“A Lot of Guys Look Up To” Mitch Trubisky, Who Will Let His “Freak Flag” Fly and Other Bullets

Only eight weeks until our first NFL Sunday. Let’s get this show on the road already!

  • Bears right guard Kyle Long has been making the media rounds and it has me absolutely pumped about the Chicago Bears’ new direction. Long recently joined NFL Network’s Total Access program to let the world know that Head Coach Matt Nagy is ready to allow Mitch Trubisky to live his life and let his inner-child out. “I can only envision a 3-year-old Mitch Trubisky riding around on training wheels being pissed off because he wants to go over the jumps and he wants to do all the tricks like the big kids are doing. Because that’s who Mitch is. He’s a kid, but he can roll with the big guys,” Long said. “That’s when he’s going to do this [season], and be able to have some freedom and creativity. We really respect that about coach Nagy. He’s really letting [Trubisky] fly his freak flag.”
  • A healthy Long will go a long way toward seeing how much Trubisky can grow in his second season, and I think the three-time Pro Bowler recognizes that. “My job is to protect him and just allow him to continue to develop and feel comfortable in the locker room,” Long said, via the Sporting News. “He’s a leader in our locker room and someone a lot of the guys look up to.”
  • That’s high praise from a veteran leader who will be playing for his third different head coach since being drafted by the Bears in 2013. Long cited the old regime’s over-protective nature when it came to Trubisky’s rookie-year development, but also made sure to note things are changing (for the better) under new management.
  • I can’t stress enough about the importance of the offensive line in the grand scheme of things. Five players working as one really hold the keys to the Bears’ offense taking off and living up to some lofty expectations. If Long isn’t the most important member of that group, he’s probably second on the chain of command. The Bears had a revolving door at right guard when Long went down for the season and the team missed the stability (and excellence) he brought to the table.
  • Because I’m yearning for some Trubisky throws, here are some highlights from my favorite game:
  • And for good measure, here’s something the Packers can find themselves looking forward to in September:
  • Well, that’s one way to look at it:
  • Eddie Jackson is the youngest player on what is arguably the Bears’ strongest position group and seems to be primed to follow up a strong rookie season with a breakout campaign. Roy Anderson, who serves as an assistant coach for Bears defensive backs, shared some high praise of Jackson with Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune. “A rookie, you just want them to be vocal,” Anderson said of Jackson. “Not saying they have to be a rah-rah type of guy, but you definitely want them to be a quarterback. He showed he can do that.”
  • Jackson single-handedly winning a game with two defensive touchdowns put him on the map, but coaches noting he does other things well hints at the sky being the limit for a player who could turn out to be an absolute steal considering where he was drafted in the fourth round.
  • Defense wins championships, am I right?
  • Yeah, let’s not sleep on Adrian Amos:
  • written by

    Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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