Ben Johnson breaks down performance vs. Giants | Chicago Bears

Ben Johnson breaks down performance vs. Giants | Chicago Bears

Hey everyone. Um, yeah, didn’t feel too much different from uh from watching the film today that I felt yesterday. Um, guys played hard there for 60 minutes. Can’t find a way to to win that one at the end. Um, number of things we can clean up, but uh was was really happy with the intensity with which we played throughout that game. We we uh rode the highs and the lows and we we handled that just fine. So, um, really excited to to get our players back in the building on Wednesday and and get going to this next week. So, I’ll open it up from there. Pat Finley. Hey, Ben. How are you? Good. How are you? Good. I’m good. I I wanted to ask you about two fourth down throws. Uh, the first was the one at the end of the first drive there uh uh down into the end zone to DJ. Uh, and the other was uh the fourth and three I believe it was on um with about nine minutes left. Uh what’s the question? Can you take me can you take me through the second one again? Uh who do we throw it to? Fourth and three. You guys are empty. Caleb kind of pirouetses left. Winds up throwing it a little high in behind Swift, but it looked like you had Rome on kind of Rome chipped and might have had a kind of a delayed crosser going the other way. Yeah. Yeah, I got you. Yeah. Okay. Where’s the ball ideally supposed to go in in those two situations? And kind of how do you and Caleb uh navigate, you know, his improvisational skills, which are great with you being the play caller and, you know, if the ball if there’s a play there to, you know, to throw it. Yeah, we we talked about uh Amy, we just watched the whole game together. um he made a number of really really good plays that we needed uh in the moment and there’s a there’s a handful of them that uh you know we talked about and in hindsight you you might play them a little bit different. Um same thing for me as a play caller there’s a number of calls that I I probably want back. Um, in those two particular instances, the first one, uh, we felt like we had enough time to to hang in the pocket and and throw that ball to DJ, um, without breaking contain. Um, and it’s a balancing act for him. He feels the pressure and and like I’ve been saying all along, he’s got a natural ability to to know when to escape and and carry on. And that’s not something that we want to we want to uh take away from his game, but we are encouraging uh at times when we see it where we can hang in there and and either get the throw down the field or check the ball down. Um so the one to DJ we felt like there was some space over the top there that we might be able to to throw him open into in the end zone. And then the the second one is uh I if I remember it right, it’s we had a number of crossers on that play and I I thought a couple guys popped. Um it’s a play that we hit. He threw really well in practice. We felt good about and uh it’s probably another one that he he felt like um he felt the pressure, got out of it, but we could probably hang in there and deliver that ball down the field. How do you think in general he handles the balance of kind of knowing when to hit that eject button and and knowing when to hang in there? Um it’s it’s a work in progress. Uh, you know, I think the more comfortable he gets within the offense and the more trust he has in his pass catchers that they’re going to be where they’re supposed to be, that um he’ll continue to play within the the the rhythm and the timing of the concepts. Um, and as we’re continuing to grow and and develop that trust, uh, there will be times where he takes off and he runs with it. I mean, I thought what he did yesterday in terms of evading that rush, that’s, uh, that’s a rare quality for for most quarterbacks. and I don’t know many other in this league that could have done it to the extent that he did yesterday. Courtney, hey Ben, um on that note, I know DJ Moore said after the game he feels like Caleb like the last two weeks with what happened on that final drive in Cincinnati to get in position to hit Coloulston and then yesterday with the 29 yard scramble and 17 yard run like he said like he feels like he’s got the green light now to use his legs more. Like what do you has there been maybe more of an emphasis or has there been something that you’re encouraging with Caleb to to use his legs in those moments whether it’s evading the rush or just taking off and and going into that Superman mode? Well, we we’ve been able to accumulate a number of reps now over the course of the season. And uh you know, like I said, we we sit down, we talk about every practice rep, every game rep. Um, and so it’s a different message dependent on on that particular rep, but uh something that that we’ve been pretty consistent with. There are there’s times that we do need to use our legs. I think it makes us a more dangerous offense overall. Um, you can talk to Dennis Allen about it. I I think nothing probably strikes fear in his heart a little bit than than a quarterback that’s able to take off because you can have everything else accounted for and you can feel pretty good about your pass rush, but yet if there’s an open lane, which there tends to be when you have a fourman or even a fiveman rush, uh the quarterback can still make you hurt with his feet. And so, yeah, it’s it’s something that we certainly want to utilize. It’s not something that we want to necessarily feature each and every week, but when the opportunity presents itself, um, we we have the ability to capitalize on it. And as far as that, like defensively, when you watched it back, did you think there were maybe more opportunities to to spy Jackson Dart or to have more of a plan to contain him? Well, we we knew he’s a really good player to start with. I felt like uh he hurt us more on the quarterback designed runs as opposed