Bears minicamp takeaways: Ben Johnson's obsession with details takes hold at Halas Hall

New York Times

2 days ago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Two weeks ago, Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet felt the wrath of new head coach Ben Johnson in front of his teammates, coaches, media members and even some special guests watching from the balcony of the Walter Payton Center during organized team activities.
What the heck happened?
Advertisement
'It's probably an alignment thing,' Kmet said.
He surmised that he was probably misaligned by just a yard, and he laughed when he said that. Kmet gets it, though. He likes it. The finest of details matter to Johnson — a lot.
'That's just an example of Ben not letting up on those things and making sure everybody's on the details,' Kmet said Tuesday after the first day of mandatory minicamp at Halas Hall. 'It's funny, on that play with the alignment, I'm kind of cheating myself out of getting the ball the way I was aligned. So afterwards, he's kind of joking. He's like, 'I was trying to get you the damn football.' … I mean, he's not just yelling at you because he doesn't like you. He wants things right, and he wants to win, and he knows that's what you have to do. And I think guys have been really receptive to that so far.'
Kmet is in only his sixth NFL season, but he's a grizzled veteran when it comes to coaching changes at Halas Hall. Johnson is Kmet's third head coach. He has heard play calls from Matt Nagy, Bill Lazor, Luke Getsy, Shane Waldron, Thomas Brown and now Johnson.
'I think what sticks out (with) Ben and this staff … is just how detail-oriented they are,' Kmet said. 'You can feel that in the meetings; they're relentless on the details. I think that's something that may be a little unique from what I've had in the past. Not saying other coaches weren't detailed, but it's like an obsession with the details. … He just can't let it go. You feel that from him. Whether it's on the field, in the meeting room, he brings that with him wherever he's at.'
Johnson's fiery persona at practice has been an early storyline this spring. It should continue in training camp. Fans will get to see it then — how Johnson coaches on the field and in meetings. The players appear to be responding to it. Several have said it was needed after last season.
Advertisement
'It's every day, and it's relentless,' Kmet said. 'He's definitely thrown a lot at us in this short time here in the spring, but I think he wants to challenge us as a group to see what we can handle. I think we've done a pretty good job so far. There's definitely been some ups and downs, but I think that's kind of the method to the madness so far.'
Johnson's intensity hasn't surprised running back D'Andre Swift. He played for Johnson in Detroit. But Swift quickly learned that Johnson reached a new level after taking over the Bears.
'He's more serious because he has to be,' Swift said. 'He's done a hell of a job. Just seeing him transition even from where I was before, just seeing his growth as a coach and as a man, (I'm) excited to play for him.'
Swift totaled 931 yards from scrimmage and scored eight touchdowns in 14 games during the 2022 season, which was Johnson's first as the Lions' offensive coordinator.
'As we are installing, things are starting to come back to me a little more,' Swift said. 'But the offense we have, all the concepts, the run game and all the different stuff that he is doing, (Johnson's) one of the smartest football minds I've been around. He's really intelligent. It's a lot of stuff.'
And it's a great opportunity for Swift at this point in his career. He knows that. In 2023, the Lions signed David Montgomery in free agency and drafted Jahmyr Gibbs before trading him.
The Bears were linked to Ashton Jeanty, TreVeyon Henderson and other running backs before the NFL Draft. But the team waited until the final round to draft Kyle Monangai. Swift is the Bears' top back.
'I kind of look at it like whatever they were going to do, my mindset wasn't going to change,' Swift said. 'If they brought somebody in, if they do, they don't, my mindset is, 'Go to work and be undeniable.''
Advertisement
The rotation at left tackle continued on the first day of minicamp. Kiran Amegadjie played with the starters. Last week, rookie Ozzy Trapilo was with the first team during the open practice.
'Both guys are taking turns, and they're making the most of their opportunities,' Johnson said. 'I think the head's still spinning for almost everybody on offense, but certainly in the (offensive) line room. We got a lot of new things we're throwing at them.'
Johnson credited offensive line coach Dan Roushar and assistants Kyle Devan and Zach Cable for staying on the offensive line throughout practice.
'The cool thing to see is Ozzy, for a guy that's a young player, he's really polished in terms of the mental aspect of the game,' Johnson said. 'We're looking to key up some things, quicken up his steps, his identification process. And Kiran's done a nice job just for the little bit that we've had him as well, just the growth prospects. So far, so good.'
The competition will intensify in camp with the pads on. Braxton Jones should also be back on the field by then as he recovers from left ankle surgery. Johnson also emphasized how one of the left tackles can distinguish himself.
'The No. 1 job of an offensive tackle, doesn't matter right or left, is to pass protect,' Johnson said. 'And so you need to be able to block their best pass rusher one-on-one. To me, that's the No. 1 job, and everything we can get out of them in the run game will be gravy on top of it. But we've got to find out who the best pass protector is, the most consistent pass protector is, and really, that's for all five guys up front.'
Kmet and receiver DJ Moore spoke for the first time since the Bears' draft selections of tight end Colston Loveland in Round 1 and receiver Luther Burden III in Round 2. Kmet said he received a reassuring phone call from Johnson after the Bears took Loveland at No. 10.
Advertisement
'At first, you're taken aback a little bit,' Kmet said. 'But Ben was awesome about it in terms of calling me right away and kind of explaining the decision. From there, you're all on board with it and kind of understand their vision. You understand that there's going to be areas where we complement each other, and there's obviously — just like any position room — there's going to be areas that we compete for things.
'That's football, and that's how it should be. So, I'm excited about it, to not only push him and for him to push me, and we're going to make each other better. I think the goal with it is to become the best 12 (personnel) tandem in the league and see where we can take it from there.'
The Bears have selected two receivers — Rome Odunze (No. 9 last year) and Burden (No. 39 this year) — in the first two rounds since trading for Moore.
'Their role, they're keeping me young even though I'm not that old in the room,' said Moore, who is 28. 'Rome just turned 23 today. Happy birthday to him. But (it's) just seeing them follow behind my lead and just grow from there. Rome's taken a step this year. I can already tell. Then, who we drafted in the second round, I can't wait to see what he can do. I've seen him in rookie minicamp doing a lot of things.'
But Burden suffered a soft-tissue injury during rookie minicamp and hasn't returned.
'Sadly, he's not out there right now, but I know he's watching,' Moore said. 'He's been asking a lot of questions, so I've just been helping him that way.'
Moore is also winning over Johnson every day.
'What we've seen the last six, seven weeks has been a guy that's highly motivated,' Johnson said. 'He wants to be as complete of a receiver as he can possibly be, and he's willing to do whatever it takes to get there.'
Moore's body language became a talking point last season as the losses and frustrating misses on the field added up. This year should be different because of Johnson.
Similar to quarterback Caleb Williams, Johnson has discussed with the receiver the importance of body language.
'Just don't do it,' Moore said. 'Just keep it inside. Talk about it later. Just don't put it on film. Don't put it on TV. So you guys can't run with it. That's how it is.'
Advertisement
Moore learned how serious Johnson is about it recently during practice.
'To be honest, right now and then we ain't gonna talk about it. I did it once and we nipped it in the bud, and it never happened again,' Moore said.
Johnson said all of his players were 'in the building' for the first day of mandatory minicamp. Some injured players remained out of action, including Loveland, Burden, nickelback Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson participated in practice but sat out during team drills.