Fun hasn’t been a word used to describe Chicago Bears football in recent years, but Head Coach Matt Nagy is here to turn the team’s offense on its ear. And of course, it starts with the quarterback.
“We’re going to have some fun with him. We’re going to let him cut it loose. He’s going to live and learn a little bit. And that’s OK. It’s good for him,” Nagy said, via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. “There’s going to be some scars that he gets. But I just want him to be him. Be Mitch. Be the best Mitch you can possibly be. Know we got your back and we support you. Cut it loose, have fun and let’s go win some games.”
If the concept of cutting loose and having fun in an attempt to win games feels like the total opposite of what we experienced last year, it’s because it is the polar opposite of the play-not-to-lose game-calling employed by Dowell Loggains when he was the offensive coordinator under John Fox.
Trubisky has made more risky throws in camp than he did all of last season when his offense was fit with training wheels from the get-go. OK, that might be a bit of hyperbole … but it certainly feels like Trubisky is taking more shots down the field. And there is nothing wrong with that. Trubisky should be throwing into double coverage right now as he tests his abilities against a defense that finished in the top-10 in scoring and yardage, and also returns each of its starting secondary members. The time is now for Trubisky to throw into double-coverage, try to squeeze a ball into a tight window, throw something that brings a high-risk, high-reward situation to the table. It’s better that Trubisky do it now and build a risk calculus now rather than try and do so during games of consequence.
So if you see Trubisky at camp get picked off, just breathe. This is all part of the process that Nagy has installed in order to mold the quarterback into his best possible self, which is something that simply couldn’t happen when Loggains was running the show. Because not only were the Bears risk averse, they were risk allergic. And frankly, there’s nothing wrong with a little trial by fire in training camp.