Former Steeler Jim Miller knows the quarterbacks in both Pittsburgh and Chicago. He knows what a cluttered QB room is like, having been in that situation with Neil O’Donnell, Cordell Stewart and Mike Tomczak.
And he also knows the game of new Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky quite well.
Miller is a Sirius-XM Radio host and analyst for the post-game show Bears for Fox 32 in Chicago. This is where Trubisky began his career before reloading it as an understudy at Buffalo last year.
“It was good for Mitch. He needed a breath of fresh air. He was kind of vilified for causing problems for the Bears and why they didn’t win. But it was more than that,” Miller said on WDVE Tuesday.
In fact, the Bears won a hefty sum when Trubisky was in the starting lineup. In Trubisky’s 50 starts between 2017 and 2020, the Bears were 29-21 and made the playoffs twice, losing their first game both times.
But when Miller says “it was more” than Trubisky’s inconsistency and inexperience during his first four seasons on the Windy City, he’s referring to what happened to Matt Nagy and the Chicago coaching staff.
Among Steelers fans who want to celebrate Trubisky’s signing as a success even before he plays for Pittsburgh, the popular notion is that Trubisky is a great quarterback who was stalled early in his career by a bad coach and constant change. when it comes to gaming duties.
The coach who chose him, John Fox, was fired after Trubisky’s first season. Matt Nagy took over. At various times when Trubisky was a Bear, Dowell Loggains, Mark Helfrich and Bill Lazor held the titles of offensive coordinators. Nagy even took on game calling duties himself during his tenure.
Miller said the constant shuffling did hinder Trubisky’s development, describing him as “a young quarterback who went through a lot of growing pains” in those four seasons, which he described as a system that was “too happy” under Nagy.
“Mitch didn’t have much support. He’s the winning quarterback… but when you change coaches, the quarterback usually leaves with him,” Miller said. “Mitch got into a bad situation. He was a young quarterback who only had 13 college starts and was growing. Looks bad on him. But I can tell you it wasn’t just Mitch Trubisky.”
All this may be true. But, as Miller pointed out, Trubisky has its drawbacks.
“As far as his pocket passing awareness, it was improving in Chicago, but it could get even better,” Miller insisted. “His biggest problem is the long pass. His long ball is a bit flat. He can fix it by just giving the ball a little more arc so the receivers can catch it better.”
One positive trait of Trubisky is good athleticism and ability to run. However, Miller said that Trubisky may have to choose better when he should use it.
“He has several planes,” Miller said. “He can get away. He is a good sportsman. He is tough. Sometimes his hardness gets the better of him. He needs to know when to come down, slip, go out of bounds.”
Miller also described a dynamic that was likely all too familiar to him, having previously been Stewart’s teammate. Miller said Trubisky had a notable struggle within himself, where—as dynamic as he was as a runner—Trubisky would sometimes refuse to break out of the pocket in an attempt to improve his passing game and prove to the world he could be NFL-worthy by throwing the ball, as well as running with him.
“He could use (his athleticism) even more. But he forced himself to throw out of his pocket,” Miller explained. “The Bears tried to make him a pocket passer. Sometimes he needs to be who he is. Just adapt and adapt and be that backyard playground (player) when you need to get those games out. Sometimes he tried to play too much out of pocket.”
So if you’re hoping to wait at least until preseason before Kordell’s roster comes out, sorry for the disappointment.
Miller also spoke about the support Trubisky would receive from players playing with the Steelers, the similarities in dealing with negativity in both Chicago and Pittsburgh, and how Trubisky’s locker room behavior should help him when he hits the South side.
Tim Benz is a staff columnist for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless otherwise noted.