Bear Digest

Why Matt Eberflus' HITS Principle Might Be Overrated

Analysis: Matt Eberflus' HITS principle stresses smart play and avoiding penalties but the bottom line is being a team good enough to overcome penalties.

Gene Chamberlain

Sure, the Bears would like to avoid penalties on offense and defense, especially because Matt Eberflus stresses it, but how important is it really?
Sure, the Bears would like to avoid penalties on offense and defense, especially because Matt Eberflus stresses it, but how important is it really? / Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
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When Bears coach Matt Eberflus took the job in Chicago, he seemed to spend his entire first year talking about his HITS principle: hustle, intensity, takeaways and smart play.

The degree to which they achieved it from a hustle and intensity standpoint in his second season seemed obvious down the stretch, winning five of the last eight following a 2-7 start. The takeaway aspect of it also was clear with their league-high 22 interceptions after they had only six to show for the first 10 games.

Smart play? Penalties probably represent this better than anything else and it looks like there's work yet to do as they finished with the 18th most penalties at 118, one year after they had the sixth fewest with 103. The first Eberflus team had been better at this right away after they had the 10th most penalties in 2021 under Matt Nagy with 131, according to NFLpenalties.com.

There needs to be a better distinction made between dumb play and playing with an edge, though. Sometimes this isn't an easy thing to determine, but it seems the Bears defense definitely plays the style of ball coaches want.

Last year they were buzzing around constantly in the secondary, and practices in camp or offseason sometimes ended with tempers flaring. The way the defense swarmed receivers last week and then hooted it up after breaking up Caleb Williams' throws showed they still had their nasty, sharp edge.

"It starts with Flus, goes throughout our entire (coaching) staff," defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. "I think that is just a part of their DNA, but definitely we want to play with an edge. We want to compete with an edge. We want to compete like we're the best unit on the field, and that's something you have to back up with how you play, how you study, how you invest.

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"And I really like the spirit, like the attitude out there. Even in the (OTA non-contact) format that we were working against, and I just feel really good about where we are."

There is a little more to it than the penalty totals, especially regarding their defense.

Although their flag totals went up last year, they still only had 34 defensive penalties, 12th fewest. It was the Bears offense bumbling through flag-filled games with 55, tied for ninth most. Of those 29 were presnap penalties, also ninth most.

So while the Bears will look to cut back their flags this year, it's not necessarily the defense where it must be done.

The importance of all this in relation to Eberflus' HITS principle can be seen in the defensive penalty totals from his time in Indianapolis as coordinator. In 2019 (26) and 2021 (23) they committed the fewest defensive penalties in the league. They strayed to 12th most in 2020 with 45. In his first year as coordinator they had fifth most with 50. All four years they were a top 10 defense.

While Eberflus stresses fewer penalties, it's natural to wonder the importance of it all.

It is important but doesn't need to be.

Last year the five teams committing the most penalties on defense were Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco and Buffalo. Every single one was a playoff team.

And the NFL team to commit the most offensive penalties? The Kansas City Chiefs with 69. Besides all those flags, they also got the Lombardi Trophy.

Here's something else along those lines: Only two of the top 10 teams in terms of fewest offensive penalties made the playoffs. The eight teams who committed the fewest defensive penalties missed the playoffs.

The moral of the story is penalties hurt a team, but a good team overcomes them and bad teams can't or don't.

The hustle, intensity and takeways can be a little more important than smart or stupid play in the HITS principle if the team is strong enough.

And above all else, that edge the Bears defense plays with doesn't have to mean more penalties but if it does, so what? Just overcome them.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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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.