Random (and not-so-random) thoughts on the new kid running the Bears’ huddle on Friday…
John Fox is rarely given to strong positives, let alone superlatives, over his two seasons as Bears coach – which made his take on rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky after just one no-pads, no-contact, limited-work practice at least a little worth noting.
“I think we put a lot of work into the evaluation and again saw a lot of the reasons why we decided to pick him where we did today,” Fox said after Friday’s opening practice for the Bears’ weekend rookie minicamp. “He’s very accurate, very smart, he’s got good football character, as far as transferring things from the meeting room to the field. And I think we saw that today.”
Whether he would say if he DIDN’T see the reasons drafting him high in the first round, hard to say. Maybe not. Maybe it would have been evident in his face (pout-face?), or by damning with faint praise.
This weekend Trubisky is with fellow rookies or fringe vets on tryouts, so if he looked “good,” he absolutely better have, and assigning it any kind of significance would be silly. He’ll still have to learn proper footwork under pressure, what “open receiver” really means at the NFL level, all of the little things that seem insignificant until one of them isn’t done right. Trubisky mishandled a couple of direct-snaps, not what he did much at North Carolina, but he also wasn’t working with anyone he’d ever taken a snap from before.
“Just getting with the new centers, getting that rhythm, getting that timing and chemistry,” Trubisky said by way of summary. “It’s all about getting better every day and working under center.”
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NFL
Whether trading up from No. 3 to No. 2, and whether Trubisky was the right guy to trade up for, will remain simmering what-if’s for some time to come.
Two AFC scouts revealed that they had the highest grade on Trubisky that they’d had on any quarterback over the past six years. That means: higher than Jameis Winston; higher than Marcus Mariota; higher than Cam Newton; higher than Russell Wilson; higher than Andrew Luck; higher than Derek Carr; higher than Carson Wentz.
The evaluation of one NFC regional scouting team was that “Trubisky is an almost perfect quarterback prospect” and that 'the Bears should count their lucky stars he only started 13 games because if he was a two-year starter, he goes 1/1 [overall No. 1] without hesitation.”
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The things that can be learned from watching a minicamp, particularly a rookie one, are minimal if for no other reason than some of the things that actually matter you really have no way of assessing.
Like how well, fast and thoroughly do these guys learn?
The Bears put Trubisky through a number of drills during their evaluations of him, not for purposes of teaching him anything specific, but rather to see how he reacts to new stuff, being made uncomfortable. “We had confirmation that he would be able to handle that stuff,” said offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, “and he would be able to get it quickly.”
Coaches altered the practice structure Friday expressly to put Trubisky in more passing situations, meaning making drops, reads, throws and all the rest. They again saw what they needed to, beyond the actual execution.
“We're having two 7-on-7 [passing sessions], so he's getting more reps that way,” Loggains said. “We gave him a big install, and he handled it. We wanted him to feel stressed a little bit and understand how different the game is and to this point right now he's responded well… .
“The expectations for him is to come in and develop as fast as possible. He gets a great opportunity to sit behind Mike Glennon; the guy’s a pro. [Trubisky] gets a chance to learn and grow in the system. Those are the only expectations, that he gets better every day.”