{"id":73139,"date":"2023-12-20T01:05:21","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T01:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/?p=73139"},"modified":"2023-12-20T01:07:48","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T01:07:48","slug":"bears-news-multiple-bears-players-peeved-by-matt-eberflus-decision-report-nhungn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/bears-news-multiple-bears-players-peeved-by-matt-eberflus-decision-report-nhungn\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiple Bears Players \u2018Peeved\u2019 By Matt Eberflus Decision: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Multiple defenders for the Chicago Bears aren\u2019t happy about a recent in-game decision made by head coach Matt Eberflus, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.<\/p>\n<p>The aforementioned decision occurred Week 15 in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns. With just .56 seconds remaining and the game tied 17-17, the Browns offense had a third-and-15 from their own 47-yard line. Eberflus dialed up a six-man blitz designed to force Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco to get rid of the ball in a hurry.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/GettyImages-1862661740-e1703015295892.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Matt Eberflus\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Eberflus sent pass rushers Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker on the blitz, along with two members of the secondary, defensive tackle Gervon Dexter and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. He also sent 6-foot-3, 310-pound DT Justin Jones into coverage. That turned out to be a fatal error, as it led to the game-winning field goal.<\/p>\n<p>Flacco hit tight end David Njoku, who easily snuck past Jones for a 34-yard gain to the Bears 19. Biggs says both players and decision-makers at Halas Hall are scratching their heads about the choice to drop Jones into coverage. \u201cPlayers throughout the locker room seemed peeved about the call in that situation, and I would imagine there are folks above Eberflus at Halas Hall who have wondered about it,\u201d Biggs wrote.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Bears Players Are Saying About the Call By Matt Eberflus<\/strong><br \/>\n\u201cFrustrating ain\u2019t even a word for this,\u201d Jones told Biggs when asked about the play. \u201cI ain\u2019t gonna lie. But, I mean, that\u2019s what was called. That\u2019s what we played. I don\u2019t know what to tell you. I guess you hope the pressure gets there before (Njoku) runs the route he does. But, I mean, I am just doing what the call was. I don\u2019t even know.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Bears send a big blitz on third-and-15 and drop nose tackle Justin Jones into coverage. Flacco finds that matchup and gets the ball out to Njoku. Tyrique Stevenson can&#39;t make the tackle at the sticks and the Browns get in position for a game-winning FG try. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/1qblzfzk01\" target=\"_blank\">pic.twitter.com\/1qblzfzk01<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billbarnwell\/status\/1736495037884559686?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 17, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Biggs also shared the following exchange between Jones and DeMarcus Walker:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt that point in the game, I am just following the call,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt ain\u2019t on him, though,\u201d Walker snapped from the next locker space.<\/p>\n<p>Walker\u2019s response was telling, and it\u2019s clear he\u2019s not the only member of the team to feel frustration about the call.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about the play, Bears All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson gave a sigh before saying: \u201cMan, it\u2019s Coach\u2019s decision. As players we just go out there and execute. Whether we like it or not, you\u2019ve got to go execute.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starting cornerback Jaylon Johnson gave a candid assessment of the decision by Eberflus to use Jones in coverage instead of in the pass rush.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t want to say it was the pressure call,\u201d Johnson said on 670 The Score\u2019s Parkins &amp; Spiegel Show. \u201cI think it was just that type of pressure. For me, personally I didn\u2019t feel like we were that pressed have to pressure,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like our front was doing a heckuva job all game pressuring. And I think we did a pretty good job covering. So I just felt like there were maybe some different options that could\u2019ve worked better or been more simple for us. It\u2019s easy to say in hindsight, but I feel like definitely in the moment, it was something that we could\u2019ve had some different calls that could\u2019ve given us a better chance to get off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Brad Biggs: That Play \u2018Will Sting for a While\u2019<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Bears defense has shown undeniable growth under Eberflus this season. Chicago\u2019s defense had 10 sacks over its first nine games. It has 15 sacks its last five matchups. That largely has to do with the addition of Sweat, but Eberflus deserves a great deal of credit since he took over playcalling duties after the dismissal of ex-defensive coordinator Alan Williams earlier in the season.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Some interesting reactions\/comments from players on that 3rd and 15 call for the Bears in Cleveland. Can tell there are frustrations.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Zack_Pearson\/status\/1737161084455326082?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December 19, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Still, the unit\u2019s inability to close out games is glaring, and it could ultimately cost the current Bears head coach his job.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know that one call can doom a coach, but this will sting for a while,\u201d Biggs wrote. \u201cI can\u2019t remember the last time players in the locker room were stunned by a late-game decision. Sure, if the pressure had gotten home, it would have worked, but this one blew up on the Bears.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll know soon enough whether it blows up in the face of Eberflus, as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Multiple defenders for the Chicago Bears aren\u2019t happy about a recent in-game decision made by head coach Matt Eberflus, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune&#8230;. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nflnhungn.aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}