Cubs News: Eberflus on offensive struggles, Montez Sweat kicked out at practice |
LAKE FOREST, I.L. - In Chicago’s first days of training camp in pads, the offense experienced issues with pre-snap penalties, turnovers and failure to convert in crucial situations. Overall, there was a lack of focus and finishing, according to head coach Matt Eberflus.
“I told the players at the end of the day, it’s about focus and finish. So, the focus needs to be better. You guys saw the pre-snap penalties and some of that was a function of what our defense does in terms of that. So, it really (has) to wire in and focus on the offensive side and we had some really nice plays on the ball on defense as well. So, you got to give credit to those guys. They did a nice job there in terms of the interceptions. That was really good. Then really, I talked to them about, at the end, this is what training camp’s about. This is about building up the callous. You have to go through hard. There is no trick. There is no easy way to be able to go through hard and execute on the fourth play, fifth play, sixth play. Those are the most important plays of drives. That’s when you’re in the red zone. That’s when you’re in four-point plays. That’s when you’re in third down and fourth down, midfield to keep drives alive and we have to focus during that time and really execute during that time and that’s the process of this,” Eberflus said. “So, hats off to the defense. They played well most of the day, played well in the two minute and again, the offense obviously had its struggles today." Eberflus understands that there is time to get better. "But, I also said to them after the practice, ‘Guys, all three phases have to play well for us to be a good football team. So, there’s going to be days where the defense struggles or special teams struggles.’ But, it’s got to be all three phases hitting on all cylinders and we’re just not there yet. We’re not there yet and of course, it’s early in training camp. I don’t expect us to be. But, I do expect us to grow and learn from this and get better and for the day off, as we watch this tape the rest of the day and the guys have the day off tomorrow and then come back swinging. It’s always about the response. Want to see the offense come back, come out swinging on the next stack of practices and that’s what we’re looking for.” Friday July 26 marked the first day in pads for the team. On both Friday and Saturday, the offense had problems with false start penalties. Eberflus said on Friday, this was attributed to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams using different cadences and the offense is still working to become familiar with those cadences. On Saturday, it was more the defense, including defensive tackle Andrew Billings yelling “Move!” to get them to jump. .@DAndreSwift was floatin' 👀 pic.twitter.com/l08W559P9j The cadence has been an issue going back to organized team activities (OTAs) in May. Williams did not use a verbal cadence in college and is thus trying to adjust to that in the NFL. While there certainly have been improvements since the OTAs, there is a lot more progress that needs to be made for his cadence to be ready and be properly used as a weapon for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sun. Sept. 8 (Noon / FOX). “We need to have different cadences to use it as a weapon. So, when you’re working new together, it’s going to take time. It’s going to take time to be able to do that,” Eberflus said. “So, going on one, going on two, going on three, dummy counts, silent count, all the things that you do as an offense.” Williams also threw back-to-back interceptions on Saturday. One of those picks was to backup linebacker Micah Baskerville while the other was to backup cornerback Josh Blackwell. Both of these players are familiar with Chicago’s defensive scheme as they were on the roster last season. Such a performance may rattle some rookies, but Williams is not like that. “I thought he responded well. So, when you throw an interception, what is your response and I thought he responded well in seven-on-seven after those plays and again, we were doing all downs today,” Eberflus said. “So, we’re doing situational football, third and fourth down quad zone stuff. So, I thought the response was good.” On Saturday, the Bears’ starting offense, without receivers Keenan Allen and DJ Moore on the field, were not able to convert because of the pressure Williams was constantly under. Overall, it was a bad day for the offense. But it was also not a good day for edge rusher Montez Sweat, who was thrown out of the drill after making contact with Williams’ arm. “I threw him out of the drill today and then I pulled him aside and I said, ‘Look, you cannot do that. You’ll be sick if something happens’ and that’s what I told him and he understands that,” Eberflus said. “Does he get around there fast and all that stuff? Yeah, he does. But, he’s a superior, elite athlete. He’s good enough to be able to stop and move away. So, he’s got to be disciplined that way and he will in the future.” Our full sit down with @ChicagoBears dynamic Pro Bowl Edge Rusher Montez Sweat…. It is unclear who will be starting in the Bears’ first preseason game on Thurs. Aug. 1 against the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game, but Eberflus said the team will announce on Tuesday whether or not Williams will be playing in that game. Given the offensive struggles during training camp thus far, it would not hurt to have the starting offense go against another defense. Regardless, Chicago may be without offensive lineman Nate Davis who is “day-to-day.” His career has been riddled with injuries, so this does not come as a surprise. The Hall of Fame game also provides an ample opportunity to put Chicago’s defense to the test. They are expected to have one of the best defenses in the league next year and while the Bears do not want to reveal all of their cards since they will also be playing the Texans in week two of the regular season on Sun. Sept. 15 (7:20 p.m./NBC), it could be a good chance to see if all of the hype about second-year player Gervon Dexter is true.
We covered A LOT of ground here @nflnetwork @MarcRoss @_sweat9 #DaBears pic.twitter.com/5Kh90Cosyx
