This Is One Mitch Trubisky Concern Matt Nagy Has To Fix

There are so many reasons to believe that Mitch Trubisky has a bright future in the NFL. He's an athletic, talented thrower of the football. He's accurate and displays a tireless work ethic that is required to excel at the quarterback position. Now he also has a long list of weapons and a new coaching staff filled with innovative and experienced minds. None more so than the man in charge, Matt Nagy. While there are plenty of positives for Nagy to work with as he installs his new offense, there are also things to work on. One persistent issue that people didn't talk about much in 2017 but were definitely hard to ignore involved the directions Trubisky would throw in. This may sound like a minor thing in the grand scheme, right? No. It can become a big deal if it's not corrected. Some quarterbacks have trouble dealing with pressure in their face. Others can't decide when to throw the ball away. A few even struggle to take snaps under center. None of these were persistent issues for Mitch. No his problem was a bit more unique.

Mitch Trubisky had trouble throwing to his left as a rookie

It may sound somewhat oddly specific but it's the truth. Thanks to SharpFootballStats.com who charted every Trubisky throw in both the direction and distance they went, it became obvious that the Bears rookie did not fair well when throwing to his left. The chart below shows his success rates for each direction and compares them to the league average. Trubisky was a tale of two quarterbacks. He actually did quite well throwing towards the middle of the field and to his right, exceeding the league average to various degrees. However, he came in 10.6% under it when going to the left. That is not a good look and raises some concerns about whether this could be a flaw in his game that defenses can exploit. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/20180630215817.mp4"][/video] Back in the 1990s, another #2 overall pick named Rick Mirer had the exact same problem. He was erratic throwing to his left. Over time defenses began to pick up on this. So what did they do? They would bring pressure from his right side, often with a heavy blitz. This would force him to throw to his left, often resulting either in an incompletion or an interception. He never found a way to fix this issue and became one of the biggest busts in history. This is why it should be a major concern for Nagy and the Bears.

Issues likely stem from mechanical problems

So what's the deal? Trubisky is known for his accuracy. Why is he so much worse going to the left than elsewhere? The most likely culprit has to do with fundamentals and mechanics. Specifically in regards to his footwork. Throwing to the left for a right-handed quarterback requires precisely timed and disciplined feet to get consistent results. Watch Trubisky on several of his throws during the season. It will stick out immediately. His feet aren't acting properly. Sometimes he doesn't open the stance enough. Others he just goes off his back foot rather than step into the throws, causing the ball to sail on him. These are not uncommon problems with rookies. It's especially true with Trubisky. He spent his college career in a spread offense going against college defenses. Precise footwork was far less a requirement in those days. With more complex offenses and tighter throwing windows, these aren't things he can get away with anymore. Nagy has to drill into his mind that the only way he's going to achieve greatness is through relentless practice. That includes making sure every part of his body is finetuned mechanically when he drops back to pass.