It may not be his greatest nickname, but it’s certainly one that’s hard to forget. When Chicago Bears defenders tagged Mitch Trubisky as the “Pretty Boy Assassin,” it certainly struck a cord. Not only regarding their opinion of his physical makeup but also his mental one as well. Trubisky was often described as ridiculously competitive in practice. He would constantly seek ways to embarrass the defense and do it with a smile on his face.
Having someone with that kind of mentality under center is a great thing for a team. You always want your leader to be the most competitive person on the field. Trubisky is that guy and the Bears seem ready to follow his lead. With training camp approaching, he took some time to talk with Dan Bernstein of 670 The Score about how things are going.
Trubisky seems ready and eager for things to get going. He’s a huge believer in the new offense being installed by head coach Matt Nagy. He also loves the additions made at wide receiver and tight end by GM Ryan Pace. There’s no doubt he senses the added pressure of having to perform in 2018, but that doesn’t seem to bother him.
If anything, he relishes the challenge. It gives him a chance to do something he’s been eager to since the end of last season.
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Mitch Trubisky hasn’t forgotten those who already called him a bust
Mike Ditka once said, “I don’t hold grudges, but I got a good memory.” He was saying this in reference to his decision to use William Perry as a running back against San Francisco in 1985. It was retaliation for the 49ers using guard Guy McKintyre as a fullback in the NFC championship the previous January.
It seems Trubisky has that sort of memory as well and plans to seek his own revenge this coming season.
“Everybody’s got their outside opinions. I’ve already been written off and called a bunch of things in the past just from one year. But I know what I’m capable of, and I know the pieces that we have in our locker room, what coach Nagy has brought to the Chicago Bears. I’m looking forward to the season.
I have so many brilliant quarterback minds around me. The experience they have is invaluable. I’m trying to be a sponge in that room and gain as much information. I can’t appreciate more how they help me day in and day out.”
He’s not wrong. The list of experts claiming Trubisky was a bust after just 12 games was long. Much of this was due in part to the success of other rookie QBs, specifically Deshaun Watson in Houston. Maybe it didn’t occur to them that it’s possible for more than one play at the same position to have success coming out of a draft.
Trubisky may not have been lights out in 2017, but he was far from terrible. He had a quarterback rating in the 90s or higher in five of his starts last season. One could argue his critics built their case around three bad games he had in which he threw six of his seven interceptions on the season. All of them were road games and all were against teams that finished with winning records.
So yeah. Maybe Mitch has a point that it’s a bit premature to write him off.
