Near the end of September, new Bears coach Matt Nagy said it would take time for his new players to get up to speed with a new offense. It’s the middle of November, and Nagy surely likes what he sees.
Led by quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the offense is gaining confidence and, in turn, getting better. Trubisky addressed the performance of the offense with PFT by phone after Sunday’s win over the Lions.
Trubisky said that the improvement from 3-3 to 6-3 flows from the level of belief in the locker room, and from the fact that the players believe in the process and each other.
“We’re growing as an offense and as a whole team,” Trubisky said. “It’s about being not complacent.”
Earlier this year, Nagy said the playbook was limited by the inexperience of the players, particularly Trubisky. Nine games in, that’s not the case.
“We’re a lot farther along in the playbook,” Trubisky said, “and we’re using all of our weapons.”
Trubisky continues to push himself to get better, constantly criticizing his own game. He said that he has worked on being more consistent with his eyes and footwork in the pocket, and that he’ll continue to look for weaknesses that he can address.
His self-critiques happen without paying attention to external critiques. Asked about the harsh assessment of his play from former NFL executive Mike Lombardi, Trubisky initially said, “I’m not sure who that is.” Trubisky then said that he liked the fact that his teammates came to his defense.
Defense has been the identify of the Bears for years. With Trubisky, the Bears could be on the verge of an offensive renaissance the like of which they haven’t seen since the days of Sid Luckman.