Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus (8.27.22)
Opening statement:
“Good evening. I want to start out by thanking the players for the whole preseason. I thought we took some good steps. We’re trying to lay the foundation here of how we want to play and I thought they did that. The first game was okay. The second game was a little bit better. I thought this game was a little bit better than that. Guys are playing hard. Their alignment and their technique keeps getting better. The intensity with which we play is starting to improve. We just have to always be mindful of the football. We’re doing a really good job so far. We have to do a better job. Situational football has been decent. It’s been decent for us. Again, I can’t say enough about the players. They really bought into it. To run our systems the right way, it takes mental toughness in practice and in the way we do things. Again, I can’t thank them enough. A couple injury things that happened prior to the game that we’re squared away with here. 58 (LB) Roquan Smith had some tightness when he was warming up, so we decided to pull him and not play him today. 33 (DB Jaylon Johnson) had earlier in the week, on a red zone day, so we decided not to play him. He had some tightness. 94 (DE Robert Quinn) we just decided not to play at all. 4 (DB Eddie Jackson) was day-to-day. Those are the guys right there, and I’ll open it up to questions.”
On the first-unit offense:
“It was just good operation, overall. We ran the ball solid. I thought the play-action was nice. The boots and waggles were good. We took the completions there. Then, we did a nice job of handling getting a takeaway and then a score. That’s complimentary football. Then we end up giving the ball away and we end up stopping them and holding them to three points. That was a good swing of four points right there for us.”
On QB Justin Fields performance:
“I just think he’s getting better. He’s just getting better. Like I said the other day, he is a young player. He needs experience. This was a game-like experience for him that he needed to have. He took a big step forward for him and for our football team. He’s just getting comfortable and operating the offense, doing his thing. I thought he did that tonight.”
On whether he sleeps better after a game like this knowing the regular season is next:
“No, I mean I sleep good every night. I would say that it’s really more about what you need to do next. What is the preparation? We’re making our cut downs and trimming up our roster. Then, we’ll get the transition day. We’ll clean up this game. We have a lot to learn from this game. We have a long way to go to get ready before we’re ready for the first game. We’ll just take it day by day. We’ll set a plan. Obviously we have set a plan. We’ll execute that plan going forward.”
On how QB Justin Fields is evaluated when Cleveland sat several starters:
“You go with what you have on tape. That’s all speculation. I wouldn’t know how to do that. You go with what you see on tape, how he is executing, how he is doing during practice. A lot of times, you focus more on the practice reps than you do on the in-game reps. This was a good step forward.”
On how the first-unit offense should feel after having three first half touchdowns:
“I think they feel positive about the performance. When you have a good performance or you have an okay performance, or whatever that performance is, you can always learn from it. Let’s take it play-by-play. What can we learn from each play to get better as a football team?”
On QB Justin Fields facing imperfect circumstances and setbacks:
“That’s called Adjust, Adapt, Overcome, right? That’s one of our mottos that we have. It’s never going to be perfect. You’re going to go out there with a game plan, and all of a sudden you have to figure things out and have in-game tactics. When a play breaks down, you have to figure it out. It’s a scramble drill. All the things that we practice.”
On TE Cole Kmet:
“We’re excited where Cole is. Cole had another good game this game. We’re excited where he is. He has been practicing his tail off. He’s been working hard. He’s been blocking at the point, obviously catching the ball well in the open field and running after the catch. He’s been doing some nice things. We’re pleased with where he is.”
On QB Justin Fields and the simple plays that keep the offense moving:
“He is getting better. That’s one of the parts that he’s getting better at. That’s really about his footwork. He’s been working on that – the timing of his feet with his throws. He’s getting better every day.”
On the importance of the offense being able to get out of holding penalties and out of the hole:
“That’s great. Usually those things set you back. When you get a holding penalty like that, it sets you up. We did a nice job having a good chunk play after that, and scoring on that drive. That was really good. I think it was (TE Ryan) Griffin that scored on that. He had the penalty and scored on it, so there you go. He did a nice job.”
On RB David Montgomery:
“He practices really well this week, so it’s no surprise. You play how you practice. He was excited all week to do it and he performed tonight. We’re excited about where he is.”
On the team’s connection with OC Luke Getsy:
“It’s been great. The offensive chemistry has been good. The defensive chemistry has been good. The team chemistry has been great. I always tell the position coaches and the coordinators that your guys will play as a reflection of you. They’ve been doing a good job.”
On whether LB Roquan Smith said he couldn’t play or if it was a trainer’s decision:
“It’s a group decision. We all get together, huddle together, and say ‘yeah he is a little tight there’, so we are just going to keep him out.”
On the challenge of LB Roquan Smith not playing any preseason football:
“No, he has played a lot of football. This guy is a good player – a really good player – and he’s played a lot of football. He’s got a lot of snaps under his belt. Just like Rob (DE Robert Quinn), they have a lot of snaps and they’ll be ready to go.”
On the specifics of the tightness that LB Roquan Smith experienced:
“Just tightness.”
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