Bears Offensive Coordinator Press Taylor met with the media this morning before training camp practice and gave everyone a glimpse into the mind of Head Coach Ben Johnson, along with some other noteworthy mentions of some key players.
“I don’t think Ben has ever mentioned the word efficiency. We talk about explosive. We are trying to attack a defense,” Taylor said. “I think there’s a perception by a lot of people [that] we’re going to run the ball, we’re going to stay efficient, we’re going to control
the clock. We are looking to attack a defense.”
“We’re looking to attack fronts, to expose space, to create run lanes, to create explosives.” Taylor reiterated. “I mean, we don’t look at the run game as a way to stay on track. We look at the run game as a way to attack defenses and really be explosive and continue to just put our foot on the gas the entire game.”
Our own Jeff Berckes recently wrote a spectacular piece on the topic of explosives, and after watching the Bears offense last season, it’s no surprise to hear that our head coach is relaying the message of importance to his entire staff. Last season, Chicago was one of the most explosive teams in the league despite being near the bottom in 2024.
As you can see from the charts above and in reading JB’s article, and as we all saw last season with Swift and Monangai, explosives are far more than flea-flickers and Hail-Mary’s. The run game can create chunk plays, which keep defenses honest and exploit mismatches. Which leads me to the two players Press highlighted. Cole Kmet and Darnell Wright. This is the second coach to praise Kmet’s team-first mentality and laud his behavior and leadership. Easy to see why for those that have followed Kmet his entire career, but important, no less. Especially with two very young tight ends in his position room.
Surely, selflessness and ability contribute to more explosive plays. Which brings me to our newly extended STUD of a right tackle, Darnell Wright. Coach Taylor referred to Wright as one of the team’s best players and admitted to wanting to feature him and get behind he and right guard Jonah Jackson, but admitted even when plays aren’t designed to go behind those two behemoths, that “the ball tends to find its way back there because of the things he does well.”
For the first time in a long time, Bears fans not only have a roster capable of taking the top off the defense and putting points on the board, but also has a mindset among their coaches to be explosive. Every. Single. Play.
Bear down, everyone.
