The Chicago Bears have spent months talking about what needs to change after another disappointing season. Ben Johnson finally sees one of those changes happening right in front of him.
With Week 1 approaching, Johnson offered perhaps his strongest endorsement yet of how differently the Bears are operating behind the scenes.
Ben Johnson sees a championship-level change in Chicago
Johnson was asked Friday at a press conference about the development of his players and what has him excited entering the season. Instead of singling out Caleb Williams or one of Chicago's young weapons, he pointed to something much bigger.
“I think I made a comment last year about we're not practicing at a championship level yet,” Johnson said. “And I'm not saying that this year.”
That is quite the change from Johnson.
He spent much of last season refusing to lower the bar for a Bears team trying to establish a new identity. There were growing pains, frustrating stretches and plenty of moments when Chicago looked like a team still learning exactly what its head coach expected.
Johnson isn't making the same complaint anymore.
“These guys, they're the work that they're putting in throughout the week,” Johnson continued. “It doesn't guarantee you a win on Sunday, but it gives you a darn chance.”
No, Johnson didn't predict the Bears will win a championship. His point may actually be more encouraging than an empty September prediction.
Chicago is finally practicing in a way that doesn't require Johnson to question whether the standard is high enough.
Bears now have to prove Ben Johnson right
The timing of Johnson's comments makes them even more interesting.
Everything looks good before Week 1. Players are healthy, optimism is everywhere and nobody has a loss sitting next to their name yet. Johnson acknowledged that keeping this standard will become considerably harder once the season starts taking a toll.
“It's an easy thing to do Week 1,” Johnson said. “It's a lot more challenging as we get into this thing and their bodies don't feel 100%.”
That's the test waiting for Chicago.
The Bears don't need another offseason full of promises about potential. They need the habits Johnson is seeing during the week to survive bad games, injuries and the inevitable stretches when an NFL season gets ugly.
For now, though, Johnson just gave Bears fans a reason to believe something has changed.
A year ago, he looked at his team and said it wasn't practicing at a championship level.
He isn't saying that anymore.
| More Bears on DaWindyCity |
Add us as a preferred source on Google