Bear Digest

Bears' grueling defensive initiation taxes new safety and veterans alike

Safety Kevin Byard describes the up-downs initiation process the Bears went through and how they also had their new safety pay the price, as well.
Gene Chamberlain|
Kevin Byard describes the new Bears defensive initiation process and apparently it was very taxing.
Kevin Byard describes the new Bears defensive initiation process and apparently it was very taxing. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

As it turns out, there is a buy-in to be part of the Bears' defensive huddle this year for starters and reserves alike.

Those exhausting up-down conditioning exercises defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had defensive players doing during individual work on the first day of practice are the cost, and the newest Bears player in camp had to do them even though he wasn't at the opening practice.

Safety Alex Cook re-signed with the Bears Thursday after he had been with the team briefly during OTAs, and when the former Panthers player reported to Halas Hall on Day 2 he was told he had to do the same up-downs the rest of the defense did on Wednesday.

"We had a guy, Alex Cooks, who actually reported here and got released and actually they signed him in I think yesterday," safety Kevin Byard said. "He flew back into town and to start practice (Thursday) we all circled around him. He did his up-downs.

"It kind of felt bad watching him do them by himself but at the same time it's just like that's one of those deals, the initiation of this defense, like, and then once he finished everybody was like 'welcome to the defense,' then got on with practice."

It's 40 up-downs they had to do. And any defensive player added to the roster the rest of the year needs to do those first practice, whether it's Week 1, Week 8 or Week 18.

"But no man that's just what it is man,” Byard said. “I think that’s just the type of family atmosphere that D.A. (Dennis Allen) is creating for this defense.”

Once they do the 40 up-downs, they’re good to go for the rest of the year.

The 40 they did at Wednesday’s opening earned a special place in Bears lore.

“I don’t care if you’re in Year 10 or Year 1, that thing is real,” Byard said. “Because in the meeting we watched the film yesterday because they filmed it.”

Some guys had a rougher time than others, particularly nose tackle Andrew Billings.

“You all know Big Bill is like 340,” Byard said. "I ain’t trying to joke because Big Bill is my dog but we got to like 20 and Bill wasn’t even going to get off the ground at that point. He was just laying on his stomach, picking his arms up. It was funny. It was hilarious.”

The benefit was obvious to all of them.

“We was hurting,” Byard said. “But like I said, you go to war with your brothers and everybody paid the toll and let’s go.”

The price being paid should be worth it.

"The intensity of practices are already different than last season," Byard said.

There's a reason. It has to do with the goal coach Ben Johnson set.

 By , 670 The Score

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — Before the Bears took the field for their first team drills Wednesday morning, veteran safety Kevin Byard joined his teammates on defense for 40 up-downs.

It’s a mandate from new Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen, who wanted his players to “pay the toll.” Not even a player like the 31-year-old Byard, who's in his 10th NFL training camp, is excused from that drill.

“It kind of took me back to high school,” Byard said.

Byard and the Bears are starting anew this training camp. Head coach Ben Johnson took over a team that endured miserable struggles in going 5-12 last season, and Johnson is setting high standards.

For a veteran like Byard, there’s an understanding that what the coaches are preaching goes well beyond just the present.

"Ben Johnson wants to build a dynasty,” Byard said. “We want to be that dynasty. We want to be the guys that get that thing started. Myself, we want to be the guys that build the foundation for Ben and continue to go as long as we possibly can. That's the goal. But we got a long way to go to accomplish that."

Johnson’s first offseason program offered a glimpse at the stylings to expect. The start of training camp brings it in earnest.

Early in the Bears’ first practice Wednesday, Johnson pulled the first-team offense from the line of scrimmage. He instead turned to reserve quarterback Case Keenum and the second-string unit.

“We got to be on our Ps and our Qs,” Johnson said of that decision. “And every minute, every rep is really valuable.”

On Wednesday, the Bears ran 90 plays in practice. They increased that to 105 plays Thursday. Johnson and his staff design every minute of practice to have a purpose. That's the case with any NFL training camp. The difference at Halas Hall from years past is how Johnson is enforcing it.

Bears running back D’Andre Swift experienced that with Johnson while he played for him in Detroit, where Johnson was the Lions’ offensive coordinator.

“That’s kind of what we need,” Swift said. “And you want that from the head man. You can’t let nothing slide by the wayside and let things kind of go on without addressing them. You aren’t going to win that way.”

When he’s outside the lines of the football field, Johnson has a welcoming presence. His intelligence and demeanor shine through, but there’s no mistaking what he hopes to accomplish.

Johnson is making a strong impression, and his players are looking to follow suit.

“He breathes competition,” Byard said. “You can just tell, the intensity. He just wants the best for everybody. And I think that type of energy raises the level of everybody on the team.

“We’re trying to win the Super Bowl.”

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.