The Bears Need to be More Disciplined Moving Forward
As new Head Coach Matt Eberflus gets his career as a National Football League head coach underway with Bears offseason programs starting two days ago on April 4th, something he must improve with his new team is discipline.
Under Head Coach Matt Nagy, the Bears were far from disciplined in many different areas of the game. The Bears had the 12th most penalties in the league in 2021, with a whopping 106 total penalties. Breaking down the numbers, 20 of them were false starts, and the Bears led the league with 11 unnecessary roughness calls which should be unacceptable for any team. Not only did the Bears have a lot of stupid penalties, but it also added up to 914 penalty yards which led to many points being given up throughout the season. 8 of the Bears' 11 losses were within 2 possessions, so it is fair to say that had the penalties been cleaned up, the 2021 6 - 11 record could have maybe looked much different.
I am sure we all remember the 2020 game where the Bears hosted the New Orleans Saints and wide receiver Javon Wims punched C.J Gardner Johnson, getting himself ejected and costing the team penalty yards, leading to a Saints field goal. The Bears would go on to lose this game in overtime. While that incident should have never happened, most fans would think it would be a one-time event, however, that same year against the same New Orleans Saints in the playoffs, Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller punched Johnson, also getting ejected.
The frustrating thing about all of the penalties during the Matt Nagy era was the fact that the majority of the same things were happening. Whether it was offensive holding by the same few players, or players not being set or knowing the snap count leading to false starts, the problems never went away. Matt Nagy would always discuss in post-game pressers how the penalties were a problem, yet no change ever came and that is where new head coach Matt Eberflus must be different.
While Eberflus has stated that he wants his guys to play with full power, speed, and to play hard, it is just as important to him that the players are disciplined. He brings with him his HITS principle. This principle he discussed in his introductory presser stands for hustle, intensity, taking the ball away, and smart, situational football. His goal is to be top five in the fewest penalties every year, which is a great goal to see following the rocky Matt Nagy era.
Here is an example of what the Bears need to avoid in 2022. Those are dumb plays...
Article Written by Alex Abrams
