Matt Nagy Says Trubisky Has Mastered the True Key to His Ascent

Head coach Matt Nagy has heard all the concerns about Mitch Trubisky. While he understands them, it doesn't mean he agrees with them. He knows better than anybody where his young quarterback is in terms of development. Time and again he's assured people that Trubisky is progressing exactly as planned. Yet the constant reports out of training camp are that the Bears QB is inconsistent and not showing signs of progress.

This despite an open admission from assistant coaches that Trubisky is instructed to take more chances with the ball in practice. Try to see what he can get away with. Nevermind he's doing it against the best defense in the NFL on a daily basis. Expecting perfection under such conditions is unrealistic. People watching may see Trubisky make what appears to be a bad decision throwing into tight coverage. They can't tell if it was that or if he was doing so because his coaches told him to.

That isn't where Nagy is judging his progress anyway. He knows that the vital key to successful quarterback play comes in mental processing. The ability to read what defenses are trying to do pre-snap, and then making adjustments to take advantage of it. According to Tom Pelissaro of NFL Network, this is where the Bears head coach has seen the most progress out of Trubisky.

Matt Nagy wants Trubisky in total command on the field

One of the things that Nagy did from the start of training camp was to give Trubisky more freedom. That is to say, he ran offensive series at times and also film meetings. The idea behind it was to have the young quarterback learn to seize control of how he wants the offense to run. Nagy may call the plays, but it's Trubisky's job to recognize whether they'll work when they're called. He couldn't do that a lot in 2018 because he was too busy just trying to make sure he executed the play called.

Now he has a far better understanding of what he's looking at from disguised blitzes to man or zone coverages to where the mismatches can be found. Does he need to get the ball out fast? Where is his hot read? Should he check into a run play to take advantage of a less crowded box? These things and more are what a quarterback must know at all times if he wants to be successful. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, and Matt Ryan are some of the best in the league at this art.

If Nagy is correct and Trubisky has taken a big step forward at it, then the Bears offense is that much better prepared for 2019. The thing to remember is he doesn't have to be perfect. This is a good football team with talent everywhere. All he has to do is not get careless with the ball and make enough positive plays to win.