When people think about the most important events of an offseason that isn’t about player acquisition, they always think of training camp and the preseason. That is where the bulk of player assessments take place. Chicago Bears coaches would scan their 90-man roster, determine who is worth keeping and who isn’t, and then whittle it down to 53 finalists. When discussing such activities, people rarely mention the opening events like voluntary minicamps and Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
These are little more than walkthroughs. Players are in shorts and don’t wear pads. There isn’t much happening from a consequence perspective. Pretty much 99% of the time, this is true. However, there is one key reason to think it might be different this time for the Bears. That “voluntary” part holds far greater importance to this new coaching staff. It stems from a quote head coach Matt Eberflus made last month at the scouting combine.
“I SAID IT (AT THE COMBINE), REALLY TWO THINGS: DO GUYS LOVE FOOTBALL? THEY’LL SHOW THAT ON TAPE. AND ARE THEY WILLING TO WORK HARD? AND ARE THEY WILLING TO STRETCH THEMSELVES TO A NEW BOUNDARY THEY HAVEN’T TAKEN THEMSELVES TO BEFORE?
AND IF YOU HAVE THAT, IT WILL ALL WORK OUT. CERTAINLY THERE WILL BE GUYS THAT DON’T BUY INTO IT. THAT’S OK. IT’S NOT FOR EVERYBODY. MAYBE YOU NEED TO GO TO A DIFFERENT TEAM.”
Now one should not underestimate those words.
One of the first goals for Eberflus is determining which players on his roster are fully committed to being great. He needs to know who is willing to make the necessary sacrifices. Something like attendance at voluntary practices might seem trivial on the surface, but it isn’t to somebody like him. He takes football as seriously as anybody. Outside of an injury or personal off-the-field crisis, there is no excuse for a player to miss these events.
Any player who refuses to show up, regardless of their name value, could be at an immediate disadvantage. This Chicago Bears regime has no loyalty to anybody on this roster. As far as they’re concerned, it is a failure. They’re a 6-11 football team. To them, that doesn’t just mean it lacks talent, but it’s also made up of guys not willing to work hard enough.
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When the voluntary camps begin on April 19th, the weeding out process will also start. Rest assured, anybody who doesn’t show up won’t be given a free pass because of prior achievements. Every player on that roster is starting from scratch. The last thing they can afford is a bad first impression.
