Lake Forest, Ill.— Phase two of offseason team activities is well underway for the Chicago Bears at Halas Hall and as head coach Matt Eberflus continues to build his program, Tuesday was another productive day for the Bears. Despite a cloudy situation around star Roquan Smith, practices continued on Tuesday, with the emphasis being good, situational football.
“Today we had a good practice, a lot of situational football,” Eberflus said. “We did first, second, and third down situations from short to medium to long. We just got a chance to do a two-minute drill which was very good and a half two-minute drill, that was so nice. We did some in the game calls, situations that they’re the last play or the second to last play before the half or the end of the game to put you in a position to score or to stop that score.”
Between 2019-2021, under former head coach Matt Nagy, the Bears struggled to play good situational football, with 2021 being the tipping point as the defense seemingly lost its edge, despite an injury to star pass rusher Khalil Mack, who was traded to the Los Angeles Chargers this offseason for a pair of draft picks.
Eberflus’ words above indicate the Bears are getting back to the basics. When hired in January, Eberflus mentioned that year one was all about building the foundation, and the Bears appear to be doing just that as the team continues to prepare for the 2022 season. Beyond just playing good situational football, Eberflus hopes to have the Bears playing with a more disciplined approach during the upcoming season, a style that can hopefully lead to a few more wins.
The Bears have a long way to go before the championship window officially opens but expect to see a different Bears team in 2022 and one that sets a standard by playing hard and fast, not necessarily explosive and flashy.