Gabriel’s Motivation, Mack Coaches ‘Em Up, Fun With Trubisky’s Stats, and Other Bullets

Nov 03, 2018

I’m dipping my toes into new waters tonight as I’ll be playing the role of DJ an engagement dinner. It will be a first for me. Think any one will mind if I bust out “Bear Down Chicago Bears” at some point in the evening?

Do you remember watching cartoons growing up and a light bulb would pop up above someone’s head when a brilliant thought would come to mind. Watching this Taylor Gabriel profile did that for me:

It hit me when Gabriel said: “Every time I’m on the field I want to prove something wrong.” That is essentially the spirit of the 2018 Chicago Bears, a team many didn’t expect to be as competitive as they are and one full of players wanting to prove how good they are to themselves, each other, and others watching. Everyone has different motivating factors, but this one really captures the essence of the 2018 Bears.

This seems better than bad:

#Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky started the season with only 2 TD passes in his first 3 games.

He has since passed for 13 TDs in his past 4 games.

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) November 2, 2018

I know the default response is about how six of those touchdowns came in the Week 4 win against the Buccaneers. Even if you take those out of the equation, we’re looking at three straight weeks in which Trubisky has thrown at least two touchdowns. Those three performances average out to 289 yards, 2 touchdowns, six rushing attempts, and 60 yards on the ground. You’d like to see the Bears be 2-1 instead of 1-2 in those games, which would probably change the big-picture narrative of how Trubisky’s development is going at this point.

FUN WITH SMALL SAMPLES: If you were to extrapolate Trubisky’s last three games over the course of a 16-game season, his numbers would look video-game crazy: 4,635 passing yards, 37 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 107 rushes, 955 yards, and 5 rushing scores to go along with a 93.3 passer rating. Uh, where can I sign up to lock in that type of production?

Khalil Mack missed the first game of his career last week, which gave him a different perspective on the game:

I can’t imagine the stark contrast for Mack having to watch a game from the sidelines when he is so used to being out there. Mack talked out feeling like a coach, giving feedback and insight when he could. Oftentimes, the best players are those who lead by example. But when that guy can lead by example and instruct, that’s a game-changer. We have raved about what Mack has brought to the table from a defensive standpoint, but perhaps we should speak up about his leadership skills.

The Bears still haven’t ruled Mack out of Sunday’s game and I’m curious if he will be pushing to give it a go this week. Logically, you would think the Bears would proceed with caution, let him rest another week, and prepare to unleash him in Week 10 when the team starts a three-game stretch in 11 days against a pair of NFC North foes. But Mack played his college ball at the University of Buffalo and I bet he might feel some type of way about returning to a place where he made an impact. The smart move would probably be to sit Mack out another week, but I can’t rule out the potential of emotions pushing him to play. Then again, I don’t think Mack or the Bears would green-light his return if he wasn’t ready to play. I guess we’ll have to wait it out.

Allen Robinson’s view on being out is exactly what you’d expect from a player who is coming off a season in which he missed all but a handful of snaps:

.@AllenRobinson: "Being sidelined is probably the worst thing in sports." pic.twitter.com/yo1O3jRN9n

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 2, 2018

Bleacher Report college football/NFL Draft guru Matt Miller opens up his scouting notebook to discuss the upcoming Alabama-LSU game, which he views as a scout’s dream. This SEC showdown is brimming with pro-level talent and could be a showcase game for many upperclassmen who will enter this year’s draft. In addition to that, there could be some notable Class of 2020 prospects who could have breakout games. That could make this contest additionally interesting for the Bears, who don’t have a first-round pick in either of the next two drafts, but could be sitting pretty with a high pick if the Raiders’ tear-down and rebuild job bleeds over into next season.

written by

Luis C. Medina

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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