Suggestions that Bears QB Trubisky has had poor training camp are unfounded, silly

harkush@profootballweekly.com

There have been more than a few reports out of Bears training camp that Mitch Trubisky hasn't progressed since the end of last season.

Considering he's taken a total of three snaps in one exhibition game and he has yet to throw a pass against another team, I have no idea how anyone could make that claim.

Based on what we actually know, it clearly comes from the glass is half-empty club.

Until we see Trubisky play in a real game against another team's best efforts to stop him, we aren't going to have any idea where the young QB is.

I asked him Thursday if not getting to play at all in the Bears exhibitions ever gets frustrating or disappointing for him and his response was refreshingly blunt.

“Yes.”

Trubisky quickly moved to cover his tracks though.

“I think you have to keep perspective and we continue to buy into the plan coach Nagy has for us. So that's No. 1 first and foremost.

“But as a player and competitor and someone who loves the game, you want to play every opportunity you get, and if you don't get it in the preseason, then come out here at practice and enjoy it as much as possible, put in the work and realize that we're putting in the work for even bigger games and that's the regular season.”

Fair enough, but does it ever get flat out boring Mitch?

“Yeah, you want to play.

“But we get the opportunity in practice and we know we only have to wait a couple more weeks and it's going to fly by and it will be here before you know it.

“Sometimes it is boring, but when you're at the game, you're watching it and you're supporting your brothers and you want to be there for them, so it's not really boring in that aspect, watching that.

“I know you guys are just as anxious as we are.”

Yes, we are but we don't really need practice games to become better fans.

Do Trubisky and his front line teammates need exhibition game work to become better football players?

Trubisky acknowledged that with no full contact or tackling in practice, sometimes you do.

“It's pretty tough … and that's why sometimes throughout the duration of the season I get better at running as the season goes on, because you get those reps in the game from actually running.”

Still, the practice championed by Nagy and Rams coach Sean McVay last season of key starters not getting any preseason action may be gaining steam around the league.

Informed Thursday that his friend and head coach of the Colts, Frank Reich won't be playing his regulars in Indianapolis Saturday night either, Nagy talked about the possibility he's started a trend around the league.

“I don't know. I don't, I have no idea you know?

“There are just some teams that feel that way, that they want to, um go that route and not play their guys and there are others that want to get their guys going and play them and that's what they've done for a long time.

“Coach Reid, that's the way he goes about it (playing regulars) and it's certainly not wrong, that's what he wants to do and he's stuck by it and you appreciate that.”

Last year after his Bears had been one of the most injured teams in the league in both 2016 and 2017 under John Fox, Nagy brought his protect the starters philosophy to town and was widely criticized for not taking advantage of the practice games to teach his green as a dollar bill young quarterback and the rest of the offense his new system.

But after being one of the healthiest teams in the league last year, Nagy's don't play the vets plan has earned him the benefit of the doubt, at least for this season to see if it helps keep them healthy again or it was just a fluke.

All we know for sure is it's really time to stop questioning and/or guessing where Trubisky is at, at least until he gets a chance to actually show us.

• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.