Getty Chicago Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
It’s not unusual for NFL players to go on podcasts or local radio shows to promote an issue, a brand, or just to talk about their most recent game. It is a bit unusual when athletes are vague and unsupportive when talking about their teammates — especially when given an opportunity to go to bat for a teammate who has been struggling.
That’s essentially what happened when Chicago Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller went on Waddle & Silvy, a radio show/podcast on ESPN 1000 hosted by former Bears wide receiver Tom Waddle and sports media analyst Marc Silverman. Miller was promoting VKTRY, a carbon fiber performance insole he is fond of using, and he was eventually asked about Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Like the Bears, Trubisky had a disappointing season in 2019, and he has been much maligned by fans and media alike after not necessarily living up to being the #2 overall pick taken in the 2017 NFL draft.
First, Miller was asked to sum up his first two years as a Bear. Miller described his rookie and sophomore campaigns as “years of learning,” citing Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel as two teammates he has gleaned a great deal from. “When I came in, I was running my routes full speed, you know, not really paying attention to the defense,” Miller said. After two years in the league, however, Miller said he has learned to settle down, noting that now, he’s “surveying the defenses before I even get in my stance.”
He has also shown flashes of potential, coming on in the second half of the season after an excruciatingly slow start. “I think there’s a lot more to learn,” Miller then added, showing a degree of maturity that may have been absent when he first entered the league.
When Miller was asked about Trubisky, however, his answers were inconsistent at best.
Anthony Miller on Trubisky: He’s Good ‘When He’s Put in the Right Position’
First, Miller was asked about his relationship with Trubisky and how it has developed over the last two seasons. “Mitch is a great guy. We’re just constantly working on our chemistry so the ball can be where it needs to be and I can be where I need to be within my routes,” Miller said. Then, Silverman asked the Bears wideout what he would say to someone if they stopped him on the street and said they liked the Bears but they weren’t “sure about Mitch, what do you say to them?” Instead of jumping all over this one, Miller hesitated.
“I don’t say too much to them,” Miller replied. “That’s not for me to say. What I would say to them is … man, I really don’t know, you kinda threw that question on me … but I’d say: ‘I’m just worried about what I need to do within the offense and Mitch is gonna do what he needs to do. He’s gonna step up when it’s time.’ I think Mitch is a great quarterback, especially when he’s put in the right position to make plays.”
Both Waddle and Silverman noted the way Miller hesitated and stammered through his entire response, and one cohost said of Miller’s answer: “There’s a little bit of immaturity on his part … you know the clichés you can go to: ‘Mitch is a great guy in the locker room, we love him, he’s getting better, he’s young’ — you don’t have to even mean it … it almost felt like he didn’t want to say that until he was like: ‘You know what, I just have to because that’s the way we have to go.’ It was interesting that he was caught off guard by that.”
Miller Also Called Out Head Coach Matt Nagy’s Play Calling
Waddle felt Miller’s comments were more an indictment on head coach Matt Nagy and his play-calling, however, noting what Miller said echoed things Trubisky himself has noted recently. After losing to Green Bay in mid-December, Trubisky called out the play-calling of his head coach in a subtle manner, saying: “I thought we could’ve taken more pressure off them moving the pocket a little more and me getting out … We’ve just got to continue to find ways to take pressure off our O-line … continue to mix it up, whether it’s with screens, running it, draws — all that kind of stuff helps.”
Trubisky was of course referring to his strong suits: roll outs, designed runs, etc. Nagy was criticized often throughout the season for his play-calling, so it’s noteworthy two of his offensive stars have now publicly criticized his scheme and/or play calls. It’s also noteworthy how much Miller tripped over a simple question about his quarterback.
By contrast, Kyle Long was asked by Ian Rapoport on Rapsheet + Friends a few days later if he thought the Bears could still be a winning team with Trubisky at the helm, and Long, who isn’t even playing football anymore, didn’t hesitate in his response: “The Bears have won with Mitch,” Long said immediately, defending his former quarterback without hesitation.
This likely isn’t a huge issue, but something is bubbling below the surface of this current Chicago Bears team, and whether it’s the plays being called or the players executing the playbook, something is going to change in a big way next season. It will have to, unless the Bears want a repeat of 2019.
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