When coach Matt Nagy watched film of quarterback Mitch Trubisky’s most unsettling game with the Bears, he looked at his feet and eyes.
‘‘The No. 1 thing that I came away from was footwork,’’ Nagy said Monday. ‘‘I thought footwork was just OK.’’
For a coach who always defends Trubisky, a public chiding — albeit gentle — is notable.
‘‘And then when the footwork leads to a little bit of better decisions-slash-accuracy with throws,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘There were some times where there were some backpedals or movement in the pocket could have been a little bit better. Or different.’’
Trubisky dropped his eyes, too, rather than looking downfield.
‘‘We want the eyes to be up,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘And then, progression-wise, we want it to be 100 percent every time we call a play. Our eyes — my eyes, [quarterbacks coach Dave] Ragone, [offensive coordinator Mark] Helfrich — all of our eyes are going to where his eyes are going. And that’s where I think we can keep getting that a little bit better.’’
Here are examples of three pass plays in which Trubisky absolutely must be better:
Making the throw
Facing third-and-six six minutes into the game, receiver Taylor Gabriel, who was split left, ran a corner route that left him open in front of cornerback Eli Apple. Trubisky overthrew him.
‘‘He’s hit that all week — and missed that,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘That was the start. And then there were a few other ones.’’
Trubisky converted that play all week in practice, but the games are proving to be different — and that’s a disturbing trend.
Trubisky — any starter in the league — simply must make that throw.
‘‘That was one of my favorite third downs all this week,’’ Trubisky said after the game. ‘‘Ripped it all week in practice, and it just didn’t translate to the game. I don’t know why. . . . [It] is really frustrating for me.
‘‘And I felt like that’s an easy throw that I make easily, and I just wasn’t on the same page and didn’t put it in the spot to give my guy a chance. So that falls on me.’’
Making the decision
A minute and a half into the second quarter, the Bears had first-and-10 at the Saints’ 24. Trubisky lined up in the shotgun with running back David Montgomery to his right.
The Bears called a run-pass option, and Trubisky kept the ball rather than handing it to Montgomery up the middle. Defensive end Cam Jordan, lined up over the right tackle, bluffed toward Montgomery. With no one standing between him and Trubisky, Jordan sacked him for an eight-yard loss.
Receivers Anthony Miller and Gabriel were open for short gains in the slots. Nagy called it one of Trubisky’s biggest mistakes of the day.
‘‘That’s a learning tool for him,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘Hey, we call a run-pass option. We were just a little bit off in our progression on that play, and we ended up losing the eight yards. Now [it’s] second-and-18. Now you’re back to third-and-14. And now we have an incomplete pass, and we’ve got to grind to make three points in that area.’’
Being on same page as receivers
On third-and-two with about six minutes left in the first half, the Bears took a timeout because of a glitch with Nagy’s headset. They came out in an empty formation against man coverage.
Miller lined up in the right slot and ran a seam pattern up the right hash. He then released inside defensive back C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Trubisky, thinking Miller would release outside the right hash instead, threw the ball there for an incompletion.
‘‘If you watch the play before, Anthony beat him pretty clean on the outside release,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘So the kid’s a smart player, the DB, so he protected his outside. So the next play now, Anthony goes inside on a different concept, similar route. And Mitch had some pressure in his face.
‘‘So when you have all that — for us, remember now, we get to sit here and watch it on TV. You’re not down there in between the trenches and you’ve got stuff in your face. . . . But he missed it. He missed it. At the same time, there were other elements of that, too, that affected it.’’
What adjustment is Trubisky supposed to make?
‘‘To hit some of them, as well, throughout the year,’’ Nagy said.
