It’s one thing for us to be excited about Mitch Trubisky’s upcoming debut, and it’s another when you read and hear the excitement coming from his teammates.
But what about hearing it from one of his long-time rivals?
ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson writes Kareem Hunt, the Kansas City Chiefs rookie running back who has taken the league by storm, has a friendship with Trubisky that predates the Bears rookie’s rise to being the No. 2 overall pick and a potential face of the franchise quarterback. You see, Hunt and Trubisky grew up one town apart in Ohio and were rivals in youth football. So if anyone can vouch for Trubisky’s bright future, it might be a player who saw it from a competitor’s point of view.
“I just remember him being a tremendous athlete, a playmaker and just a great person too,” Hunt told ESPN. “He threw the ball a little bit and he had some big plays. But I remember he always led his team far and was a winner.”
If Trubisky can be as productive as Hunt has been in his first four games as a rookie, then maybe the idea of the Bears being .500 by the time the bye week comes isn’t as crazy as you’d otherwise think.
One group that should know what Trubisky brings to the table is the Bears’ starting defensive backs, who squared off against the rookie when he was running the scout team. Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic talks with members of the Bears secondary and picks their brains prior to Monday’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Fellow rookie Eddie Jackson sees Trubisky as more advanced than other quarterbacks in a similar situation, while veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara sees a special kind of competitive fire. “He’s competing in scout. He’s not just throwing picks to the DBs,” Amukamara said. “He’s really trying to toast us and trying to score. We like that out of him.”
Hopefully, Trubisky can carry that experience into his prime-time debut. One way he can do that is by being a man on the move. Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times writes Trubisky’s athleticism and mobility is expected to change the complexion of the Bears offense. Dump-off passes in the flat and below the sticks aside, the Mike Glennon-led offense had grown stagnant, in part, because opposing defenses didn’t have to account for a quarterback who can move the pocket and create different throwing windows.
Jahns also notes the Bears ran play-action plays at a 12.8 percent clip when Glennon dropped back to pass, which represented the third-lowest rate among quarterbacks according to Pro Football Focus data. That number is expected to take a jump with Trubisky manning the quarterback position now.
On the other side of the field, Jon Gruden tells Pro Football Weekly’s Eric Edholm he doesn’t expect Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford to play on Monday Night Football. Bradford practiced on Thursday and Friday, but was limited as he recovers from a knee injury. “I think the common sense is, personally I think [Bradford is] a week away,” Gruden told PFW. “It seemed like he was limited on the practice field. … I just think it’s another week before we see him.” Gruden thought back to his days as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach, noting quarterback Brad Johnson missed a handful of games during the team’s Super Bowl season. Johnson’s absence led to a different distribution of practice reps, which is something Minnesota is dealing with as it balances preparing Bradford and backup Case Keenum.
It was only a year ago when the 5-1 Vikings came into Soldier Field and were handed a defeat by the 1-6 Bears on Monday Night Football. You can expect the unexpected with these long-time rivals, but it’s worth noting the Bears are 5-1 in home games against the Vikings since 2011. Dean Spiros of FanRag Sports offers up three ways for the Vikings to buck the trend and pick up a rare road win in Chicago.
The Bears have a little candy fun:
You want 'em Bears? You gotta guess 'em.Thanks to our friends at Starburst for the juicy gift.
Posted by Chicago Bears on Friday, October 6, 2017
There’s no way I’m the only one who would be interested in watching Tarik Cohen run Sunday’s Chicago Marathon. Just imagine him juking and slipping his way through runners:
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/916656931271561216
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