Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy was so confident in the growth of his offense and his young quarterback this summer that he declared Mitch Trubisky a graduate of level 101 of his offense and onto level 202. He was a teacher more than a student.
Unfortunately, the first two weeks of the 2019 season haven't produced results that match that confidence. And of course, Nagy is searching for answers. In the meantime, he wants his players -- Trubisky included -- to ignore the outside noise.
"Making sure we have the earmuffs on and the blinders," Nagy said Thursday from Halas Hall. "And I say that. I mean that. It's hard in this world today because it's everywhere. People are talking and saying things, and when you're doing real well, everyone's all about it. When you're not doing well, everyone's all about it. So we have to make sure that we control what we can control and that's today's practice."
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Those earmuffs and blinders better fit just right this week. Chicago plays in front of a national audience in Week 3's Monday night matchup against the Redskins; the outside chatter will turn deafening if the offense struggles against one of the NFL's worst defenses.
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