Chicago Bears: Pundits overreacting to Sean McVay press conference

The Chicago Bears take on the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, but pundits are losing their mind over Sean McVay’s presser.

This Sunday night, the Chicago Bears will play host to the Los Angeles Rams in what is set up to be an epic NFC showdown. All signs point to a return of Mitch Trubisky in a game that will feature one of the league’s best offenses against arguably its best defense.

However, all the talk and buzz the last couple of days was about Rams’ head coach Sean McVay’s press conference. Look, before we dive into the crux of the matter, let me be clear: McVay is one heck of a coach.

What he has done with Jared Goff and the rest of that offense has been transcendent. It’s not an exaggeration to say that he single-handedly resurrected Goff’s career after almost having it destroyed by “Mr. 7-9,” Jeff Fisher.

It’s also indisputable that McVay has an amazing ability to recall game situations and even particular plays that were run in those situations. The video below is evidence of that.

Impressive right? Of course, it is. Which is why it was puzzling to see the media fawning over his recent presser like they were 6th-grade girls in 1990 at a New Kids on the Block concert.

If you haven’t seen it, McVay provides some thoughts on the Bears defense. Is it a little more color than most head coaches provide in these press conferences? Sure. Is it an in-depth scouting report the way some claim? Not even close.

Take a look at that caption claiming his memory is unreal. Based on that, you’d expect a performance similar to the first video in this post where he recalls specific plays, or perhaps provides anything close to a “scouting report.”

Let’s summarize his comments:

• Khalil Mack is an outstanding player and they move him around a little bit.
• Leonard Floyd has gotten a lot better.
• Aaron Lynch is a guy that’s made a lot of plays.
• Roquan Smith has a great feel and coverage and can blitz.
• Trevathan’s been doing it for a long time.
• The defense has 21 interceptions, and Kyle Fuller has six on his own. Fuller has great instincts, can play with great vision on the cornerback and has great technique.
• Amukamara’s a very good, physical player.
• Callahan has gotten better at the nickel spot.
• Eddie Jackson has instincts, and range and makes a lot of plays.
• Amos is a guy who has been doing it for a long time.

First, with the exception of the comments on Fuller, none of them are overly descriptive. They smack of the kind of coach speak that is full of complementary filler talk. It reminded me of a boss giving a speech at a retirement ceremony for an employee they didn’t really know that well.

Second, let’s not act like any of the 32 coaches in the NFL can’t name the starters on a team they are scheduled to play in a few days. If there are any that can’t, then they should be fired — immediately. If they’ve spent an entire week watching film on an opposing team and can’t name the 11 defensive starters, then they don’t have the capacity to lead an NFL team.

So let’s stop with the spaghetti leg reaction from this press conference, ok? There are a number of other reasons why McVay is an excellent coach, but as the kids say, this ain’t it Chief.