A Matter of Containment for Bears

A year ago Jaylon Johnson chased around the opponent's top wide receiver week after week, sometimes winning battles, sometimes losing.

The scheme is the thing now, and Johnson can't anticipate pursuing 49ers highly paid receiver Deebo Samuel to all ends of the gridiron. Occasionally they'll meet up, but oh, he'd love to do it.

"100 percent, I mean, he just got paid," Johnson said, referring to Samuel's $71.5 million deal. "Everybody looks at him as that top guy.

"So, I mean I feel like people look at me as a top guy. So to go against him and then showcase what I can do is another step in the right direction for me."

The only thing is, the Eberflus system isn't setting one player up for responsibility like this. It's a team scheme and keeps everything in front of the defenders so they can use their eyes and tackling ability, whether against Samuel or a running quarterback like Trey Lance of the 49ers.

"Do I want to go wherever he goes?" Johnson said. "I mean, yeah, everybody knows that that's what I do, that that's what I look forward to, but I mean, I ... that's not up to me at the end of the day.

"So I'm just going to do what I'm told to do and execute that as best I can."

The Bears well remember what Samuel is capable of, whether it's untested second-year quarterback Trey Lance throwing his way or veteran backup Jimmy Garoppolo. Samuel against the Bears caught six passes for 171 yards last year, including a game-changing 83-yard wide receiver screen.

"I would just say after the catch, I feel like a lot of his stuff is YAC yards," Johnson said. "With his ... turning into a running back after he catches the ball. We all know what he can do after he catches the ball, but I mean definitely a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands."

The mystery with the 49ers is Lance, and how he'll be used. Johnson expects the 49ers will defer to coach Kyle Shanahan's play calling and not necessarily try featuring too much with their new passer.

"A young guy, he definitely has a strong arm," Johnson said. "He can hurt us in the run game but he's still got to prove himself to me."

The Bears have a plan for Lance, too. The defense has had to put up with a running quarterback all summer in training camp practices when they faced Justin Fields.

Now, with the practice squad, they'll seek out some athletic players to play the role whether that person is a quarterback or not.

"We'll take some athletes and get some different guys in there that can do that, for sure," Eberflus said. "Nate, obviously, can run really well, one of our show-team quarterbacks. We'll have guys that can potentially do that for us."

He referred to Nathan Peterman, the practice squad QB who doesn't exactly inspire memories of Randall Cunningham.

Beyond the athletic ability, there is the offense they need to be ready for and Lance in it. As Johnson pointed out, there is little film on how this might fit. It's almost as big a myster as how the Bears offense will be with Justin Fields running it

"You're projecting a little bit," Eberflus said. "You have to project how they're going to use the young man and where they're going to use him in their offense.

"We certainly have an idea of what the offense looks like. But how they're going to use him, no one really knows. You're going to use your rules and have your calls and make sure you're sound, what you're doing."

It's all about the scheme, whether it's coverage of receivers or containing a quarterback.

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