For the first time in a long time, it looks like the Chicago Bears have the edge at quarterback in a matchup against the Green Bay Packers. And at this point, the Bears will take any advantage they can get.
And yet, Trubisky knows he has much to improve.
“When my feet are right and my eyes are right, I’m on the money,” Trubisky said, via the Chicago Bears’ official website. “But when I change up or do the wrong footwork or my base isn’t good because of the rush in the pocket, that’s usually when the inaccuracies occur. Just continue to work on my base and my footwork and doing the right drops and have my eyes in the right spot and I’m usually on the money.”
Trubisky’s right in that he’s struggled when facing the heat. So far this season, he’s got a 42.7 passer rating against pressure and an 81.4 rating against the blitz (22nd among 34 qualifying quarterbacks leading into Week 9). Clearly, there’s room for improvement.
But despite some of the ugly numbers, Trubisky – who owns just a 47.5 percent completion rate and 66.2 passer rating – has been a playmaker for the Bears’ offense. According to PFF’s data, Trubisky had the third-best deep ball grade (127.1) and possessed the fifth-best big-time throw percentage (7.0%) entering Week 9.
And then there’s Hundley, who enters Bears-Packers week riding the waves of a three-game losing streak. Credit Hundley for completing more than two-thirds of his passes and throwing for more than 200 yards, two things Trubisky has yet to do in his NFL career. But his performance against the Detroit Lions was disappointing, especially considering that he and the offense had 15 days to prepare for their Monday Night Football showdown.
Hundley has better weapons to work with on the outside in Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, but Trubisky has louder tools – he’s just yet to harness and use them to put points on the board. It’s part of the balancing act Trubisky has yet to conquer as a rookie.
“I just need to be more efficient and continue to take care of the football, but be aggressive at the same time,” Trubisky said. “Make more plays for this offense while playing within the offense and being myself and continue to be a leader.”
The Bears’ offense has struggled to score points since Trubisky has taken over, but that was to be expected. Fox didn’t bench Mike Glennon for Trubisky because he felt the rookie was a miracle worker. Instead, Fox turned to Trubisky because the rookie gave the team a better chance to win than the turnover-prone veteran.
And to be sure, Trubisky doesn’t need to replicate Matthew Stafford’s Monday night stat line (26-33, 361 yards, 2 TD), to be successful (though that would be nice). Nor does he have to go toe-to-toe with with an all-time great and long-time Bears tormentor in his fifth career start. Instead, all Trubisky has to do is be better than Glennon was in Week 4 … and the quarterback starting opposite of him on Sunday whose name isn’t Aaron Rodgers.