Head Coach Kevin Stefanski (12.10.25)
Opening Statement:
“Okay, really good opponent this week on the road, Chicago Bears. Obviously, they’re doing a great job. They’re +17 in turnover margin which is obviously that leads the league and is a great formula for winning. I think Ben’s (Johnson) doing an outstanding job with that group. They’re doing a lot of things really, really well. Offensively, the ability to run the ball, their play actions, huge challenge. Defensively, like I mentioned, taking the ball away at the highest clip in the league, playing really well. Dennis Allen, their defensive coordinator, somebody have a ton of respect for. Special teams, Coach (Richard) Hightower does a great job with their group. So going to have to really have a good week of practice to get ready for this scheme that we’re going up against. Weather will be a factor with the temperature as you would expect in December in Chicago. So, we’ll work through that as well. We’ve had a ton of weather here in the last couple weeks as well. So, with that, I’ll take any questions.”
You mentioned that turnover margin and they lead the NFL interceptions. How are they able to generate so many picks and what’s maybe the coaching points for Shedeur (Sanders) this weekend?
“Well, I think they have some players with outstanding ball skills and anticipatory skills to go to footballs. They’re playing in their zone defense, very visual on the quarterback. So with any quarterback – young quarterback, old quarterback – you have to do a great job with your eyes. You have to trust what you see when you’re looking at them. And obviously keying defenders, knowing where our guys are, you have to key their defenders and understand where they are, especially in their zones.”
How did you see Shedeur handle that interception Sunday? Like mentally and then how impressed by the fact that he’s able to bounce back?
“Yeah, he does a great job, and you have to as a quarterback have a very short memory. That’s an occupational hazard that those things are going to happen. You learn from it. You try to prevent it and learn from those types of things. But you got to bounce back. And he did.”
Kevin, it’s a long injury list today. Is anybody ruled out at this point?
“I wouldn’t rule anybody out, no.”
Kevin, what about their rushing attack with (D’Andre) Swift and (Kyle) Monangai and how important is that for the defense to bounce back after this past week?
“It’s a great rush attack. Not just the runners who are very, very good, but the offensive line, the tight ends, the receivers, all block. So, it’s a good scheme. They have various schemes that they can get to, whether it’s the zone game or the gap scheme game. The runners are dangerous in that they have the ability on the perimeter, they can run between the tackles. So, it’s a huge challenge for our defense and obviously it’s a huge focus for us going into this game.”
How do you prepare for when it’s going to be this cold? I mean, I’ve seen, you know, wind chills maybe in the -20s and temps in the single digits. And how do you prepare for that?
“I think we deal with elements, Mary Kay (Cabot), in all these games. Sometimes it’s wind, sometimes it’s rain, it’s snow, it’s cold. It’s the same for both teams. Sometimes it can have an effect on the kicking game and how the ball travels, that type of thing. But you deal with elements regardless of whether it’s really, really hot or really, really cold.”
Kevin, I thought you said on Monday that Wyatt Teller will not play.
“Sorry. I can rule Wyatt out, yes.”
When you talk about their run game and the struggles you guys had Sunday, what do you think is the number one thing you guys need to fix that you didn’t do well against the (Tennessee) Titans?
“I think you’ll always hear me and Jim (Schwartz) and our defensive staff talking about getting back to the basics and being true to the scheme and playing with the proper technique and with great effort. It’s oftentimes not very elaborate. We just have to do our job and use our technique and play with great effort.”
Kevin, with Caleb Williams also in the run game, he uses his legs a lot. How does that kind of duality of his skill set present challenges for you guys?
“He’s a really, really good young player. He can make a ton of plays both on schedule and off schedule, has elite arm talent to throw the ball around the field. And then to your point, Kelsey (Russo), he’s very elusive, extremely elusive. He can get out of the pocket to the left, to the right, vertical in the pocket. He’s a hard guy to bring down and that adds another element to their team and in this case their run offense.”
Hey, Kevin, can you quantify the progress that Shedeur made while he was doing those practices, at the end of practice and all the meetings with you and everything?
“No, I mean, I don’t think you can quantify development. With all of our players, we have a development plan that we feel strongly about. And like I think I mentioned to you guys before, what’s great about our young class, Shedeur, in this case our entire rookie class, is these guys want to get better. And as coaches, as teachers, you have guys that are putting in all the effort to improve in a ton of areas, whether it’s classroom, scheme, technique, footwork, hand placement, etcetera. I think all these guys are making strides just because they’re devoted to their development.”
Kevin, can you, with a rookie quarterback, can you tell like when you’re having conversations with them, you know, can you tell in those conversations the moment when sort of the light bulb is really sort of start, you know, when it’s all starting to connect with them regardless of which rookie?
“Yeah, I do think there’s, to your point, there’s a maturation throughout a rookie’s first year, and it definitely starts in the Spring and mastering the offensive system and those types of things. And then you try to start to master the defensive systems. And we’ve talked a lot, each week you’re going up against a completely different defense, with different rules for their coverages, different pressure packages, so we have different rules in our protection. So all of that, I think for young quarterbacks is really important to continue to develop in those regular-season game plan weeks as you go. But in terms of light turning on those types of things, I just think he’s committed to getting better every single week and that’s what you want.”
