Tag: JUAN CASTILLO

Bears rank 17th in team continuity heading into 2020

The Bears don’t have a ton of continuity on their team with losses in free agency, as well as the additions of new coaches.

Last offseason, the Chicago Bears were returning all but two starters on their team and gained defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano. For the most part, their core remained in place.

Fast forward to the 2020 offseason, and the Bears have had to deal with several free-agent departures and some new faces that will occupy starting jobs this season, as well as some new additions to the offensive coaching staff.

Compared with last year, the Bears don’t have a ton of continuity on their team. According to ESPN, the Bears rank 17th in terms of team continuity compared to the rest of the league.

Change was inevitable after the most unfulfilling Bears season in recent memory. Chicago lost (or could lose) three starters on each side of the ball depending on what happens in the highly anticipated quarterback derby between Mitchell Trubisky (incumbent) and Nick Foles (challenger). The coaching staff also took a hit — primarily on offense — as Nagy brought in trusted confidants (Juan Castillo, John DeFilippo and Bill Lazor) with ties to Philadelphia. Until the quarterback situation is settled, it’s impossible to predict whether the changes will have any impact.

When looking at the defense, the Bears only lost three defensive starters in cornerback Prince Amukamara, safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and outside linebacker Leonard Floyd. Although you could argue that they’ve upgraded with at least one and perhaps all of those positions with the addition of outside linebacker Robert Quinn, rookie cornerback Jaylon Johnson and safety Tashaun Gipson.

Most of the changes this offseason have come on the offensive side of the ball, which makes sense considering Chicago had one of the worst offenses in the NFL last season. Matt Nagy started by overhauling the offensive staff with the additions of offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone.

Although, considering the changes on the offensive coaching staff came at areas that struggled immensely in 2019, you could argue that these are upgrades.

The Bears upgraded at several positions on offense, including tight end with the additions of veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris and rookie Cole Kmet. They also traded for quarterback Nick Foles, who will battle Mitchell Trubisky for the starting job. Still, regardless of who wins the starting job, the Bears have upgraded at backup quarterback.

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Chicago Bears’ 8 biggest offseason additions in 2020

Bears GM Ryan Pace has been busy this offseason adding players to this roster that he believes will help Chicago in 2020 and beyond.

The Chicago Bears are looking to rebound following a disappointing season in 2019. But they’ll have to do it without several players from last year, who departed in free agency or were released by the team.

General manager Ryan Pace has been busy this offseason adding players to this roster that he believes will help the Bears in 2020 and beyond. Whether it was free agency or the 2020 NFL Draft, Chicago is banking on these additions to help them get back to the postseason.

Here are the Bears’ eight biggest additions this offseason.

1. EDGE Robert Quinn

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Ultimately, pass rushers are judged by how they get after the quarterback. And the Bears couldn’t justify paying Leonard Floyd $13.2 million for his production. Chicago was able to lock up former All-Pro Robert Quinn, which serves to do wonders for their pass rush. With both Khalil Mack and Quinn coming off the edge, teams are going to have to pick their poison.

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Bears RB David Montgomery poised to make big leap in Year 2

If the Bears offense rebounds in 2020, that could only mean good news for RB David Montgomery.

There wasn’t much that went right on offense for the Chicago Bears last season, particularly the run game. So it was difficult to judge running back David Montgomery behind a line that couldn’t create running lanes.

Still, Montgomery had a solid rookie season, where he tallied 889 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. And if the Bears offense rebounds in 2020, that could only mean good news for Montgomery.

When examining second-year players that could be looking at breakout seasons in 2020, NFL.com’s Jeffri Chadiha believes Montgomery is poised to make a big leap in his sophomore season.

He had a solid rookie season (889 rushing yards and seven total touchdowns), but he’s capable of so much more with a better offense. The Bears ranked 29th in the NFL in total offense last year, largely because embattled quarterback Mitch Trubisky struggled so mightily. That all could change if Nick Foles wins the job or simply pushes Trubisky to play at a higher level.

Remember this: Bears GM Ryan Pace made a sizable investment to trade up in the third round to select Montgomery (giving up three picks). The belief was that Montgomery would be a workhorse back, and he showed that potential late in the season. In Chicago’s final three wins of 2019, he gained 274 yards and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. Montgomery now enters this season as the only back on this roster who attempted more than 64 rushes last year, and the Bears didn’t add another ball carrier in this draft. In other words, it’s time for him to shine.

