Ben Johnson isn’t thinking small in Chicago.
The Bears’ head coach said he wants far more than a championship banner. He wants the kind of team that leaves marks in the record book, and he said that plainly when talking about his goals for the offense and the program as a whole.
“ You’ve got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying, ‘Our goal is to win the Super Bowl,’ ” he said, via The Athletic. “ I want more than that.
I want to have the highest-scoring offense ever, which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored (37.9), and I want to surpass them.
I want shutouts. I want blowouts.
”
Johnson said he also has his sights set on the Patriots’ record for consecutive wins.
“ Why can’t we do that? ” Johnson added.
“ There has never been an undefeated season (since teams have been playing more than 14 regular-season games). The moon is the Super Bowl, but we’re shooting beyond that, for the stars.
And I want these players to feel that each and every single day they come in. ”
He also addressed how he handles Caleb Williams. Johnson said he usually keeps his distance in the quarterback room, explaining that being too hard on the starter can backfire. But he said the Bears’ young quarterback has earned his confidence.
“ If I go into the quarterbacks room and I’m hard on the starting quarterback, it typically breeds resentment more than it helps, ” he says. “ But you can break down barriers if it’s just the two of us and we can go back and forth and tell each other our versions of the truth.
That’s where our defense mechanisms come down. And Caleb is extremely coachable.
I wasn’t sure about that when I came here. ”
In New York, Najee Harris said he’s carrying the kind of edge that usually comes with a fresh start, only this time it’s intensified by the injury he’s working back from.
The Giants running back said the torn Achilles changes the way he views this season and the questions coming with it.
“I most definitely go into every year with a chip on my shoulder, but more so much this year,” Harris said, via Pro Football Talk. “I have a lot to prove as somebody coming back from a torn Achilles.
Really everything that I did in the past is in the past, and everything I do now is really what matters. I know there are going to be a lot of questions of how I’ll come back looking, and I’m ready to answer all those.”
Out in Seattle, Devon Witherspoon is enjoying the weight of a massive new deal without letting it change his mindset.
The Seahawks cornerback, now the richest player at his position in NFL history, said the contract feels good but hasn’t changed his approach. He also made clear that being around his current teammates matters just as much.
“Feels good, man,” Witherspoon said, via the team website. “Long time coming, but it feels good to get it done.
When you’re coming in and coming to work with guys like D-Hall, (Derick Hall), EJ (Ernest Jones IV), Leo (Leonard Williams) and Murph (Byron Murphy II), it means everything to me,” he said. “It’s easy to take the pressure off you because now I know what they’re about and they know what I’m about.
It’s just easy to come out here and focus on football.”
He said the money isn’t going to change how he lives.
“I’m cheap with it now,” he said of his new deal. “Don’t ever get that confused.
I’ll always be cheap with it, but I’m going to take care of the guys for sure. When it happens, it’s like that’s really real.
It ain’t fake. But for me, it means a lot to me, but at the same time, it’s nothing to me at the same time because it’s like I got a team here, you feel me?
And I’m trying to win though. So all that is love.
I appreciate all that, but I’m focused on building with my team right now.”
In Other News...
Seahawks Suddenly Have A WR5 Problem They Didn't Expect
Jake Bobo was in line to be Seattles fifth receiver this season, a useful depth piece coming off a two-year contract extension signed earlier this year. Instead, a knee injury during a joint practice with the Tennessee Titans has changed the picture quickly, with head coach Mike Macdonald calling it serious and potentially long-term.
The Seahawks now have to sort through other wideouts to fill that WR5 role while Bobo begins his recovery. For a roster that had already penciled him into a specific spot, it is an unexpected hit to receiver depth and a reminder that the back end of the depth chart can become a real issue in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Entering A New Offensive Era With One Big Reason For Hope
Grey Zabel is already sounding like one of the early believers in Seattles new offensive direction, and that matters for a team trying to reset after a major change on the sideline. Brian Fleury is taking over in his first season as offensive coordinator after stops with the 49ers, Bills and Browns, and the Seahawks are asking a new voice to keep the unit moving after Klint Kubiaks run ended with a Super Bowl title and a move to Las Vegas.
For Zabel, the confidence seems to start with the way Fleury is being received inside the building, where a fresh system can either settle quickly or take longer to click. Seattle has every reason to want a smooth transition, because the bar was already raised by the success that came before, and the first signs of buy-in from a veteran voice like Zabel suggest the Seahawks may not be starting from scratch after all. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Suddenly Face A Jake Bobo Problem They Didnt Expect
Jake Bobos re-signed status made him one of the quieter but more useful parts of the Seahawks receiver room, the kind of player coaches appreciate even when he is not grabbing headlines. He brought value beyond the box score, with a reputation for steady special teams work and a locker room presence that fit well in Seattle as training camp moved along.
Now the Seahawks are dealing with a much different reality after head coach Mike Macdonald confirmed Bobo suffered a serious knee injury that could linger well beyond this season. It creates an unexpected opening in camp and the preseason, with other receivers suddenly getting a clearer path to make their case while Seattle waits to see how long Bobos absence lasts. [Read more 🡒]