The Chicago Bears have four games left. Three of them are against teams pushing for playoff spots. Their last one against an opponent who is already out takes place Sunday. The Cleveland Browns are 3-10 and horrendously banged up. This is a game the Bears can and should win comfortably. Of course, that could prove difficult since the forecast calls for conditions rarely seen this time of year. Weather experts predict a high of 11 degrees, with a wind chill as low as -10. It could become one of the coldest games in Soldier Field history. Ben Johnson understands the challenge.
Executing football at a high level in those temperatures is not easy. Keep in mind that he has spent his entire NFL coaching career in warm locations. It started with sun-soaked Miami and moved to the indoor confines of Detroit. This next stretch of games will mark his first real test of dealing with true winter weather. To that end, Johnson is using a philosophy that far too many coaches failed to recognize. If you’re going to play in a certain weather, you need to practice in it. That is what the Bears have been doing all week.
“Been outside. Love it. It’s Bear Weather. It’s coming down. I know our guys are excited about it. We can’t wait to get out there and be back home.”
Ben Johnson is the first coach in a long time to adopt this approach.
Ever since the arrival of Marc Trestman, it felt like the Bears were more focused on executing things well in practice. You can’t do that in the elements. So they would shift things inside the Walter Payton Center where players wouldn’t have to worry about the cold, rain, or snow. Matt Nagy did the same thing. One would think Ben Johnson would be a stickler for such things as an offensive-minded guy. That is definitely not the case. The head coach again demonstrates a clear wealth of common sense, knowing practices indoors won’t help prepare players.
The Bears want to start faster in games and want to play tough, smashmouth football. Doing that requires a specific mindset. Once the players get used to the cold, they stop thinking about it and stay focused on their jobs. It is why the New England Patriots were so good in cold conditions during their long dynasty years. Bill Belichick didn’t care about the weather. The team always practiced outside. Ben Johnson seems wired the same way.
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