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I think the challenge is - it takes a lot to turn a culture - and you have issues that come from learning new systems and evolution of systems and then you start to dial it in - but the standard is still the standard. Quite frankly - some players may not buy in and do what it takes - they could be good players too - and those players will be shipped out and new ones will come in. For example - BJ made a point about how you play whether you have the ball or don’t have the ball - used Lions film to show the difference - but players have to fully buy in and it takes a lot - especially for guys who have learned one way. It seems basic to us - but very little things differentiate good to great teams from bad ones in the NFL.

Good coaches build trust first. I can imagine the asst coaches telling the players it's not good enough, very vocally. Then BJ comes in and does the build up with a mention of the effort. Lose the first game and BJ says, we were right there. We had it and blew it. Let's go! Then, comes the ass whooping in Detroit. Now it's time for the towel snap. The public towel snap, after the first game, would have been deflating. Now, the players have friends family asking them about working harder and being more resilient. We should see some improvement after adversity this week. Bear down!

My question: How many practices does Johnson need to run to identify this issue? Since he was hired, how many practices has he put the team through? 20? 30? 40? Shouldn't this have been addressed before we got our asses handed to us by Detroit?

I liked Ben's press conference today. He's not afraid to call out players, or coaches for that matter. Yet he does it in way without degrading players. Nobody is getting compliments from Ben unless they've earned it. His comment on Wed that this team had yet to have a single championship caliber practice seems to have made the rounds of Halas Hall. Today he was much more complimentary of the practice effort and focus even if it was still short of championship caliber. You won't win games just because Ben Johnson is your coach. You win them because you put in the work. At the same time Ben is well aware that it will be a journey to get back to playing winning football. Although his pained facial expressions make it blatantly obvious he doesn't want this to be a long trip. Hopefully this team has more fight in them this weekend when things go wrong.

+1

That is not happening.

I saw a thing on some site that said Poles is gone after the Bears lose to Dallas. That would be surprising, but probably warranted.

Remember, this was common sense from everyone outside the organization. Literally everyone thought RB was a significant need. But, what seems like a broken record at this point, the Bears front office was “smarter” than conventional wisdom. Maybe that’s also why the Bears have a first round TE they didn’t need, who has zero stats after two games? But but but 12 PeRsOnNeL on offense! Two common sense thoughts: 1. Don’t wait until the last round for a position of need. 2. Don’t draft a backup TE - literally what he is - in the first round.

I’m curious—could the contact Swift is encountering be because the offensive line isn’t doing its job? In other words, the pre-contact yardage might just be the distance from the backfield to wherever the line is blocking. To me, it seems like Caleb is scrambling just as much as he did last year. This might be a question for Adam, but how do the other running backs on the Bears perform when they’re handed the ball? One player I’d be particularly interested in is Moore. I know he’s a wide receiver, but he’s one of the NFL leaders in YAC due to his elusiveness. In a running back role, it would make sense that he’d be just as elusive and gain more yards after contact.

Could be. I'll, take Chuck every day and twice on Sunday. Bruce did one finger push ups. When Chuck does push ups, the earth moves and Chuck stays where he is...🤪

I just saw this on another site, which further supports your point:

Much is made of leg strength but I wonder if it's not core strength that really matters. Core strength keeps your body from twisting on impact and allows you to transfer force from the lower body.

Yup. Time on task and continuity is one thing, but getting beaten one on one is another. Braxton is playing himself out of millions. The injury recovery timing is bad, but that's a football life. Watch him hit the squat rack with a vengeance and screw us over. Larry Borom getting good reviews tonight...🤯

I understand the whole synergy thing but no matter what job we’re talking about there is a basic level of competency needed from the individuals in that team to reap those benefits.

Time as a unit working together does help the 1:1 though and overall dynamics of aligning on comms, match ups, broader strategies…including how run blocking and an effective run game can impact how difficult the 1:1 pass block is (if you know it’s a pass down vs there is uncertainty - that makes a huge difference in blocking effectiveness.

Play calling does not help improve 1v1 blocking. It can be used to mask deficiencies but doing that hinders offensive production. Caleb getting the ball out on time will reduce sacks but I also don’t want him thinking the ball has to be out within 2 sec on every play.

Braxton has been a problem in pass pro. He gave up eight pressures last week. The bull rush continues to be a problem for him.

On Wed Ben said the lack of TE usage is on him. He said he’ll work on changing that. I still think our play sheet is limited as the players are getting comfortable with the offense. It’s easier to add more for a home game because they don’t have to deal with crowd noise. We’ll see how it goes this week.

Bears are going to win this game, because they have to. I like the way the offense is trending. Through the first 2 weeks, they are 2nd in the NFL in explosive plays. Penalties are holding them back. Everything is setting itself up well for a breakout performance against an atrocious DAL defense, and I think they will.

Not sure where else to put this but a Detroit friend of mine shared a screen grab he found. It was sorta funny and I'll paraphrase. 'Caleb Williams texted Bears punter Tory Taylor in April 2024: "You're not going to punt too much around here." Since that time, Taylor has punted a league leading 92 times. His total yards punting are 4,177 to Williams' passing yards of 3,958.' The question I have is, who will rack up more yards this year and who's getting to 4,000 first?

FWIW, Swift's first year with Johnson as OC while in Detroit (2022) had him gain 542 total yards (5.5 avg) on the ground. The year before he totaled 617 (avg 4.1). In 2023 he was traded to the Eagles where he got 1,049 yards (4.6 avg) and was selected for the Pro Bowl. Last year with the Bears he gained 959 yards (avg 3.8). So far he's averaging 4.0 and has 116 total (53 vs Vikings and 63 vs Lions - so he's "improving"). The question I think should be where is Johnson's focus? Running or passing? The Bears drafted a TE this year #10 overall and barely use him. And I think (eye test) there have been more overthrows to Kmet than catches. For a coach that pushes the '12 personnel' concept, I'm still trying to figure it out.

Roschon Johnson is apparently in the doghouse. When BJ was asked about his role in the offense, BJ said "he has a role on special teams".

Watching Swift, he doesn't trust the gap. He will dance, bounce outside, or go any direction he feels his speed can take him. Maybe when the oline gels to the this offense, the run game will improve.

Just one more GM left and we are paid for the year.

Jeanty has also looked terrible, but there are others drafted after Trapilo and Turner who are looking solid.