark Schlereth, Jennifer Hale), WBBM-AM 780 and WCFS-FM 105.9 (Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, Mark Grote), ESPN Radio (Adam Amin, Jack Del Rio, Sal Paolantonio)
Odds: Eagles (-5), Over/Under 41, via the Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas.
Game Thread and Week 9 Preview
Your game thread is down in the comments, so let’s have some good, clean (safe-for-work) fun. And hopefully, the Bears can get off this awful, awful losing streak.
Your Week 9 Preview lives here.
Coaches
Matt Nagy (15-8) vs. Doug Pederson (33-23)
Starting Quarterbacks
Bears: Mitch Trubisky
Last week vs. Chargers: 23-35 (65.71%), 253 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 75.1 rating
versus
Eagles: Carson Wentz
Last week at Bills: 17-24 (70.83%), 172 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 104.9 rating
Bears Inactives:
Inactives for #CHIvsPHI: pic.twitter.com/UaE8S8ExY4
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 3, 2019
A healthy scratch for safety Deon Bush is an unexpected development.
Bears Expected Offensive Starters
Bears Expected Defensive Starters
Bears Specialists
Eagles Inactives:
#CHIvsPHI Inactives pic.twitter.com/QO3l5ACiPM
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) November 3, 2019
