The Chicago Bears are undoubtedly happy that Mitch Trubisky will return today after missing most of the past two games with a left shoulder injury. At the same time, they sound like a team that is a little bit nervous too. Why? Mostly because they've been down this road before. Last season, Trubisky suffered a similar shoulder injury that also knocked him out for two games. When he returned, the quarterback delivered arguably his worst performance as a pro, finishing with just 110 yards and three interceptions against the Los Angeles Rams.
Head coach Matt Nagy even referenced that game as a reason why he wasn't quite ready to declare Trubisky a lock to play against the New Orleans Saints. He wanted to make sure he used every single moment of practice to ensure his quarterback felt right. Though the injury this time is to his non-throwing shoulder, Trubisky would have to wear a harness in order to protect it. While effective, these pieces of equipment are known for being somewhat restrictive to full motion.
That combined with going against a pretty good Saints defense undoubtedly has people nervous about what to expect. So this leads to an important question. Is there a reason Trubisky played so poorly against the Rams and does a solution to preventing it from happening again? The answer is yes to both.
Bears need to ease Mitch Trubisky in this time
Few things set the tone of a football game more than the first offensive drive. Last November, the Bears clearly had an objective in mind. They wanted to get Trubisky in a rhythm right away. So what did they do? They had him drop back to pass on six of the first eight plays. After completing his first two throws for minus one yard, Trubisky tried to take a shot on 2nd and 15 down the field. He overthrew it and the pass was intercepted. That pretty much set the tone for the entire game.
The next drive was considerably different. Three of their first five plays were runs with Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen. Every pass Trubisky attempted was of the shorter, quicker variety and the offense moved down the field to secure a 39-yard field goal. Unfortunately, that commitment to the run didn't last. While the Bears did try to sprinkle it in often throughout the first half, their stubborn attempts to have Trubisky throw continued. As a result, he was intercepted again before the end of the first half.
So on their first drive of the second?
They ran the ball on four of their first six plays and got it down into the red zone. A clever trick play from Trubisky to Bradley Sowell put it in the end zone for a touchdown. That should be the clearest indication of what the Bears need to do against the Saints. As much as they'd like to get Trubisky in a rhythm throwing right away, they must be smart. Their objective should be to commit to running the ball and not allowing that strong Saints pass rush to zero in on their quarterback.
It might not yield the explosive results Nagy is looking for, but it's still a necessity under the current circumstances.
