Team meetings are usually held for big-picture reasons. Maybe the head coach needs to address players on certain effort or disciplinary matters. Perhaps the goal is to keep guys focused after a tough loss or a long win streak. It feels unusual for such meetings to happen for specific reasons, like how one part of a unit is performing. Yet that is what the Chicago Bears did on Monday after their big win against the Dallas Cowboys. Head coach Ben Johnson got the entire offense together to finally discuss his biggest issue with them.
The running game.
Normally, in these situations, a coach just meets with a specific position group, be it the running backs or the offensive line. It would depend on who he sees as the bigger issue—not Johnson. Adam Jahns of CHGO discovered that the head coach feels the best solution to this problem is getting the entire offense on teh same page.
In an effort to fix the running game, the Bears gathered as a full offense on Monday. It was time to hear from every position about everything involved.
“Anytime you can hear their voices or the coaching points on what everybody else is doing, you can make great football decisions – when you have the information about how your teammate is approaching this or a certain block or who needs to be where,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle told CHGO on Wednesday. “We’re always trying to teach the full group the big-picture knowledge of why this is important (or) this is how you know one job relates to the next.”
…The meeting was run by coach Ben Johnson. It was the first time that he’s held such a meeting this season specifically for his run game. Things needed to be addressed.
The reasoning behind this approach is simple.
Johnson and the coaches aren’t doing it to send a message. They are doing it out of necessity. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle made it clear how vital the running game is to the Bears’ offensive identity. If they wish to unlock the full potential of this playbook, they must get more from the ground attack.
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“It’s always been a point of emphasis for us,” Doyle said. “We want to create explosive plays. We can do that. We want to be able to do that through the pass game and the run game. But the run game is a huge part of what we do, building off of our runs into play (action) pass into screens. And so in order to get that going, you have to be able to force teams to play downhill, one-high (safety) and defend you in the run game.”
The Chicago Bears have a chance to find a spark on Sunday.
The Las Vegas Raiders are up next, and their run defense hasn’t been good this year. They just allowed 201 yards last week to the Washington Commanders. It became apparent they’re vulnerable to mobile quarterbacks, which Caleb Williams most definitely is. Their linebacker group isn’t the most reliable bunch. Much of this game will be about whether the Chicago Bears can generate a push up front. There have been signs that they can. It’s about making sure every defender is accounted for. Then it’s up to the running backs to do the rest.
D’Andre Swift hasn’t always taken full advantage of the holes he’s been given. Kyle Monangai has good vision but limited explosiveness. Getting this fixed will require a full effort from all 11 guys. The Bears don’t have an all-world back to clean up their mistakes, and the coaches understand that. Hence, the need for a meeting.
