The Bears just started to install their new offense, and Mitch Trubisky is already a fan of what new head coach Matt Nagy (and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich) has brought to Chicago.
Trubisky jumped on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” Program and offered up his thoughts on the new offense, the dual-threat running game (starring Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen), feelings regarding his first impressions of Matt Nagy, and what was going through his mind during the Bears’ free agency spending spree. We’ll share the highlights.
Trubisky has only a handful of days worth of experience in this offense, but already sounds comfortable and excited in a scheme he feels will get the best out of him. “The offense I want to run is the offense we’re installing right now. I really feel like I was built for this offense,” Trubisky said. “It’s dynamic, creative, and it’s also balanced. And that’s what you want.”
It also sounds nothing like what was run last year, so that’s a start and a sign that things are heading in the right direction. The coach-quarterback relationship is the most important in football, and it seems like the Nagy-Trubisky dynamic has gotten off on the right foot and the two seem to be connecting on another level. “First day of meetings, he had me ready to go,” Trubisky said of his new head coach. “He had me ready to play that first day.”
That can only mean good things for an offense that struggled to move the ball in 2017 and a quarterback who mastered the basics of running an NFL scheme. In his interview with GMFB, Trubisky comes off as eager to learn, but also confident that the offense is a great fit moving forward. “We’re going to be balanced, we’re going to play fast, we’re going to be dynamic, and we’re going to stretch the field every which way,” Trubisky explained. “I just feel like this offense is going to utilize my talents more and the players we have around me. I’m excited to keep diving in and keep working”
Trubisky talked about the offense’s plan, which includes getting the ball out quick (Pro Football Focus’ metrics suggested he didn’t have much time to throw in 2017), deceiving defenses (which is the antithesis of the basic, predictable offense Jordan Howard bemoaned earlier in the offseason), spread the field, and get it to playmakers.
Ah, yes. The playmakers. New faces at Halas Hall should make for a more dynamic offensive showing, and Trubisky seems pretty pumped about his new targets. But he also showed a soft spot for a pair of returning players who were productive last year and could show more in 2018 in a new offense. As excited as Trubisky sounds about playing in the new scheme, he seems equally geeked about what the offense could mean for running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. “They’re incredible playmakers, so any time you can you gotta get the ball in their hands whether it’s running or catching out of the backfield,” Trubisky said. “That’s really what this league has turned in to. You gotta have two guys who can carry it and catch it, and I think that’s what we have in those two guys. “
Obsessing over the obsession was a thing we were obsessed about tracking in the early stages of Phase 1 of the offseason training program. And it seems as if Nagy’s insistence has paid off, especially when hearing Trubisky talk about how he feels since hearing his new coach’s directive. “We’re playing for a special organization, it’s a privilege and an honor to wears this Bears uniform,” Trubisky said. “We just have to be obsessed with everything we do. Whether it’s studying the polaybook, in workouts, being a great teammate, and representing the city of Chicago really well. He’s definitely leading us in the right direction.”
NEWSLETTER
