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Bears Buzz in Senior Bowl: Praise for Ben Johnson, Scouting reports on Doyle, Allen

Bears Buzz in Senior Bowl: Praise for Ben Johnson, Scouting reports on Doyle, Allen

Mobile, ala .- “The draft begins in mobile” is the senior bowl slogan, and when the Chicago Bears enter the preliminary draft, their situation is less printed than their colleagues on the draft.

The bears got the head coach they wanted. You have your quarterback. There are no hot seat talks and you don’t have to spend time and resources for an overwhelming quarterback class. Teams like the Giants, Browns and Titans may not have so relaxed to relax a winter and spring.

The chatter in mobile often turns to the quarterback. Two years ago, as was related to Chicago, it was Justin Fields. Last year it was Caleb Williams. This year it is the couple of Ben Johnson-Caleb Williams and a team that has to strengthen his offensive line.

Positive reviews for Johnson

“You will not hear anything about him,” said a source of the league about the new head coach of the bear.

In the past two weeks by coaches, scouts and agents over Johnson, this mood was pretty accurate and this continued during the Senior Bowl week in Mobile. “Great smart,” said a scout. The league’s source said: “You know that the crime with Johnson will be there.

Another scout repeated the idea that negatives would be difficult if they asked for Johnson, but he asked himself who will have the employees “presence”. Johnson certainly seemed to answer this question with his first days in the Halas Hall.

Every conversation about the direction of the bears in the college-all-star game often turned to the needs of the team along the offensive line, especially when you consider what Johnson had in Detroit.

“There is no dominant offensive lineman in this design,” said a personnel officer.

The freelance agency could help. Another league source expected that the bears would be a lot in the mix for the Chiefs Guard Trey Smith, who would be one of the best available players if the chiefs can hit him on the open market. Smith acquired a Pro Bowl nod this year, just missed a start in his career and was supposed to have a fan in GM Ryan Poles, who was at the chiefs when Smith designed Smith in 2021.

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New offensive coordinator “far beyond his years”

When Denver Bronco’s Quality Control Coach Favian Upshaw was an assistant to Tulane, an assistant to the saint came across the game planning throughout the week.

Upshaw assumed that the coach was in the thirties and was a bit in the NFL. Then he found that Sean Payton’s young assistant Declan Doyle was not even 25.

“He already seemed to be experienced and far beyond his years,” said Upshaw.

In the last two seasons, Upshaw and Doyle were together in the Broncos staff under Payton – Doyle Coaching The Tight ends and Upshaw to monitor the running backs. After Doyle was a QC trainer a few years ago, he gave the Denver Quality Control Coaches the materials with which he ensured that he did what was needed for the support of Payton’s offenses.

“He prepared himself as if he were an offensive coordinator from the start,” said Upshaw, who trained the national team in the senior bowl. “He builds his own playing sheet. He looks at the whole film. He uses his own runs and things. “

In Denver, Doyle gave a presentation of layers and applications to read a defense.

“I was how, how do you know that you are doing that?” Said Upshaw. “As a young coach, you try to learn. He showed this aspect. “

The former offensive lineman Jahri Evans was 2022 Coaching intern when Doyle was an offensive assistant.

“He is a real clever guy,” said Evans. “He has to be the youngest OC in history? Bananas. I look forward to him. He would show me a few things on the computer that I learned, he taught me a few things. Excited to see what he could cook with this young quarterback. “

Johnson worked for Dan Campbell, who trained for Payton, and it is difficult to go wrong to poach Payton’s assistants.

“You know the insult, I will tell you that,” said Upshaw about what it means to work for Payton. “You know how to open people. That does Sean. “

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“An absolute mastermind”

After eight seasons in College Rank, Adam Gristick got his first shot at an NFL job and worked as a defense assistant for Dennis Allen in New Orleans.

“You will get a hard and physical defense. That’s how we play, ”said Gristick. “Instead of just overloading the boys with a scheme, he will let these boys play quickly. It is a defense of the players, 100 percent. The players will love it. You should really be excited about what is happening in Chicago. “

Evans played as an assistant for the saints during allers and then joined Allers when he started his career as a head coaching career.

Although everyone fired after week 9 this season, Evans considered it one of the better seasons from everyone as a coach.

“We only had a lot of injuries,” he said. “Chicago gets a great defensive coordinator.”

Evans faces this defense as a player in practice and has an idea of ​​what it should look like.

“You will be exposed to a defense one half,” he said. “You will exert some pressure. You will give you some strange looks and you will play a man. If you have these man corners, play a man. “

Gristick sat with everyone in the film room with everyone and helps to put together game plans. He quickly recognized something.

“He is an absolute mastermind,” he said. “He is a genius when it comes to defensive philosophy.”

Gristick trained linackers in the senior bowl and had a proposal for Bear’s linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards when they prepare for their new program.

“All you have to do is to switch on film No. 56 in New Orleans and to see Demario Davis and the productivity that Guy has had over the years he has been there,” said Gristick. “He is a five-time all-Pro in New Orleans. If you watch this 56 film, these line backers should be quite enthusiastic about this defense. “

The permanent Caleb effect

The USC Cornerback Jaylin Smith was commissioned a few years ago with a future transfer from Oklahoma – a quarterback called Caleb Williams.

His first impression?

“He’s great on earth,” said Smith. “You would never expect that from a man like Caleb. The world is on its shoulders, but it is great on earth, asks how you are doing and about your well -being. You are looking for these friendships. “

Smith said that Williams “inspired” him through the way in which the quarterback was wearing.

“His aura, just everything about him,” said Smith. “He accepted all of his challenges head -on and held out everything. … he teaches you how to be carried by yourself. “

The USC center Jonah Monheim took an exception from the stories before the draft about Williams last spring.

“You know that this is something that goes through quarterback, especially a guy who is talented and touted as he was,” said Monheim. “Some bothers you, especially when you hear that things you know are wrong – things that attack its character.

“At the end of the day he is a hard guy. He can take these things. He is in this position for a good reason – because he is a very good football player. “

After Smith admired the ability of the quarterback to exceed the defense in different ways, Smith admired in practice in practice.

“You never know what to do,” he said. “He could throw a 60 yard bomb or he could take it 40 meters and achieve a touchdown. The magic he has with the ball in his hands – I felt like my quarterback with him, I always had trust. “

Would Smith reunify with his former teammate in Chicago?

“Hey, Caleb, she roared, calling me,” said Smith with a laugh.

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The Australian Punter pipeline

Two years ago, some Australian College -Spunter team teamed up into a “Big Ball competition”. Alabama’s James Burnip let you fly and thought: “I definitely covered everyone here.”

Then Tory Taylor came.

“And then he goes out and hits a 5.7 (hanging time) or some S – and I like ‘come on, man’,” said Burnip. “He is a talented guy and will have a long, long, long career in front of him.”

Burnip met Taylor for the first time in 2019, when he came to Prokick, the program in Australia, the Punters sent the American college football and then to the NFL.

Taylor took part in the Senior Bowl last year before he went to the bears in the fourth round. He has burnip advice to agents and financial advisors and how he deals with the preliminary draft process.

“Nothing is too big,” said Burnip, Taylor told him. “Go and do your thing. Punting the ball like me every day. “

The other Senior Bowl Punter, Floridas Jeremy Clenshaw, also came from Prokick Australia. They appear in Taylor’s footsteps.

“It’s great,” said Burnip. “We went to the same program. Just seeing one of my friends, someone with whom I worked in Australia and with whom I trained can compete at a very high level, it is great to see. “

(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)