Mitchell Trubisky’s high school quarterbacks coach, Nes Janiak, offered some wisdom a few years back that’s stuck with the newly-named Bears starting quarterback: Pressure is what happens when you’re not prepared for something.
So going into Trubisky’s first career start, in front of a primetime Monday Night Football audience next week, he’s not expecting the moment will be too big for him.
“You only get nervous or feel pressure when you’re not prepared for the situation or you don’t know what you’re doing,” Trubisky said. “So my job is to just study the game plan and once I get in there just go back to my instincts, play the game I know how to play. I’ve been playing this game for a long time, so I’m going to go in there and be myself and the pressure shouldn’t be anything what everyone else makes it out to be. So I’ll just go out there and try to have fun.”
That’s a fresh approach for a player who will make his NFL debut with the weight of the Bears’ franchise on his shoulders. This organization hasn’t had a quarterback like Trubisky in a while, maybe ever. The long-term expectations for him are lofty, but that’s why the Bears traded up to draft him with the No. 2 overall pick in April.
For the 2017 Bears, though, the switch from Mike Glennon to Trubisky represents an opportunity for the entire offense to hit the reset button after four mostly sloppy games to begin the season. Beyond Glennon’s eight turnovers, the Bears offense seemed restrained with him at quarterback — he wasn’t mobile and wasn’t able to push the ball downfield, allowing opposing defenses (except, oddly, the Pittsburgh Steelers) to load up the box and sell out to stop running back Jordan Howard.
“Opportunity,” wide receiver Markus Wheaton said of what Trubisky brings to the offense. “With him being mobile, obviously there will be a lot of scramble plays, a lot more scramble plays than we had with Mike. More opportunity for us to get open.”
Trubisky said the Bears’ offense will be more basic than it was under Glennon, which hardly sounds like a bad thing. “Basic” will involve moving the pocket and allowing Trubisky to throw on the run, which could in turn prevent defenses from crowding eight men in the box to stop the run game. Either way, “basic” should look more dynamic than what the Bears’ offense was in September.
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“It’s kind of a gunslinger’s mentality,” Trubisky said. “It’s being methodical, staying within the offense, being consistent and doing my job. And then when things break down, I’m able to make plays and again get the ball to my playmakers, because I’m not the best athlete on the field. There are other guys who do that. But when things can break down I can maybe make something happen.”
This is an exciting time not only for fans, but for players, coaches, front office personnel and the entire Bears organization. The future of the franchise is getting his first crack at changing the franchise. Let the Mitchell Trubisky era begin.
“He’s a baller,” wide receiver Josh Bellamy said. “We can’t wait to see him Monday.”