Mitch Trubisky’s preseason is over.
The rookie quarterback’s four starts in place of Mike Glennon were in effect a challenging warm-up. After an open-date week to reflect on what he has done, what he has to do and how far he can go, Trubisky is eager to take the next step, which could be a significant one — or not.
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“I’m pretty anxious and excited about this week,” Trubisky said Wednesday. “I kind of feel like it’s a new season in a way. The last few games are what they are, but we have a great opportunity with this home game.
“Taking it one game at a time, trying to be 1-0 this week. We’re only worried about the Green Bay Packers. I feel very confident and am very excited to really just start to open things up, play within myself and the offense and do my job, so the offense can succeed, and we could win more games.”
It remains to be seen just how much Trubisky and the Bears’ offense can open things up in the second half with this supporting cast. The addition of wide receivers Dontrelle Inman and Markus Wheaton could provide a dimension Trubisky hasn’t had so far. But if there was a disappointment amid the excitement of Trubisky’s promotion, it’s that his mobility and elusiveness didn’t create opportunities for his receivers as theorized.
In fact, receivers were open with less frequency with Trubisky than Glennon — evidenced in part by the almost alarming disparity between the completion percentage of the starter who flopped (66.4 percent) and the franchise quarterback-to-be who was drafted No. 2 overall at a significant cost (47.5 percent).
In four starts, Trubisky completed 38 of 80 passes for 512 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for a 66.3 passer rating — below Glennon’s 76.8 rating in his four starts.
As nicely as he could, offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains put Trubisky’s low completion percentage on the offense, not Trubisky. On several plays, Trubisky wisely threw the ball away rather than risk an interception or take a sack. He has made his share of errant throws, but he also has been victimized by dropped passes and his receivers’ inability to get open.
This is still the same guy who completed 69.9 percent of his passes in his last two seasons at North Carolina and 67.9 percent in the preseason, including 10 in a row to open his pro career, Loggains said.
“I don’t think it’s accuracy at all because I think he’s extremely accurate,” Loggains said. “We need to do a better job in pass [protection]. We need to do a better job of creating separation out wide. When he’s had time and had clean pockets, he’s thrown some really good balls. We’ve played good defenses with good secondaries, and we have to help him a little more.”
The timing is right for a big step forward because Trubisky finally has a base of first-team reps he didn’t get in training camp or the preseason. That’s another price the Bears paid for the Glennon error.
“[Not making] excuses for him, [but] the way we chose to go about this quarterback thing, [Trubisky] wasn’t competing for a job,” Loggains said. “He was taking [third-team] reps. There’s a lot of growth that’s going to take place with him, and a lot of it was because he wasn’t competing for a job. He wasn’t getting starter reps, and his reps were limited. The best way to grow through this process is to just go out and play.”
Follow me on Twitter @MarkPotash.
Email: mpotash@suntimes.com