Kevin, because he does things so well off the platform, is it even harder for him, I don’t want to say breaking of the habit of, you know, surviving for another down, throwing the ball away, those kinds of things because he was a playmaker, is it tougher to kind of get him to not necessarily buy into that, but to play that way?
“Well, I think you look around the league, Tom (Withers), and there’s a lot of quarterbacks that have always made plays outside the structure of their offense from when they were young to when they get to the pros. And you never want to take that away from a player. And Shedeur has an ability to make plays off schedule, so that’s something that you certainly want to promote and enhance and get the team playing to that style as well. You also want to make it easy for your quarterback when you can, and when you can get those completions on time and play within the rhythm of the offense, that makes you really difficult to defend as a quarterback. But you never want to take away that ability to make plays off schedule.”
Kevin, kind off of that, but going back to Caleb, just what’s unique about the way the Bears and him specifically what they do to kind of maximize that ability to operate off schedule?
“He’s terrific off schedule. He’s also really good on schedule as well. And they run the ball at a very high clip. They have play action at a high clip. So those are, they’re putting the quarterback in advantageous spots in a lot of their offense and he does have the ability. Like we’re just talking about with Tom, he does have the ability then when it’s not there, to be elusive, get outside the pocket and make a play.”
I know we talked about Harold (Fannin Jr.) a lot throughout the year, but how impressed have you been with his consistency? It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of ups and downs.
“Yeah, very impressed. And we’ve been talking about him really since he got here. Just in his attitude, keeps his head down, works really hard. We ask a lot of him in this offense in terms of playing different positions, doing different jobs so that versatility is something he possesses and that doesn’t just happen. That comes from hard work. So, I give Harold a ton of credit. I give Christian Jones, his coach a ton of credit for the work that they put in.”
Kevin, the Bears basically rebuilt their offensive line in one offseason. Do you think that’s as easy to do as they’ve shown or is that a difficult task to do?
“Yeah, I can’t speak to the difficult part of it, Tony (Grossi). I’d just say that they’ve done a nice job, those guys, it’s a good fit for what they’re asking of their guys. They got some talented players.”
Because Shedeur has demonstrated such elusiveness. Can you guys add a little bit more movement into the game plan maybe than you originally intended to with him?
“I think there’s definitely ways to move the quarterback on schedule and part of your system, and we’ve certainly done some of that and you can grow that as well. But I do think it’s always going to be a balance of giving the quarterback structure, giving him answers, giving him, easy buttons, if you will. But then a lot of quarterbacks around the league and some of the great ones, you see them, their ability to make plays off schedule when, as Coach Mus (Bill Musgrave) would say, ‘when the chalk runs out on the chalkboard.’ That’s really hard. It’s a trait that not many people possess.”
Two small injury questions. When did Jerome Ford injure his shoulder, and then Malachi Corley wasn’t on the pre-practice report, so is that an IR situation?
“He’ll practice limited today.”
Jerome Ford, when did that injury happen?
“Yeah, I think the injury happened during the game unfortunately, obviously. He had played a really good role for us throughout the season.”
Is there something unique about Carson (Schwesinger) that makes him so able to find the ball, be around the ball, make those tackles?
“I don’t know if there’s a…there’s a lot of things that are unique about him when you’re playing like he’s playing, and at that age and his experience, it’s pretty unique and very impressive. I think it’s a great combination, Cam (Camryn Justice), of a guy that has really, really impressive physical tools. I mean his ability to run and tackle and drop in the pass game – he’s got great physical skills. And then the cerebral nature and the way in which he plays – I wouldn’t say a lot of young players possess that type of ability. Again, credit to the young man, credit to Coach (Jason) Tarver, how quickly he’s gotten up to speed in that area.”
Kevin, as an offensive mind yourself, what stands out most about Ben Johnson’s system he runs? We’ve seen his offense, especially in Detroit (Lions), be so effective and he’s brought a lot of that over in Chicago. Just how challenging is it to game plan against?
“Ben’s done a great job. I don’t know Ben well, but I’ve known him for a bit here. He worked for Darrell Bevell when he was a young QC in Detroit. So, we have, we can share Bev stories – that’s a tough way to be raised in this business. But always admired the scheme in which they play. I think that he does a great job of marrying the run and the pass, and I think he’s utilizing the personnel really well there in Chicago.”
The quarterbacks who make those off schedule plays you’re talking about. Sometimes there’s some “no, no, yes!” in there. How do you get comfortable with trusting their instincts?
“Yeah, I think I’d point to the play that Shedeur had…we had the big interception by Devin (Bush), third down. It ends up being an incomplete, but he scrambled around, was looking to make a play, nobody wiggled open, and he threw the ball away and we got points out of that. I think that’s good progress for a young quarterback. You have to know that it’s a fine line of, ‘I’m trying to make a play for my football team and I’m also going to be smart here because I have points.’ You learn that from playing, you learn that from being in these games. And I think he’s making progress there.”
Kevin, you’re taking a crazy amount of criticism for taking Shedeur off on that two-point conversion. I know we’ve talked about this, but it’s off the charts. Are you aware of it? Are you impervious to it? Do you block it out? What’s your response to it?
“I think in my position, Mary Kay, everything you do that doesn’t work will be criticized. That’s the nature of this beast. I’ll constantly try to do what’s best for the football team.”
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