NEWSLETTER
I would be hesitant to call myself a hoarder, but I’d understand where you’d be coming from if you wanted to put that label on me.
When I was younger, I collected baseball cards en masse. As I grew older, other things would get stashed. Everything from mixtape CDs, to old newspapers, to Christmas cards from years ago, and more. I attach myself easily (especially to things that give me even the smallest amount of joy) so things tend to pile up at my house. My stashes haven’t gone away in the digital era. In fact, these days I find myself stashing away articles, stories, quotes, and tweets for use on a later day. And today is one of those days where I have found one of my stashed nuggets that’s worth sharing.
Stacey Dales (NFL Network) spent some time embedded with the Chicago Bears at minicamp back in June. And on an appearance on the Rich Wisen Show, Dales shared a perspective on quarterback Mitch Trubisky that I wanted to put a pin in and save for a later date. Here is the quote:
“Trubisky has this team humbly in the palm of his hand. He’s so awesome, Rich. He’s such a great guy. His teammates just love him, and he’s humble. He’s like one of the guys. Tom Brady is one of the guys. They want to play hard for him. His offensive line wants to block for the runners, block for Trubisky, and pass protect for Trubisky. It’s just a really neat thing to watch when that culture thing works.”
There is a lot to digest there, but what stands out is that Trubisky has the respect of his teammates in a big way. Frankly, I can’t remember the last time a Bears quarterback was talked about in that manner and it feels like a big deal that Trubisky is feeling that love.
There isn’t a metric for getting football players to play for one another, but a cohesive team is one of those things that takes a collection of 53 men to another level. Unfortunately, there isn’t a number for it that can show the value, but Bears fans of a certain age who watched the two-year Marc Trestman era know what it looks like when 53 players (not to mention the coaching staff) are all going in different directions.
In The Athletic’s quarterback tier rankings, Trubisky checked in among a group of average quarterbacks. HOWEVER, an anonymous offensive coordinator told The Athletic (emphasis mine): “His production is not great, but I think he has the ability. I think he is going to get better. He has what you need in terms of leadership at that position.” If Trubisky has the ever-so-valuable leadership stuff down pat, the only thing left to do is to work on getting his production to match his talent and upside. It’s not an easy task, but neither is earning the respect of the locker room as a young quarterback.
To be clear, there is a lot to be made about Trubisky the quarterback. Everything from his decision-making, mechanics, and overall production needs to be discussed as we head into his third season as a pro. And while we’ll get to it in due time, one thing I don’t think get accounted for enough are the intangibles he brings to the table. Knowing what we know about how past quarterbacks didn’t have “it” when they were under center in Chicago, perhaps we should appreciate when one does have “it.”
Dales also gushed about Head Coach Matt Nagy as part of her interview with Eisen, which you can watch more of below:
"Twelve wins isn't good enough in the #NFL." –@nflnetwork @StaceyDales spent time at #Bears minicamp this spring and told us expectations are high in Chicago for 2019: pic.twitter.com/oLGM26xf9c
— Rich Eisen Show (@RichEisenShow) June 17, 2019
