With each practice and preseason game, the rhythm and timing between Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and his receivers has improved. But it's a never-ending process that remains a work in progress.
"It's been good, [but] we're still growing," Trubisky said Wednesday night before the Bears practiced at Vernon Hills High School. "We're trying to get better every single day. The timing, we're just continuing to get that down. It's never going to be perfect, but that's what we strive to do. The more reps I can get with these new guys within this new offense, [the better].
"We're still learning, but we're getting there. We're getting closer and closer, and we're just trying to see what kind of heights we can take this offense to, and timing will be a big part of that."
The process will continue Saturday when the Bears host the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field. As is typically the case in a team's penultimate exhibition game, Trubisky and the No. 1 offense are expected to see their most expanded action of the preseason, likely playing into the second half.
The next-to-last preseason game also is the one where coaches usually game-plan for their opponent, and that's made for an interesting week for Trubisky.
"It's been a lot different," he said. "I get to know a lot more about my opponent, a lot more preparing going into it. It's been fun learning how coach [Matt] Nagy game-plans throughout the week and just preparing with the rest of the quarterbacks. It's been a good experience and it's going well."
It helps that Trubisky is a huge fan of the new system he's operating.
"I like everything about this offense—mostly that it's quarterback-centric and a lot of the decisions and everything that go on with this offense go through me," he said. "It's a lot of fun to get the ball to different playmakers and just keep the defense on their heels. Hopefully, it'll be explosive and it's a lot of fun. The biggest thing for me is it's most fun when you score points and put up big numbers, so that's what we're trying to do."
In last Saturday night's 24-23 preseason win in Denver, Trubisky completed 9 of 14 passes for 90 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a 76.5 passer rating. He also fumbled in the end zone, resulting in a safety.
Asked what he hopes to accomplish Saturday against the Chiefs, Trubisky said: "Just clean execution on my part, just make great decisions, take the offense down the field and hopefully finish with points. I just want to get out clean—no turnovers—and be really efficient with the football and hopefully just make it a ton of fun for our fans and put on a show."
Because starters rarely if ever play in the preseason finale, Trubisky knows that Saturday's game likely will be the final tune-up for the No. 1 offense in advance of the Bears' regular-season opener Sept. 9 in Green Bay.
As a result, the second-year quarterback also understands the importance of taking another significant step in the right direction.
"Every time we step out there we continue to get more comfortable and each time we step out there we're trying to be better than we were the time before," Trubisky said. "We definitely made strides from Cincinnati to Denver.
"Of course there are going to be mistakes. You learn from those and continue to get better and move forward, and I think that's what we've done through all of training camp and the preseason. I expect to make another jump this week, continue to get better, and then the week after just get ready for the regular season."
