Chicago Bears fans who’ve followed the team for the past decade will know the name Eric Kendricks. From 2015 to 2022, the All-Pro linebacker was a massive thorn in their side as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. While physically gifted in many ways, Kendricks was best known for his outstanding intelligence. He was the brains of the Vikings’ defense, always getting them in the proper alignments. There was nobody who caught him off guard in that respect.
Well, almost nobody.
Kendricks appeared on Good Morning Football for NFL Network and admitted that one person haunted his dreams as a player: Ben Johnson. In the past three years, the linebacker has faced the new Chicago Bears head coach four times. Each experience was worse than the previous. Kendricks managed to keep it to just 24 points in the first meeting. In the second, Johnson hung 34 on the Vikings. When the linebacker joined the Chargers a year later, Detroit put up 41 on them. Kendrick moved again last season to Dallas. The Lions crushed them 47-9. One can understand why he hates Johnson and isn’t happy he’s running the Bears.
Eric Kendricks is an opinion you can trust.
Few players understand football at a fundamental level like he does. If he tells you a coach is uniquely gifted at making life hell for a defense, you’d better listen. One thing he said that stuck out was Johnson’s ability to adjust quickly. Most coaches usually enact adjustments on offense during halftime. Johnson can do it between quarters and even between drives. That showcases an ability to diagnose what a defense is doing and craft countermeasures on the fly. Things like that can give defenders nightmares because it forces them to think. Once you get a defense thinking, you’ve already won half the battle. Eric Kendricks can take solace in one thing. Since he’s still a free agent, he won’t have to worry about facing Johnson again this year. His former team won’t be so lucky.
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