to necessarily um him in the passing game. Now, I’m not taking anything away from he he played a heck of a game for for them and uh gave us some fits, but we felt like we could fit up some of those quarterback designed runs a little bit better and and cleaner on our end. Um and I think that would make us feel a little bit better about about that game as a whole. Phil Hello. Can you hear me? Gotcha. Yes. Oh, thank you. Uh, thanks, Ben. Uh, so a couple questions for you. One, uh, do you ever address the elephant in the room that is the prospect of the playoffs with the players um, either as a carrot or just kind of relaying to them the stakes? And if you can answer that, I’ll ask the next one after that. We we understand the urgency that’s at hand. Um we know where we where we are in the NFC right now. Um but I I think the biggest thing in in the message to the team is we’re a six and three team right now that’s looking to get to seven and three. Okay. And the second thing is about Luther Burton. Um I know he had that big play in the fourth quarter, the 27 yard reception. Can he be or do you kind of see him as kind of a secret weapon that defenses may not have a lot of tape on him? Um, and as he gets more acclimated to uh playing in the NFL, you can uh utilize him more. Yeah. No, I think you you’ve slowly seen his rep count go up. Um, he’s a guy that’s starting to get more targets. Uh, it’s it’s a trust level between the coaches and the player. It’s a it’s a trust level between the quarterback and a receiver. um it it continues to ascend and so he’s been very productive when we’ve been able to get the ball in his hands and there’s a strong argument that we should get it to him more. Dan, hey Ben, quick housekeeping question before a meteor one. What happened with Jaquan late first half when when he went down and and needed to be uh attended to? Uh looked like he he tweaked his back a little bit, but sounds like he’s good to go. Okay. Uh fourth quarter, first touchdown drive got jump started with that extended play. uh Caleb to Coloulston down the seam there. Um that’s the play where Darnell stones Brian Burns’s spin move and then what did you see from both Darnell and Coloulston in in completing that play? Yeah. No, I think uh you know Darnell Darnell did a heck of a job throughout that game. Um really our entire offensive line did that those are I I said it early in the week and I’ll say it after the game as well that you could argue that that’s going to be the best defensive front that we’ll face all year long. I mean, it’s first rounders galore. Uh, talented pass rushers galore. Um, they made it a mission to to stop our run game. We weren’t nearly as efficient running the ball yesterday as we would have liked to be. Um, but in terms of pass protection, you know, you look up and we had zero sacks. I thought Caleb was uh certainly a big factor in in negating some of those sacks, but our offensive line did did a pretty solid job uh down in and down out. Now, I I think Darnell had a couple that he had liked back as well, but overall, I was pretty pleased with his play. I’ve been very pleased with his play over the course of the season so far. So, um on that particular play, it’s just a great instance of how strong he is as an individual. Um he caught he caught Burns in a spin and was able to capitalize on it. So, that was great. And then Coloulston, you know, you talk about a heater coming at him. Um Caleb running to his left and absolutely flings that ball and and uh Coulson was able to haul it in. So like you said, it’s a huge play in the moment and certainly one that we needed to keep that drive going. Adam, hey Ben, to build off Dan’s question there a little bit when you have blocks like Darnell’s, I think it’s been a couple weeks now where he’s putting the opposition on the ground and Theo had his block along the sideline last week. like what type of energy do those blocks kind of provide you and the team behind the scenes when you when you show them and you discuss them? Yeah, I know. I think our guys guys appreciate it. I think uh offensive line play in general, it tends to get overlooked. Um you got a lot of ball watchers around this league as fans or even as coaches and personnel guys, you know, you tend to overlook that the trench play at times. And so, uh, we certainly have a a great appreciation for what those guys bring to the table. We’ve we’ve invested a lot from a from a draft capital and a and a, uh, you know, free agency standpoint of bringing those guys in. Um, we value those guys tremendously. And so, it’s good to see that that pay off for us. They’re a huge part of what we do. Our offense doesn’t doesn’t really go unless they’re they’re functioning at a high level. And so, um, yeah, really happy with where they are. I was proud to show a few few clips last week of them in the running game getting after it, finishing. I think what gets me fired up more than anything, I think of our first touchdown of the game yesterday where um when you when you hit pause, you have all these blue jerseys in the same frame and we’re all pushed in the same direction. That’s that to me is inspiring football. Jason, hey Ben, two questions for you. The first is a big picture question. When you think about the vision that you had for this team and how you wanted it to look and operate, what are some things you’re seeing that match up with that halfway through your first season that you say, “This looks like my blueprint and what are some things that you still want to see some growth in?” Well, um, you know, I think the easy answer for that is we we want a team that will fight all 60 minutes. Um, you know, they it’s a group that believes in in what we’re doing as a coaching staff. They believe in what we have in the locker room. Um, and that belief comes through each and every week right now. Uh, they they understand that we’re always in these