Chicago Bears aims to embody the mentality of coach Ben Johnson

For the first time since he became coach of the Chicago Bears, Ben Johnson held in front of the room and addressed his team on Monday.

The players had returned to Halas Hall for the start of the voluntary offset program, marking the first time that Johnson and his players were all in the same room.

“(It was) just give the tone to what we want to do here and really have a feeling of urgency right now,” said corner half Jaylon Johnson.

Addressing the media a day later, several players spoke Tuesday to feel the intensity and confidence of Ben Johnson in front of the play. There was also an underlying understanding that work is starting now – in April.

“He jumped there and said a bunch of back,” said a lot of things not to do and created a precedent for what we are going to be as a team, finding our identity and all that, “said the quarter Caleb Williams. “We are excited. Obviously, we have to put the work. Cannot be too excited because the work has not started. ”

On Monday marked a minor stage on the road to the 2025 season. As Williams stressed, the work is just beginning. There is a lot of novelty in Halas Hall. Almost all coaches are new, and players are just starting to establish relationships with their position coaches. There is a feeling process that will take months, not days or weeks.

Johnson has energized the building since his arrival. This is obvious. He was obvious the day he arrived in Lake Forest and gave a short speech to the team’s employees in the Halas Hall hall. It was also obvious a few days later when he addressed the media, organization and fans at his opening press conference in January.

Until now, Bears players only knew Johnson by what they have seen from the offensive of the Lions of Detroit. They were intimately aware of what this offense could do because they had to try to defend it twice a year.

They could feel how the Lions’ offensive line struck the opponents in the mouth. They could see the creativity of the game appellant and his game conceptions. They could feel the confidence with which this group has executed these pieces.

“What he was able to do, and just the mentality and what the offense wanted to do for the opponents was (to) lift a lot of points,” said Tremans EDMUNS. “You can feel it. We don’t just want to win, but we want to win a lot. We want to dominate.”

Although Johnson does not bring his play book Lions with him in Chicago, he brings this mentality and this point. Her attack will occur on the ground believing that she can mark a touch on each possession. His defense wants to remove the ball from the hands of his opponent.

“Do you prefer to win by seven points or 70 points?” Jaylon Johnson said, adding later: “It’s not just about winning or barely getting rid of but dominating.”

This is the mentality of the new coach, and the players hope to embody it. The Bears are no longer plagued by reconstruction, as they were for the first two years after the hiring of the director general Ryan Polas in 2022. Williams, the choice n ° 1 a year ago, is no longer a recruit. Ben Johnson arrives in Chicago with the intention of winning matches – and winning matches now.

“There is no doubt that it can happen in 2025,” said Johnson at his introductory press conference. “It depends on the difficulty of working and our disposition to sacrifice.”

Work and sacrifice are starting now.