New Chicago Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller is no stranger to hard work. He knew he was never going to reach the NFL based solely on his own talent. Sure he’s a good athlete but so is everyone else at the pro level. He’s also just 5’11 and not blazing fast. So if he was going to dominate like he desires, he’d have to outwork everyone else. That is why teammates have said he treats every practice like the Super Bowl.
Priority one for him is finding a way to forge a connection with Mitch Trubisky. Receivers aren’t dumb. They know the only way they’ll ever be anything in the NFL is by making friends with the guy who throws the football. One bad exchange and the QB can easily cut off the pipeline by throwing the ball elsewhere. Miller must strive to make Trubisky trust that every time the ball comes his way, it will be caught.
Yet the river flows both ways. Miller has to know if he can trust Trubisky understands what to do and where and when to get the ball to him. It requires sharp intellect and timing that not a lot of quarterbacks can master. Over the course of their first couple practices together, Miller had a chance to gauge where Trubisky is at. He was rather surprised by what he found.
Anthony Miller amazed how quickly Trubisky is absorbing the offense
Quarterbacks have to be the smartest guys on the field. They have to not just know what their position needs to do, but what every other position on offense needs to do. There’s a reason it’s so hard to play in the NFL and why these guys get paid a ridiculous amount of money. It takes a level of commitment that few other jobs in the world demand.
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Miller revealed that it’s clear Trubisky is in with both feet. Despite only being involved with the new offense for a couple months, he seems to already have a certain mastery of its language.
“Mitch, he knows the game already. He’s a guy that studies this offense, and I see that. When he comes in the huddle, we’ll have a play that’s so long and he’ll just spit it out. That tells me that he’s in his playbook and it’s important to him.”
There were instances late last season where Trubisky began to show how quickly he could master an offense. In the second game against Detroit, he correctly adjusted Tarik Cohen who’d lined up wrong. By adjusting it correctly, he was able to create the situation desired and found Kendall Wright on a beautifully executed play for 19 yards, setting up 3rd and 1 after facing 2nd and 20.
The one thing Trubisky never had in those situations was a full complement of receivers who could maximize the effectiveness of those adjustments and checks. Miller is one of the key additions who is expected to change that. His ability in the slot and in the red zone are far above anything the Bears had last year. Throw in Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel on the outside? There’s a chance for this passing game to feast.
Especially if Trubisky continues to learn at the rapid pace he has.
