Matt Eberflus on "The Flop" by Vikings
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Looks like Matt Eberflus picked the wrong week to talk about possibly picking up intensity at the start of practices as a way to avoid slow defensive starts to games.
You have to have practice first before you can pick up intensity.
The schedule for practices has been altered this week as a result of a Thursday night game. There is only one practice and it isn't going to be much of a practice.
Here's what else was learned from coach Matt Eberflus' Monday postmortem besides the feeling Justin Fields is breaking through.
1. Jaylon Johnson's Health
The Bears held only a walk-through on Monday but they are required to put out an injury report and the positive was cornerback Jaylon Johnson would have gone through a full practice had there been one.
His quad injury has apparently healed, and the same was true for safety Dane Cruikshank with a hamstring injury. The only player the Bears would have had sidelined was linebacker Matthew Adams, who has a calf injury. He had just returned from a hamstring injury last week and played Sunday.
Even though there was no practice, Eberflus said they were giving Johnson a private workout in the afternoon to see how he'd progressed.
"I'm really in the same spot I was," he said. "I was hopeful last week, and we'll see where he is."
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2. Line Change Could Still Occur
The switch of Lucas Patrick to center could still occur. It's just not going to be this week.
Eberflus said when Cody Whitehair is over his knee injury then it's possible Patrick could still move to center from left guard. That would make it all three interior line positions played for Patrick this season.
"We're going to find the best five so whoever's healthy and up for that situation, we're going to find the best five and we have the luxury of being able to move Lucas in and out," Eberflus said. "So that's a benefit that we have. He can play all three spots in there so we will find the best five. Right now, we know Cody's not with us at this time but right now, we'll find the best five when he's back.”
3. Officials Irritated Bears
It's not common to hear Eberflus complain about officiating, but the illegal block in the back penalty against Ihmir Smith-Marsette that wiped out Justin Fields' 52-yard scramble for a touchdown seemed to have left a bad taste in the coach's mouth.
"You know, the officials called it and sometimes it's a judgment call and they made that judgment and they threw the flag and there's nothing you can do really do about it at that point," Eberflus said.
Eberflus had no problem with the block Smith-Marsette threw on Cameron Dantzler.
"No, I thought it was a great effort," he said. "I thought it was great effort by him. I thought he got in position. I thought it was great effort. And just at the end, the guy kind of spun and threw his arms up and they called it. And that's the way it goes sometimes."
In hockey, basketball and soccer terms, a "flop"? After the game, Smith-Marsette, indeed, called it a flop by Dantzler.
Does the coach?
Said Eberflus: "Um, you know, I don't know what the words you would call it but he twisted and threw his arms up in the air and they end up calling it so …"
4. The Bears Will Practice Wednesday
The only actual practice the Bears will hold before Thursday's game is Wednesday, one day before the game.
It's very uncommon for the Bears to practice the day before a game. Walk-throughs are the norm. They'll have a walk-through Tuesday, after thew one they had Monday. And the practice they do have on Wednesday will barely be one.
"It'll be a quick, red zone type practice with helmets on," Eberflus said. "And then it's a lot of mental work. It's a lot of walk-throughs, mental work."
The Bears left on the roster since last year went through this type of short week in the past for Thanksgiving games, but there was no Wednesday practice. It was never a common thing for the Bears to practice the day before games for Dave Wannstedt, Dick Jauron, Lovie Smith, Marc Trestman, John Fox or Matt Nagy.
"We have some meetings and walk-throughs the day of the game because it is a night game," Eberflus said. "It's at 7:15. You just try to prepare the guys the best you can in that time frame."
So the hard, intense practice intended to prepare them better for the start of games will need to wait until the week before they play Oct. 24 at New England on a Monday night.
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
