John DeFilippo has seen his fair share of defenses as a quarterbacks coach and former offensive coordinator. His NFL career started in 2005. In that time one can only imagine how many different safety combinations his quarterbacks have gone against in practice and during games. That is why what he had to say about what the Chicago Bears are fielding is so interesting.
Keep in mind DeFilippo only just started coaching against this defensive secondary just over a week ago. It seems the safeties didn’t need long to make a serious impression on him according to Adam Jahns.
“Our two safeties’ high coverage is better than anybody I’ve been around,” DeFilippo said. “You really have to keep your eyes down center field against our two safeties. They’re as good as it gets when it comes to disguising coverages. So we have to make sure we speed our mind and decision-making process. We see what we see. We trust what we see, and we react.”
Obviously Eddie Jackson is the primary name involved in that statement. The two-time Pro Bowler has been a presence at camp from Day 1. The bigger surprise seems to be Deon Bush. A backup ever since 2016, his star has steadily risen since training camp in 2019. The Bears left the door open for him to compete for the vacated strong safety job against veteran Tashaun Gipson. An opportunity he isn’t wasting.
John DeFilippo now understands how difficult his job is
There are reasons to feel happy and frustrated for DeFilippo. Having to coach against a defense of this caliber is tough. Quarterbacks will always struggle to find any sort of rhythm in drills because of it. That makes it difficult to build consistency and confidence. At the same time, such a challenge can also bring out the best in a QB. That makes finding the right guy easier for a coach.
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By most accounts, neither Mitch Trubisky nor Nick Foles have produced many big plays in practice thus far. The safeties are a major reason why. They’ve done a great job of keeping them to a minimum. One should expect that to continue. Chuck Pagano and that defensive staff have a reputation to uphold. There is no room for leniency.
DeFilippo will have to up his game.