Mitch Trubisky was a bit testy in his first appearance in front of the media this week. It’s not hard to see why. Though the Chicago Bears won their biggest game the year against the Los Angeles Rams, he wasn’t among the reasons why. He threw for just 110 yards on the evening and tied his career-high with three interceptions.
Considering it was his first game back in almost three weeks and in front of a national audience? Yeah, it’s not hard to see why he wasn’t happy. Trubisky has said on multiple occasions that nobody is tougher on him than himself. So when he makes mistakes like that, the competitor inside him gets frustrated.
Trubisky admitted that the issues that dogged him in the game centered around his erratic footwork which led to numerous passes sailing too high and into the waiting arms of lurking Rams defensive backs. Tape review shows this to be true. Still, his tendency to get a bit careless brought up an old story from earlier this year about friends, teammates, and coaches nicknaming him “Favre” back in high school.
Suffice to say he wasn’t eager to talk about it.
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“I’m done with that nickname. No one calls me that anymore. I’m just focused on playing this week and doing my job.”
Mitch Trubisky nickname may annoy him, but it fits surprisingly well
Naturally, the Favre nickname originated from Trubisky’s tendency to get a little careless with the football at times in high school. That didn’t really follow him in college but has since resurfaced in the pros. Of course, he doesn’t have the same gifted arm but the mix of brilliant moments with boneheaded mistakes is impossible to ignore.
In fact, if one were to look at Favre’s 1992 season and compare it to Trubisky’s 2018? They’d see a lot of similarities:
Favre (14 games)
- 302 completions
- 471 attempts
- 64.12 completion %
- 3227 yards
- 18 touchdowns
- 13 interceptions
- 85.3 passer rating
Trubisky (11 games)
- 226 completions
- 351 attempts
- 64.39 completion %
- 2579 yards
- 21 touchdowns
- 12 interceptions
- 92.1 passer rating
It’s important to remember here. Favre was in his second career season but the first of playing in a new offense under head coach Mike Holmgren. It’s the exact same scenario Trubisky faces. The second season of his career but a new system and head coach in Matt Nagy. The fact that their numbers line up fairly close together is pretty remarkable.
Their personalities are also alike. Both play with a sort of infectious energy and are fiery competitors who came into the league as raw as can be in terms of playing in a complex NFL offense. It took Favre three years to master the Holmgren offense, but when he did he became the best in the NFL.
Do Bears fans have the patience to let Trubisky go through a similar timeline? One thing is for sure. History says the results could be worth it if they do.
