In case people haven’t already noticed, new head coach Ben Johnson is not what you’d call subtle. Since taking over the Chicago Bears in January, he has been very deliberate with his words. There is no dancing around subjects. When he has a message to deliver, he will give it to you straight. Caleb Williams, Cole Kmet, Rome Odunze, and D.J. Moore found that out at his opening press conference when he told them to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Those who know him said he’s intense and a grinder. That is proving true.
He proved it again on Thursday when he and GM Ryan Poles spoke to the media about recent roster additions, headlined by three new offensive linemen. At one point, Johnson was asked what he could do to help make life easier for those men as they transitioned to Chicago. The head coach seemed to balk at the idea of making anything easy for anybody. In his mind, football is hard. Anything in life worth doing is hard. He has no intentions of making things easy for them. They will be put under the same demands he puts on himself.
No shortcuts.
Ben Johnson understands what it takes to excel at this level.
Sure, talent is a big part of it. However, most players can’t be expected to motivate themselves to work hard. The head coach must be demanding and persistent in everything they do. Every little detail matters in this game. One of the big reasons Matt Eberflus was fired was his inability to stay on top of them. Players started cutting corners and skipping steps. That is why they kept falling apart late in games. It is why the offensive line kept making mind-numbing mistakes whenever opponents started blitzing or stunting heavily. They weren’t well-prepared.
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That won’t happen under Ben Johnson, at least not without serious consequences. His first order of business is to ensure the Bears stop beating themselves, which is often the critical step before beating other teams. It doesn’t matter if certain guys may not like it. That is the new reality. Better embrace it.
I’m in Belfast today getting my 10k steps so I can live and stay longer on SM. Just remember it is both Einstein BD and Happy Pi Day. Pi is 3.14…at infinitum, so far. The last time I read the digits were carried out to two trillion without repetition. Those ancient Babylonians and Egyptians were the discovers and first users of Pi well before the ancient Greeks. Perhaps MY HC BEN can find a way to use the power of Pi to improve the Bears, while Poles can eat his pie.
Because MY HC BEN is clearly in charge if and when push comes to charge with Poles. I believe that we could entertain leaving the three 3 3 3 years of Poles’ wasted rebuild behind us.
That was all before MY HC BEN–call it BMB (Before My Ben). So instead of Poles’ year four 4 4 4 4, it should be Year One 1–AMB (After My Ben). I think that reflects Bears progress to escape their suffering past.
There’s a new sheriff in town, I love it.!
Really? Don’t some of you realize — the Bears games can be seen on TV, the internet and on demand? Watch a few — and learn something. Montez Sweat has “off-the-charts” physical tools — but he has clearly underperformed as a Bear. Montez Sweat — Chicago Bears (2024) $25,085,200 cap hit — 28 yrs. old Snaps: 616 Run Def: 247 Pass Def: 359 Solo Tackles: 17 Assists: 6 Forced Fumbles: 2 Stops: 13 Sacks: 5 Hurries: 37 Hits: 6 Total Pressures: 49 Leonard Floyd — Atlanta Falcons $10M cap hit — 32.5 yrs. old Floyd’s stats with the 49ers (2024)… Read more »
How long until Johnson figures out that he needs a QB who can throw the ball on time from the pocket behind a line that he’s not 3″ shorter than?