The Bears have finally arrived at the regular season, which means Mitch-a-palooza is headed to a hiatus. The band’s first set is over and the party can chill for a bit. After all, it’s Mike Glennon’s year, as you might have heard.

Mitch Trubisky will shift to the background now that the games count, out of the spotlight on game days. This simply is part of general manager Ryan Pace‘s plan for the organization to deliberately and conservatively develop the second-overall pick.

So what should we expect from Trubisky in the weeks ahead? What should Bears fans hope to see? What elements of the rookie’s growth process should outsiders be aware of? Tribune reporters Rich Campbell and Dan Wiederer set the stage.

Rich Campbell: That was fun while it lasted, Dan. Trubisky represented hope and excitement as the Bears embarked on their latest attempt to climb out of last place, and he delivered. From watching his growth and growing pains during open practices and games over the last five weeks, we saw why Pace traded up to draft him and why Pace wants to bring him along slowly.

I understand why the organization is committed to Glennon. For all the promise Trubisky has shown, he threw only 572 collegiate passes in an offense that was different than what the Bears are asking him to do. It’s OK to simultaneously recognize Trubisky’s talent and his need for seasoning. By getting reps exclusively in practice, his psyche and confidence will remain strong while he focuses on development.

Coach John Fox would not divulge whether Trubisky or Mark Sanchez will be Glennon’s backup Sunday. I expect it to be Sanchez. The way I see it, Sanchez’s value to the 53-man roster is rooted in his inclusion on the 46-man game-day roster. At least early in Trubisky’s career — let’s say the first quarter of the season — Sanchez’s experience makes him a more capable emergency option if Glennon were to get hurt midgame.

Dan Wiederer: I’ve been amazed at how many fans have taken the Bears’ conservative — and, in my opinion, practical — approach with Trubisky as an affront. It’s as if the concept of the rookie easing his way into full NFL readiness has somehow become misinterpreted as the organization choosing Glennon over Trubisky as the long-term answer at the sport’s most important position. That’s not what this is.

Trubisky will be the Bears’ quarterback of the future. Without debate. And the future is coming soon. All the Bears are asking for is a little patience and time to groom Trubisky properly, to make certain he’s fully prepared to succeed when his time to become the starter arrives. That’s hardly an outlandish ask.

Playing quarterback in the NFL is a lot different than playing quarterback at the family Turkey Bowl. There’s a ton to learn. There’s so much more Trubisky needs to become comfortable with. To this point, his development has been promising and perhaps even ahead of schedule. But why rush the process unnecessarily?

Campbell: There are two sides to the sit-or-start question as it relates to rookie quarterbacks. Debate the philosophy all you want, but Pace has made his stance clear.

OK, so let’s say Trubisky is the third-stringer and therefore asked to quarterback the scout team. I trust he’ll find a way to maximize his experience throwing against the Bears’ first-string defense. He mostly won’t be running the Bears’ plays, but the physical parts of his game will evolve.

When Tony Romo quarterbacked the Cowboys‘ scout team at the start of his career, he constantly experimented with throws to learn what windows he could exploit and the amount of touch required on certain passes. He figured out what throws he could get away with against fast NFL defenders, so when he got his opportunity to start, he took off.

You know who saw that firsthand in the Cowboys organization? Dowell Loggains. The former Cowboys scouting assistant is now the Bears offensive coordinator. He’ll drill into Trubisky the potential benefits of scout-team work, and Trubisky will respond well because that’s who he is.

Wiederer: Precisely. And guess what? The mistakes Romo made running the scout team — poor reads, ill-advised throws, bad adjustments — weren’t subject to endless and clamorous criticism from the outside. Instead, he was allowed to come along in an environment low on pressure and conducive to rapid growth. Which is what the Bears are pushing to create with Trubisky.

You’ve heard me cite this analogy before: Trubisky is like a 15-year old who has just gotten his learner’s permit. He’s already showing he can handle a spin around an empty parking lot. He’s learning to use his turn signal properly. He’s gradually getting the feel for how to accelerate and decelerate smoothly. But does that mean the Bears should hold his next driving lesson on the expressway? Absolutely not. There’s a buildup to that.

And when we hear Pace and Loggains vocalize what, in their minds, constitutes command from a starting quarterback, it becomes more apparent all that Trubisky still has to master. He has to learn the entirety of the playbook. He has to understand the speed and complexities of NFL defenses. He has to grasp his own responsibilities plus the duties of the other 10 players around him. On every play. In every situation. Against every possible coverage. Then he has to be able to make constant adjustments on the field and on the sideline. It’s a lot to digest. It takes time.

Campbell: Unfortunately, that whole process becomes rather unsatisfying for the public because we won’t see it happening. Media aren’t permitted to watch team drills during regular-season practices, and obviously fans are on the outside. Without any progress reports on game day, we’re left wondering with only the Bears’ descriptions to work with.

Even if Trubisky is the game-day backup, we won’t see his development for ourselves until he plays in a game. I do expect that to occur at some point this season. But until then, the Bears have a public-relations challenge, especially if Glennon doesn’t excel. Bottom line: They need Glennon to play well — not only for the sake of this season but also to ease what promises to be an unfulfilling and intense public focus on a developmental process for Trubisky that will occur behind the scenes.

Wiederer: No doubt. As sincere as the Bears’ confidence seems to be in Glennon, the outside world sees him as nothing but a placeholder, an expensive and less-than-spectacular bridge that will transport the organization from the Cutler era into the dawning of Trubisky. So even if Glennon excels and shows significant growth over the season’s first couple of months — and the Bears truly believe he will — the most common response from fans is still likely to be, “So what?”

And if Glennon struggles? If he repeatedly throws disheartening interceptions as he did in those exhibition games against the Broncos and Cardinals? Then the “Play Mitch now!” chants will only amplify.

The Bears have justification for taking a patient approach with Trubisky. But for a franchise that seems likely to miss the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 seasons, expecting the same level of patience from the outside world would be naive.

Campbell: My big takeaway from Trubisky’s preseason is that the Bears’ plan for him is working. Fox and Trubisky have said he has progressed faster than the organization expected. I don’t see that as an impetus to accelerate the plan. I see it as validating the plan. So stay the course. Keep Sanchez around to help him. Of course, the shifts in regular-season practice reps require management, and we’ll see how they handle that.

To that end, though, the organization should have earned fans’ trust over the last five weeks. They don’t