The Chicago Bears lost another game on Sunday thanks more to their own mistakes than the opponent being outright better than them. This is a theme that has followed them since last year. Too many times it felt like the Bears simply weren’t well-prepared. Washington was no exception as both the offense and defense suffered ill-timed lapses that ultimately cost them the game. Cole Kmet stated after the game that guys weren’t taking things seriously enough in practice that week. This immediately raised red flags about what the coaching was doing for the past two weeks. Now, Jaylon Johnson echoed the same words.
The Pro Bowl cornerback appeared on 670 The Score, where he was asked about Kmet’s comments. Per usual, Johnson was straightforward and blunt. He agreed with everything his fellow captain said. There have been too many times since last season where guys were ignoring the smaller details, which inevitably led to big mistakes.
They can’t expect to win a championship that way.
“I mean, that’s the truth, honestly. At the end of the day, there’s definitely times for us – of course, we’re never going to do everything 100% correct, nobody is going to be perfect – but I definitely felt like there are times really top to bottom that we’re not either detailed enough or detailing the right stuff. Guys, I would say, not locked in to their assignments. We’re not redoing plays or we’re kind of, if somebody messes up, we’re not correcting it in that moment. Like you said, respecting the game, being detailed, giving a damn enough to really just do things the right way – and I think there’s plenty of things for us to either do or the things that we are doing, do better…
…At the end of the day, we need to do things better, have a better operation throughout the week, a better way of detailing things. At the end of the day, we’ve got to take that from practice into the game and ultimately make the plays we need to make to win the games that we need to win.”
Jaylon Johnson is indicating something is wrong.
These aren’t non-descript players voicing their displeasure as anonymous sources to the media. These are the captains of the football team outright saying that the way the coaches are conducting this entire operation is faulty. Remember, they already had what amounts to an intervention with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron after the disastrous start to the season. Players aren’t supposed to be the ones constantly making up for the coaching staff’s mistakes. Stuff like this can fester if not corrected. Matt Eberflus is in his third season. Jaylon Johnson and the players know what he’s about. If they’re grumbling like this, it is a warning sign that they are starting to wonder if he doesn’t have what it takes. The remaining ten games could decide a lot about the Bears’ future.
Even though there’s more than enough evidence to indicate this coaching staff is insufficient but…..
There will be fans that defend this staff, it’s called Tribalism, we see it every day with the MAGA crowd.!
Attention to detail is important in every top or quality profession. Male Lions know this fact and attempt to make immediate and lasting adjustments to correct problems or weaknesses. The best Lions try to anticipate difficulties even with certain personnel before the potential fact. Prevention! It requires being micro-managers to achieve the best. It also requires an active mind where nothing is left to chance, or at least work actively against worst-case scenarios. I did not see this very much versus Washington, or in previous games and years. We are not talking perfection here, just the rational and intelligent to… Read more »
@David — Why do you give GM Ryan Poles a pass for “the problem” known as the 2022-2024 Chicago Bears? The GM is responsible for every player, coach and staff member who works at Halas Hall. Isn’t he? It’s time for Kevin Warren (if he hasn’t started already) to feel out the marketplace for suitable (soon to be available) replacement talent — beginning with his GM — the man who assembled this current bunch. Remember, Ryan Poles is not an original “Kevin Warren guy.” And Poles’ promise to “take the NFC North and never give it back” rings hollow for… Read more »
If Poles wants wants a winning team he needs to start seeking his new staff for next season. Guys are openly talking about a staff and a HC on his 3rd year with 2 losing records and at least 4 almost guaranteed wins becoming losses. There’s no justifying that.
I’m all for player accountability. Any updates on the Stevenson trade?