Bears coach Ben Johnson's objective take on his defense: Lots of work to do
PHOENIX — The uncomfortable truth for the Bears’ defense is that it wasn’t as good as it might’ve looked last season. They made many big plays, but they didn’t make the consistent, necessary ones reflective of the best units in the NFL.
While coach Ben Johnson didn’t say that harshly when discussing his defense at the NFL annual meeting, reading between the lines of his comments, it was clear he knew it.
He mentioned that if defensive coordinator Dennis Allen had been sitting next to him, Allen would say the Bears have “a number of categories where we have to improve” despite leading the league with 33 takeaways. Coaches often like to highlight their emphasis on forcing turnovers and downplay randomness, but Johnson conceded takeaways are “not a sustainable metric.”
He added, “Our run defense wasn’t good enough,” and, “We gave up too many explosive plays,” both of which were true. He didn’t expound much on the struggling pass rush, but noted the media attention on that aspect of the roster and said, “I got it.”
Righting the defense is imperative in the quest to leap from good to great and essential to quarterback Caleb Williams’ development. The blueprint cannot be to win games 47-42 and leave Williams frequently playing from behind because his defense can’t stop anyone.
Fixing it starts with acknowledging it, so that’s a key step by Johnson as he continues to be relentlessly objective about the Bears in a way that predecessors Matt Eberflus and Matt Nagy weren’t.
It’s also a good sign that he has more of a global grasp of the organization than either of those two. In his first year-plus on the job, Johnson has spoken authoritatively on everything from salary-cap management to the defensive scheme despite having minimal experience in either area.
The Bears gave up the fourth-most total yards in the NFL and were in the bottom third in pressure rate, but bailed some of that water out of the boat with 23 interceptions and 10 fumble recoveries, as well as a decent red-zone defense that allowed touchdowns on 56.1% of trips by the opponent, which ranked 15th.
That’s not typically a winning equation. Three of the last four teams standing in the recent playoffs — the Broncos, Patriots and champion Seahawks — were top-eight in total defense, and the Rams were in the middle at 17th. All were top-12 in run defense. The Broncos, Rams and Seahawks were top-six in pressure rate.
Those teams were all over the map in takeaways, ranging from the Rams at No. 5 to the Broncos at No. 26, but they weren’t dependent on them. They could win the boring way, simply by shutting down the run and making the opposing quarterback miserable.
When the Bears got one or no takeaways last season, they allowed 29.3 points per game and went 2-6. Those final four teams still went 30-11 in those scenarios.
With a salary-cap squeeze this offseason, there’s little recourse other than improvement from within. The Bears added a dynamic, young safety in Coby Bryant and hope for minimal dropoff from former linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to replacement Devin Bush, but otherwise, Johnson is banking on his coaching staff getting more out of the existing core.
That’s especially true up front, where general manager Ryan Poles has used significant resources but gotten modest results.
He added defensive tackle Grady Jarrett and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo on contracts totaling $91.3 million, but neither played up to the projection. Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, a 2023 second-round pick, has been fine, but not a game-changer. Similarly, defensive end Montez Sweat has been good, but as the team’s highest-paid player, he needs to be great.
Johnson is an offensive-minded coach and doesn’t micromanage Allen, but the defense is his responsibility regardless. He must be as good of a problem solver on that side of the ball as he is on his own.