Mitchell Trubisky spoke to the media Wednesday during Bears minicamp at Halas Hall. It was his last session with reporters until the start of training camp. Here are five things we learned from the third-year quarterback:
(1) In their second year in the offense, Trubisky is pleased with the progress that he and his teammates have made during offseason workouts.
"I've got a lot better grasp of the offense," Trubisky said. "We're way ahead as far as timing, operation, getting to the line of scrimmage, getting in and out, adjustment on all of our plays and just knowing where to go with the football, especially against all of these different looks that we're seeing that the defense is throwing at us. I feel like we've done really well. I feel like I have improved my game. We just have to keep getting better."
Possessing a firmer grasp of the playbook has enabled Trubisky to read and manipulate the defense to a much greater extent this offseason than he did in 2018.
"That gives you confidence as a player because when you know where to go with the football, you can kind of control the defense more with your eyes and rhythm and anticipate throws as opposed to reacting to throws," Trubisky said. "That's something that I've been working on. It's given me a lot of confidence, and just my guys believing in me gives me the most confidence."
(2) Trubisky enjoyed attending the Bears100 Celebration Weekend, especially getting a chance to interact with some of the franchise's former stars.
"It was awesome just to spend a lot of time with all those legends and have them all come back," Trubisky said. "We had a really good showing."
In terms of the alumni, Trubisky liked "just seeing how they interact and how they said they were proud of us; how proud they were to be a Chicago Bear, their time in Chicago and how much they enjoyed it; and just their relationships that they built while they were here and how they lasted and are very strong to this day."
"For them to say they are proud of us and are rooting for us," Trubisky said, "it meant a lot to us and motivated us even more to get to know those guys and hang out."
One highlight of the weekend for Trubisky was joining Super Bowl XX-winning quarterback Jim McMahon for a panel discussion.
"There is a type of swagger and moxie that he played with and how he handled himself," Trubisky said. "He won a lot of games as a Chicago Bears quarterback, and it was really awesome to see and spend time with him.
"He talked a lot about toughness. And he just said, 'If you just give it your all for these fans and go out and win games, they'll love you back.' That's something I took away from this weekend. It was just awesome to get to know him, finally meet him in person and spend some time with him and the other legends that came back."
(3) Trubisky feels that he has an excellent rapport with coach Matt Nagy and that it will only improve as the two continue to work with each other.
"We have a great relationship," Trubisky said. "It all started last year, and it's just going to keep growing better and better. It's just that player-coach relationship, that constant communication and just me doing whatever he wants and envisions and translating that right to the field.
"We're just getting on the same page with all of our plays and what he envisions and how creative he is being with him and all the coaches and just continue to go through and iron out all the details within these plays and just making sure that I am doing on the field exactly what he sees in his head and exactly what he sees for this offense.
"I can't speak high enough on coach and what he's done for me. I think most of all just him believing in me from last year after having a tough rookie year and just kind of him believing in me and giving me the keys to the offense and saying, 'Go out there and play your game,' and trusted in me to go out and do it."
(4) Practicing against an outstanding first-team defense with multiple All-Pros on a daily basis is helping the offense get better.
"They play with a lot of confidence and they're super-talented all around," Trubisky said. "But their selflessness and how they play team defense is what I think separates them from everyone else."
The defense has seemingly picked up under new coordinator Chuck Pagano right where it left off under the man he replaced, Vic Fangio.
"It's been amazing to see how they've embraced the new defense," Trubisky said. "They said, 'This is our new defense, let's do it, let's go out there and make it work and make it great like it was last year.' And it's worked.
"We've seen a bunch of guys fly around to the football and play together. They have a lot of talent, super-talented all across the board and they play super well together and they're looking forward to just taking the football away and continue to make us better on offense."
(5) Trubisky has enjoyed spending time with his teammates off the field this offseason, including at the Bears100 Celebration and a recent White Sox game.
"I think it's huge," he said. "It's very easy to bond with these guys and have relationships outside of football because I think it's a brotherhood before we even step onto the field. Those relationships and trust that you build off the field translates as soon as you step onto the field. I know for me it does, especially the bond I have with my linemen. I just think we have that mutual respect and how thankful and appreciative I am of them and what they do.
"We just enjoy each other's company off the field, having a good time, and building lifelong relationships kind of like what I witnessed at the Bears100 this weekend, especially the championship team. How close they were, how they loved being around each other, there's a similar feel to the relationships I have with my teammates now. Anytime we can hang out and get together off the field, we're going to do that. It helps the whole team bonding."
