Mitch Trubisky intrigue a welcome distraction from Bears’ many problems

If we didn’t already know it, Mitch Trubisky’s performance Monday night was a powerful reminder that the progression of a young quarterback can offer a needed distraction from the actual game the guy is playing.

The groundswell of interest in the quarterback proved a helpful diversion from some of the real questions dogging the franchise.

Why can’t this team keep players on the field? The Bears ran out of signal-callers on defense to the point that twice they called a timeout on top of a Vikings timeout.

What’s with the chaos on the sideline? Incomprehensibly, they called a timeout on offense, apparently to set up a punt attempt, only to reverse course and wind up with a delay-of-game penalty. Yep, a delay-of-game penalty off a timeout on fourth-and-2.

Why do they just abandon their monster-truck offense when Jordan Howard seems to start gearing up?

There are serious problems with the talent-depleted Bears, but there is also a bright, shiny thing to admire in the hypnotic Trubisky. Playing the guy the Bears drafted No. 2 produces interest that transcends wins and losses.

In a way, it even resets the Doomsday Clock ticking on the decision-makers at Halas Hall. Wouldn’t it be great to fast-forward a few years and see exactly what the Bears have in Trubisky? For now, we’ll have to make do with a snapshot first impression from Monday night.

A panel of veteran NFL scouts and league decision-makers were called upon to offer an opinion in 16 specific areas of quarterback play. None were asked about leadership, locker-room presence, huddle mastery or other intangibles. This is strictly their observations of football-required skills in areas like arm strength, release, passing touch at all three levels, accuracy, scrambling ability, poise in the pocket and so on.

The results were fascinating and fairly universal. One guy compared Trubisky to a young Jay Cutler, “the guy in Denver who could get outside and throw on the move, not the guy making faces on the sideline in Chicago.”

Another said Trubisky “moves great and has the ability to buy you second chances like Aaron Rodgers does in Green Bay.”

A third said the Ravens will be “working on containing him right now. They’ll be doing plastering drills all week.” Containment drills means balancing a pass rush to ensure running lanes are covered and if an end goes inside, a tackle goes outside. Plastering refers to the secondary’s ability to drop from zone to man coverage once a quarterback gets on the move so he doesn’t shake the route tree enough to free up receivers.

The consensus in the NFL is that it takes tape study over three games for a defensive coordinator to get a feel for what a quarterback likes and doesn’t like to do. The consensus with Trubisky is that it might come easier because he didn’t seem to read through progressions. Everything he did seemed preordained.

The conclusion was the way to defend him initially is to rush him from the his right in order to flush him to the left because he seemed comfortable throwing while moving right. But an outlier believed it was best to encourage him to run right because of his tendency to throw back across the field. Those throws lead to interceptions.

Trubisky showed all the traits you need at one point or another but didn’t check down enough and refused to throw the ball away on all but one play. The interception at the end of the game was a mistake, and his only touchdown could have been picked off. There was nothing he could have done differently on the fumble when he was hit from his blind side and the ball was raked out.

Trubisky played with patience, showed no panic or poor body language. He showed velocity and zip on his passes at all levels and was accurate by NFL definition, meaning his ball placement gave receivers a chance to run and catch on time and in rhythm. He could improve on short-level throws.

He wasn’t asked to do much in the pocket, was clearly more comfortable on the move with limited decisions and seems like the kind of one-and-done passer you would expect from a guy from in a spread offense. No one is sure how quickly he can process what he sees because he wasn’t really asked to do so.

Nobody questioned his toughness. He had no happy feet and didn’t seem to drop his eye level. He appeared to have some swagger and played with confidence. His ball handling was fine, especially on plays like the speed sweep and the two-point conversion.

Everyone commented on the lack of playmakers around Trubisky. A mauling offensive line and power running game should create opportunities with play action if the Bears work Howard more over Tarik Cohen. “The little guy is a gadget guy. He can break one, but he’ll make negative plays,” one guy said.

The Bears defense plays great up front and always gives admirable effort. The running game should be more of a focus. the Bears will be hard-pressed to come from behind.

Young quarterbacks, even the great ones tend to ride the roller coaster. Without enough weapons around him, Trubisky’s development could be hindered. But don’t let that distract you.

Mike Mulligan is a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune.

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