Ben Johnson on emphasizing competition | Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson on emphasizing competition | Chicago Bears

Morning. Good morning. Um, just want to take a second as we get going here just to acknowledge the the passing of Ryan Samberg. Um, you know that I grew up a big Cubs fan and so he was a big part of my childhood, my family. U we watched them watched him, Mark Grace, the whole crew on WGN for a number of years and I know what he means to the city and and the career that he had. So just thoughts and prayers to his family. Um and then also the the uh tragedy there in New York with the with the NFL uh the shooter. And so thoughts and prayers go out to to the employee that got shot. Uh keeps things in perspective, you know, as we enter training camp and and the guys are going hard that uh a little bit more to life than than just football. So uh with that being said, uh good day yesterday in terms of camp. um really enjoy being out there in the heat and the humidity being up like it was. I feel like that that’s really training camp to me because that’s where as as coach Randall Ellis said to our guys a couple days ago, that’s where the boys separate themselves from the men and uh and vice versa. So, it’s it’s good to see who rises to the top and who can push through when when physically you don’t feel your best. And and it sounds like we’ll have another day like that here today. They had a couple new faces out there with Coulson getting more reps and and Luther making his appearance and that was good to see and and we’ll see if we can piggy back and have another good one today. Open it up from there. And with Coulson getting more involved, what have you seen from him in the early stages? I know you guys were very impressed with his rehab, but now he’s doing the football stuff more more readily. What have you seen? Yeah, you can’t gauge until you get him on the field the football instincts and it showed up from the from the get-go. He had a particular block the other day where the defensive end looked to spin out of it and he was able to anticipate that and able to stay on top of it. So, those are things that that really stand out to a coaching staff that maybe if you’re just a regular bystander, you might not see. And uh it’s really encouraging when you look at a young player like that and and the growth that he’s going to be able to have, the more reps that that he gets. And when you took the job and you’re assessing what assets are here on the roster, you look at Roma Dun. What did you see that already there to work with? A sketch of what you think? Yeah, he to me he fits that prototypical X receiver where you can line him up outside the numbers and provided he gets a one-on-one with a corner, he’s going to win most of his matchups. um slant routes, stop routes, go routes, you know, the whole route tree outside the numbers. And and that’s what I’ve seen from him so far. He’s a really detailed route runner. I think he had a route yesterday in one-on- ones that was really impressive. He’s looking one way, breaks the other way, and and really snaps it off for a sharp cut. And when you have a a long guy that can win contested catches and torque down the field and all that, but yet still can drop his weight and get into and out of routes like he can. That’s that’s really a unique skill set uh that we’re going to look to capitalize on. And how does using DJ and Cole in the back field give you an advantage on game days? Yeah, we’re we’re exploring some things. Um, I think what I’ve seen on tape and what I’ve come to learn about DJ is he is a he’s a physical. He is a run after catch. Just get me the ball type of guy. And so whether that’s in the back field, whether that’s screens, whether that’s I think he had a nice go route the other day, there’s a number of things that we’re looking to do and explore to how do we get him the ball and get him in space. And so uh we’re tinkering with that a little bit. yesterday you saw and and he’s really receptive to it. All the offensive players that have been up here have talked about going against Dennis Allen’s defense, seeing all these different looks and all these challenging things. What’s it been like for you to face those types of things in practice, just going against him headtohead? Yeah. Another coach told me yesterday, they said, uh, you know, Dennis has a little ego, too, now. And so, he he didn’t come into camp looking to to get steamrololled at all. He’s looking to to make a name for for the defense. And, uh, he’s I mean, he’s bringing it. He’s bringing it left and right and um you know it’s it’s a compliment when all those defenders talk about how complex it is because yeah we see it on offense too. It’s it’s hard. There’s um we’re having a difficult time in protection right now. I think that’s probably what stands out to me from the first five practices is uh we need to do a better job giving giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket. Um, we’re having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like and and so uh it’s really a credit to DA and I think said it to the staff on the on the day off a couple days ago. What’s been most glaring to me from the springtime to those first four days of practice has been how much tighter our