Matt Eberflus, the Bears’ coach, understands that there are 16 games remaining after the season opening.
It’s no surprise that he’s emphasising the importance of the first game.
“I think it’s always important,” Eberflus stated. “Just look at the numbers—see who makes it to the postseason; they get off to a quick start. And I demonstrated that to the boys in the spring.
“They’re (playoff teams) at least 2-2, most are 3-1, and a couple were 4-0 in the NFC. So we talked about it. The men realise the importance of getting started quickly.”
To do so, they’ll have to beat a squad that was completely rebuilt over the winter under new coach Brian Callahan following a 6-11 season that resulted in Mike Vrabel’s firing.
Bears’ safety Jaquan Brisker remarked how the Bears’ sluggish start last year put them in a hole they couldn’t get out of.
Eberflus believes the group can get off to a faster start this year.
“I like their mindset, I like their mentally, where it is,” according to Eberflus. “We started the spring in shadow-boxing mode and then we moved into training camp, into the sparring mode, and now we’re into the bout, now we gotta fight.”
The team they’ll battle has several difficult players to match up against even in the middle of a rebuild.
The Titans made improvements on both sides of the field personnel-wise, but their offense is more recognizable and the defense might need more moves to add talent conducive to their new 3-4 base.
“Just we’re focused on us, honestly,” Eberflus said. “What we do, how we do it, and doing it really well, that’s what we’re focused on. We know the people we’re playing against.
“Obviously a really good receiving corps. They’ve got three dynamic receivers that are good and all accomplished. The runners have experience, both are accomplished. They’ve got the line, they’ve got some new pieces on the line but are really skilled on the one side (offense) for sure. And they’ve got a new center.”
Here are the major issues the Bears face in personnel against Tennessee.
WR Calvin Ridley
The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder came back from a year away due to a gambling suspension and posted eight TDs with 76 receptions for 1,016 yards. The big-play threat in their offense.
WR DeAndre Hopkins
Now in his 12th season, Hopkins had 1,057 yards last year and seven TDs with 76 catches for the Titans in his first Tennessee season. The 6-1, 212-pounder is sort of the Keenan Allen type receiver for the Titans, as a 32-year-old standout who is still effective. Hopkins appears over a training camp knee injury and Callahan was talking about him Wednesday as if he’d be playing Sunday, but he is still limited in practice. The Titans mirrored the Bears in a way by bringing in Tyler Boyd, as well. Now they have a big three in the receiver room and it’s not going to be easy to handle this.
QB Will Levis
A 6-foot-4, 229-pounder, strong runner and passer but he has only nine starts so he could be susceptible to all the disguises the Bears like using on defense. In theory, it shouldn’t be as easy for him to scramble against them, either, because of their reliance on zone coverages where they are facing the running QB.
DT Jeffrey Simmons
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive tackle made a bunch of threats in the offseason on the podcast circuit about what he’ll do to Caleb Williams in the opener. Simmons is a two-time Pro Bowl and two-time All-Pro second team who can rush from the interior and has 26 1/2 sacks to go with three forced fumbles.
CB La’Jarius Sneed
The former Chiefs cornerback ranked among the best cornerbacks in the league last year. He had a 56.2 passer rating against when targeted and at 6-1, 192, has made 10 career interceptions He was dealt by KC along with a seventh-rounder to Tennessee for a 2025 third-round pick and a seventh-rounder.
Edge Harold Landry III
A 6-2, 252-pound edge who came off an ACL tear the previous season and had 10 1/2 sacks following a 12-sack 2021 season.
CB Roger McCreary
The Titans nickel back is well equipped to defend over the middle against Keenan Allen or the Bears tight ends. He put up an outstanding 85.3 passer rating against last season at nickel and made two interceptions with a forced fumble.
Leave a Reply