Bear Digest

Bears Defensive Coordinator Likes Benefits in Using Starters

The Bears look forward to facing Joe Burrow in Thursday's practice but how they'll use starters in Saturday's game is still a mystery, although Eric Washington didn't throw water on the idea.

Gene Chamberlain

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will challenge the Bears in practice Thursday even if starters don't play Saturday.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow will challenge the Bears in practice Thursday even if starters don't play Saturday. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer via Imagn Content Services, LLC
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Bears coach Matt Eberflus didn't speak with reporters after Tuesday's practice and as a result it's still unclear whether the Bears will use starters against Cincinnati Saturday at Soldier Field.

He is not scheduled to talk to media again on Wednesday.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor already has said his starters won't play but Bears defensive coordinator Eric Washington did shed some light on the topic by saying Cincinnati's actions doesn't necessarily indicate what the Bears will do.

"We're on a ramp-up kind of mentality," Washington said. "We want to continue to see the defense, the guys we;re going to be counting and the guys that are competing to make the team. We want to continue to see them in live action and in different situations, so I think the experience of a preseason game is important.

"Obviously, coach Eberflus will make the final call on the specifics of that, but I think it's always valuable when we can get out and compete and we can kind of test the boundaries of our system and test the things that are really core values for us."

The critical thing is where the Bears are in preseason.

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"I think what matters is like I just mentioned, just where we are with our installation, where we are with our defensive process and where are we as it pertains to certain members of our team," Washington added.]

Eberflus has stressed throughout the offseason and also in camp how valuable the practice with the Bengals is, as opposed to the game and Washington agreed.

"Well, we just get a chance to work against another group as opposed to working against each other," Washington said. "We're going to have different looks. We're going to have a different skillset across the board.

"It's just an opportunity for us to work against a different unit and to have to adjust on the fly without the benefit of going and game-planning and doing those sorts of things, just to really see our players respond and react with the things that are going to be presented to us."

The practice at least gives the defense a chance to face one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Cincinnati's Joe Burrow, as well as receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

"Well, we certainly adds a dimension to all of that, because of who he is and what he's capable of doing," Washington said. "It's an outstanding offense. I've had direct experience with that.

"It just gives us a chance to face an outstanding group, an outstanding offense, and we've been facing one our own offense for a couple weeks and now it gives us a chance to look at somebody else."

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.