coverage has been. um the the corners, the safeties, the linebackers, it’s it takes time to get this down and what they’re what they’re looking to do and yet they are significantly smaller windows than what there were in the springtime. So, we’re trend in the right direction there. What are your early impressions of uh Kungai? I know you’ve only had Pats one day and but from when he got here to where where you’re at with him now kind of early. Yeah, he he’s a sponge. He just he wants to do everything exactly like you coach it. And there’s a lot of merit to that because he he’s going to be one of those glue guys that you can count on to do it the right way. When the pads come on with that particular position, the drill I love the most is the one-on-one pass rush where it’s him versus a linebacker. and just to see how stout they are because you have to have you have to have you have to be wired a little bit differently to come up and and smack a linebacker in the teeth there day one with pads and and I think he’s got that mentality. Ben Rome said the other day he was talking about his comfort level in the offense and he said that it’s not this is an offense that he’s not expecting to know every little detail about in year one with as complex as the scheme is. How do you gauge what I guess m what the level of mastery you expect the players to have as they’re learning it now versus what it should be? Yeah, it’s uh that’s a really good question because I actually went back right before we started camp and I looked at, you know, 2022 when I first started calling calling the offense to 2024, what the training camps looked like, how much different the installs looked and I mean significantly got more complex and layered as we went. And uh we’re not we’re not starting where this offense started in 22. we are we’re more complex and there’s a lot more going on. So, no, I don’t expect them to have it mastered and yet they’re trusting. They’re really jumping into the deep end here and trusting the fact that we uh we got a we got a plan in place. We know what this is going to look like come week one. We’re going to be able to get the pieces aligned correctly and they’re just doing their jobs of knowing what to do and and we can detail it up once we get it on tape. What’s the plan with Burton? Is he ramping up? Do you anticipate him doing anything with team today or not? Yeah, we’re going to start ramping him in there. He’ll start getting some team reps slowly but surely and uh we’ve got a number of guys that kind of started low and and now their volume keeps getting bigger every day. Receivers talk about, you know, having to kind of learn everything and learn all the positions. What sort of challenge is that for a rookie who has missed a lot? Yeah, it’s uh it it shows up already. I mean, we were in the walkth through yesterday afternoon and the misalignments. We have to rehddle. we have to start it all over again. And so, um, he’s he’s a little bit behind right now. Did anything stand out to you, uh, first day with pads on? Uh, no. I I think, uh, the physicality showed up to a degree. I think, uh, today we’re going to feel the pads, the the uh, we’re going to hear the pads, probably the right way to say it, a little bit more. I think those guys, they they feel greased up from yesterday, and now they’re going to know what to expect today, both with the weather and the competition. things pencled in with the offensive line by the end of this week as then you shift into the joint practices in the preseason. Uh we’ll circle back, you know, that player day off. We’ll sit down as a as a personnel staff and a coaching staff and assess where we’re at. And um I don’t know that we’ll we’ll be at a point yet where we want to pull the trigger on anything, but um we’re certainly getting more clarity every single day. Is that time sensitive in the sense that guys need to start training in the roles that they’re going to be? So to be swing tackle, for example, they got to they got to work on both sides. It takes time for for the five guys to gel. It does. It’s just just that’s been my experience. And so the sooner we can identify who those five are going to be, I think the the quicker we’ll be at at our, you know, top strength. But uh we got to find we got to identify who those five guys are first. Yeah. when it comes when it comes to Caleb mastering the the motions and shifts, what stage is he at right now? And how do you kind of contextualize what the next step for him is in that? Yeah, I I just I probably just see growth. Um he is so much more comfortable right now, even yesterday, uh but yesterday the walkthrough yesterday just in terms of moving around. You know, we go from gun to under to the tight ends are moving, the receivers are moving. We’re adding a few more every single day. And so I think he’s just his process and I told him this on the player day off. His process is is really clean right now. I’m talking about how he’s preparing. I’m I’m really pleased with it. He’s he’s doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing and we’re starting to to see the dividends being paid from it. So thank you guys. I didn’t ask her.

Head coach Ben Johnson addresses the media on Tuesday at Halas Hall.

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