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be Rodgers, but if he can do a halfway decent imitation of him, it would cut down on his exposure on scrambles.
If Trubisky is going to be the quarterback the Bears need him to be in (what they hope is) a long career, he’ll have to become more of a pocket passer. If you want to hold up Seattle’s Russell Wilson as proof that running quarterbacks can be successful, have at it. But just know that Wilson is incredibly smart about protecting himself when he turns into a runner. Trubisky can learn from Rodgers in that regard, as well. You rarely see the Packers quarterback make himself a target as a runner for opposing defenses.
Bears coaches have been exhorting Trubisky to become better at sliding at the end of run plays to avoid getting hit. You can understand why. He took big shots earlier in the season after several nice runs and lived to tell about it. But sliding doesn’t put bubble wrap around a quarterback, as Smith’s hit on Trubisky’s awkward slide proved.
Hitting is part of football. And running is part of football if your quarterback has wheels. What to do?
‘‘That’s definitely a part of football; that’s where we’re at,’’ Nagy said.
‘‘I think you see it in every game with quarterbacks that can run. That’s a part of the riskreward.’’
The risk and the reward. A perfect description of the Trubisky situation. And perfectly precarious.