NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky still believes that the team is his and is ready for the competition with QB Nick Foles this season.

“I still feel like this is my team,” Trubisky said, via Adam Jahns of The Athletic. “And I’m excited for the competition and just to get back on the field with my guys and show everybody what I can still do and how hard I’ve been working this offseason to help the Bears win games this year.”

Trubisky also believes that he has the upper hand when it comes to who has better chemistry with the current group of Bears players.

“I think that advantage goes to me just because I’ve been the starter here the last two years,” Trubisky said. “These are my guys, my teammates and guys I’ve built super strong relationships over the last two years. But at the end of the day, it comes down to on-field performance. I think we both know that, the coaches know that and our teammates know that.”

Bears RB Tarik Cohen says that Trubisky isn’t lacking confidence despite all the heat he has taken since being drafted second overall by the team.

“Mitch is a guy that’s not going to waver,” Cohen said. “In any situation, I feel like Mitch is going to go about things the same. He always has that grind in him. That’s not changing. I’ve seen him want it more than everyone else around him coming in, when we first came in as rookies together. And I still feel that same intensity from him.”

• Trubisky on the team trading for veteran QB Foles this offseason: “I was kinda pissed off in a good way. I’ve been motivated ever since.” (Bleacher Report) 

Lions

Former Wisconsin WR coach Ted Gilmore believes that Lions WR Quintez Cephus can be a similar type of receiver to Browns WR Jarvis Landry at the pro-level.

“I’ve, obviously, had some guys and know some guys in the league that’s just as fast but not as sudden,” Gilmore said, via Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press. “The best way to put it all in perspective, I was listening to a piece that Michael Irvin, one day when he was talking, and he was talking about himself and Cris Carter, and he said, ‘You know, everybody’s talking about this speed and this and that, but there’s a lot of guys wearing yellow jackets that didn’t even run a 4.5.’  And that was like, hmmm… “(Quintez’s) game is about power, where he might not be the fastest guy but he’s got enough speed and can create the same space and the same separation with his strength as well as his body control,” he said. “But he is very twitchy, though. The quick-twitch and the sudden movement skills he has to go along with his power … and his competitive spirit, even if he is in those tight coverage situations, he’ll win his share of those 50-50 balls, those opportunity balls.”

Packers

Packers’ new ILB Christian Kirksey said he was instantly “familiar” with DC Mike Pettine‘s defense given they were together in Cleveland in 2014-2015. 

“As soon as I opened the playbook I was familiar with it,” said Kirksey, via Rob Demovsky of ESPN. “That why coach Pettine brought me in.”

Regarding the injuries he’s dealt with in recent years, Kirksey said he wouldn’t do anything different. 

“When I look back at it, I can say if I could have done anything differently up to the point where I got hurt, I would have said no,” Kirksey said. “I trained. I thought I was in the best shape of my life going into the season and it just was an unfortunate injury that I had, but it was something I couldn’t control.”