games. Um, and so we have a very resilient group. I think that’s that’s step number one. And then where we got to get better, and I alluded to it last night, is is we got to start taking control of these games um, a little bit more. We got to play cleaner football, which I thought in some aspects we did. Uh we were much better in the penalty department yesterday. Uh we were much better red zone offense, red zone defense yesterday. Um but yet we take a step back in terms of catching the football. We take a step back in terms of converting on critical downs. Um you know, things of that nature. And so it’s we we we still haven’t put that whole collective 60 minutes, three phases together yet. Um yet we’ve seen glimpses of it throughout the season so far. And so I’m I’m happy with the that the fact that we’re winning games and we’re finding way to win games and the guys are believing in what we’re doing. Um and yet we still have so far that we can still go and how much we can still accomplish as as a whole team. My other question is about your play calling. This is multiple times this season where you have volunteered that you think your play calling should have been better in a game including earlier in this call. Uh how are you grading yourself in that area and why do you think it is important to be transparent about that that that you feel like your play calling could have been better in some situations? Well, you know, it’s the first thing you look at when, uh, when things aren’t aren’t clicking. You don’t feel like you’re in a rhythm as an offense. And so, uh, I always look in the mirror. What could I, you know, do a little bit better there? Uh, I didn’t love our third down plan. When I go back and I looked at it, um, you know, I thought they did a really nice job defending us and and we didn’t do enough to to counter that. And that’s that’s on me. I I got to do a better job of that. Um, I know why I did everything in the moment, why I call things. it everything has a reason and yet when it doesn’t when it doesn’t click the way we want it to then I I just question whether uh whether I should have done something or done something else and so um yeah end of the day we’re all in it together. Um I want those guys to understand that uh I take a lot of ownership and and what we put on tape as do they and so um yeah it’s really important that that they understand we’re all in the same boat. Kevin. Hey, Ben. Uh, you talked last night about the drops that you didn’t see them in practice, and I’m just curious from a coaching perspective as you enter this week, how do you handle some of those drops in terms of addressing it, not addressing it, extra practice with the judgment, whatever it is, like what’s your kind of strategy um after a game like that? Yeah, my strategy is uh you know, like anything, you you talk about it and then you you move on. you learn from it, you move on. Um, you know, when my experience and I’ve coached quarterbacks, I’ve coached receivers, I’ve coached tight ends on the offensive side, and uh, you can make things worse by uh, going overboard on some of this stuff. And that’s not the intent. All those guys, they want to catch the football when it comes their way. And, uh, we acknowledge the fact that, hey, there’s a few of those that we could hauled in. We need to do that. Turn the page. Let’s keep it moving. And so, uh, we’re going to be we’re going to be just fine. And one quick one about you. Pat asked you about the fourth down calls. Just curious in the first half. Um wanted to know a little about your decision- making with the weather, the distances, the you know they’re fourth and manageable. Just like what what was kind of the thought process in terms of going versus kicking in some of the those I think you had two in the first half like that. Yeah. No, I just uh I felt like we were we were on their side of the field and uh we really didn’t uh you know I think there was one punt I did that I’m like well shoot man we 25 yard punt that landed on the 11 yardd line and um felt good about the distances that we had. Uh wish we would have connected on on you know two more of those. If we if we go three for four instead of one for four I think we feel a lot better about how that game plays out. Um, but yeah, certainly the weather plays a factor in it. Um, you know, you go through your pregame routine, you you get a feel for how comfortable you are with the wind and and uh and things of that nature and so that all plays a part in it. Last question, Herb. Coach, you kind of alluded to this in your answer to Jason a bit ago, but in your mind and even even in your message to the team. How do you kind of balance the idea of appreciating and enjoying your team’s ability to be resilient and pull out some of these games late with the thought that, you know, some of these contending teams with these games coming up may require a more complete four quarter performance? I think it’s the best thing about about us winning right now is we can we can come back and we can coach them hard, you know, and we’ll tell them the truth and and they know it. I mean, they’re professionals. They they they all know that, uh that we’re winning, but yet this isn’t necessarily the the style or the fashion that we want to hang our hat on long term. And so, um yeah, I think I think we’re in a really good spot with our locker room right now. Um our coaching staff is doing a tremendous job. I think I got a lot of confidence on on really all three phases and and how we’re coaching the game right now. And uh you know, it’s games like this that you know, you can come in the next day or or on Wednesday and and coach them um and be really truthful with what what you’re seeing and what we need to improve on. Awesome. Thank you, coach. Thank you.

Head coach Ben Johnson addresses the media virtually Monday at Halas Hall.

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