Bear Digest

Matt Eberflus' Coaching Skills Severely Tested Three Weeks In

Last year Matt Eberflus ran into a crisis in the second week and this season a week later but it seems to challenging the Bears coach on several fronts.

Gene Chamberlain

Matt Eberflus is being severely challenged a week later this year but in several ways.
Matt Eberflus is being severely challenged a week later this year but in several ways. / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
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Three weeks into the season, Matt Eberlus' ability as head coach is being tested.

It's a week later than last year, when he had to become defensive coordinator/head coach after Alan Williams' resignation.

This time he needs to make sure the coaching staff is communicating and ahead of the game after the disaster when they had to burn a timeout because no one was ready to go for a two-point conversion or even knew if they were.

"We all saw there’s a couple things we need to clean up and we gotta get better at it," Eberflus said. "We have to look at and evaluate what and how, and the process of doing, and that's what we did the last couple days. That's every week. Every week there's certain things that don't come out, that's way out in the open like those certain things were.

"There's issues every week that you gotta deal with that no one saw. So you gotta make sure you're always working through that with your coaches and with your players."

Considering how bad the things were that everyone actually did recognize, what no one knows about seems entirely salacious and Eberflus obviously isn't about to reveal it.

Some of Eberflus' coaching aimed at a better game plan. That's part of what Shane Waldron needs to handle, and it goes beyond the poor goal line play for a 12-yard loss.

After all, the Bears faced the league's worst run defense last week and gained 62 yards on the ground. He went back to one of the prerequisites he set down back last offseason when he was talking about what he was looking for from an offensive coordinator. They need to be versatile and able to adjust.

"Well, I think you've gotta adjust and move, you've gotta adjust and change," Eberflus said. "Meaning, your offense needs to adjust and change, but the concepts need to stay the same in terms of dressing it up with formations and the way you're moving your protection, I think that needs to adjust every single week with how you're presenting to the defense. You have to do that.

"It can't be that simple of an answer, so you've gotta be able to do that. And our offensive coaches are doing that. We've got a good plan this week. We're going to work the first and second down plan (Wednesday) and then work from there."

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The Bears coach also needed to do a bit of ego repair. Running back D'Andre Swift is off to a very slow start at 1.8 yards per carry and taking it hard, but the Bears still need him to pull it together.

"I think rushing the ball is an everybody thing, kinda like protection," Eberflus said. "We gotta create the holes with everybody, we gotta move people. The scheme's gotta be right for that particular runner. I just think it's everybody. It’s not just him.

"I know he's very hard on himself. I always tell the guys it's good to be hard on yourself, but you also have to be encouraging too. You gotta go out there and perform. You're a performer. He's done a good job of that. He came in a couple days ago and was talking to everybody about what he needs to do better. We sat down and had a chat with him."

It wasn't just Eberflus talking to Swift.

"It was with the offensive coaches, they met with those guys in terms of fundamentals, technique, the partnership of that," Eberflus said. "Really, it's pressing the hole, creating that for the offensive line, not coming out too fast and really pressing the hole and making your cuts off of there, and pressing the line of scrimmage. That was the main thing."

The coaching goes out for Caleb Williams, as well. The interception he threw to Jaylon Jones that nearly went for pick-6 was both a poor choice and something very basic they can't have again.

"That's just throwing late on the side," Eberflus said. "That was after a couple hitches there. That's gotta be a one hitch and ball out, maybe two hitches.

"There was a couple more in there and then it was late to the sideline. He knows you can't do that. Now it's gonna be in harm's way. That's (throwing late) really over the middle or off to the side, that's where you get in trouble."

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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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.