When the Bears got Montgomery going, they were winning games. Montgomery rushed for 60 or more yards in seven games last season, and the Bears won six of those games. Montgomery also had a late surge in 2019, where he rushed for 274 yards and 113 yards on 23 carries against the Minnesota Vikings.

Montgomery certainly showed that he could be a workhorse back that the Bears are looking for in his rookie season. But Montgomery averaged just 3.7 yards per carry behind a struggling offensive line, something that has been a focus this offseason.

The Bears have made some offseason moves that they believe will help right the ship with the running game and allow Montgomery more opportunities to shine. While Chicago’s offensive line will remain the same aside from a new right guard, which appears to be Germain Ifedi, the Bears brought in new offensive line coach Juan Castillo to help get the run game on track.

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No surprise: Touchdown Wire ranks Bears offense among worst in NFL

There’s no sugarcoating just how terrible the Bears’ offense was last season, and they’ll look to right the ship in 2020.

There’s no sugarcoating just how terrible the Chicago Bears’ offense was last season. Considering it was the offense’s second year in Matt Nagy’s system, there was supposed to be a better understanding, which should’ve translated to better results on the field.

Instead what followed was a complete regression due to the failures of several factors, including quarterback, tight ends, offensive line, lack of a run game and play-calling.

Here’s where the Bears ranked among three significant offensive categories last season — and it’s as ugly as you’d assume.

  • Points Per Game: 17.5 (29th in NFL)
  • Yards Per Game: 296.8 (29th in NFL)
  • Yards Per Play: 4.7 (30th in NFL)

In what should come as no surprise, Touchdown Wire ranked the Bears’ offense among the worst in the NFL, clocking in at No. 29. They were behind only the Washington Redskins, New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals.

This is a quarterback-driven league. And right now, the Chicago Bears have a quarterback dilemma. Rather than take a leap forward in his second season under head coach Matt Nagy, Mitchell Trubisky took a step or two backward, and the Bears’ offense followed. While the organization maintains they have confidence in the rising fourth-year passer, all of their actions indicate they are hedging their bets. The Bears traded for Nick Foles, and declined Trubisky’s fifth-year option. There are pieces in place, especially the talented Allen Robinson at wide receiver, but until the quarterback position is sorted out, questions will remain.

The Bears have spent this offseason addressing the weaknesses of the offense, including bringing in former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Nick Foles to compete with Mitchell Trubisky. Chicago upgraded at the tight end position with the free-agent addition of Jimmy Graham and second-round pick Cole Kmet. They brought in veteran Germain Ifedi, who figures to assume the starting right guard following Kyle Long’s retirement.

Nagy also brought in four new offensive coaches, each specializing in an area of the offense that struggled in 2019. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barrone will work with Nagy to fix these position groups and right the ship on offense.

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Matt Nagy states the obvious: Bears run game needs to be better

One of the biggest struggles for the Bears offense was the ineffectiveness of the run game, which was among the worst in the NFL.

No matter how you look at it, the Chicago Bears offense was abysmal in 2019. With the exception of receiver Allen Robinson, who seemed to thrive with questionable quarterback play and play calling, that is.

But one of the biggest struggles, outside of quarterback, was the ineffectiveness of the run game, which was among the worst in the NFL. Chicago averaged 3.7 yards per rush in 2019, which tied for 27th in the league.

Bears head coach and offensive play caller Matt Nagy understands the obvious — the run game needs to be better in 2020.

“When you look at the last couple years with where we’ve been, we reflect and we understand that we need to be better in the run game,” Nagy told the McNeil & Parkins Show on Friday. “When your run game isn’t quite as good as you want it to be, at that time, it’s hard to call runs. At the same time, we need to do whatever’s best for our team. We need to adjust and adapt as coaches to who our players are.

“Now that we’ve had a couple years as a staff to see figure out players’ strengths are and what their weaknesses are, now we are able to work together with them and put together a product on the field that we think is a lot better. If that means running the ball a lot more, shoot, we are going to do it.

“Whatever we need to do, we’ll do it.”

This offseason, Nagy brought in some new offensive minds, including offensive coordinator Bill Lazor and offensive line coach Juan Castillo, both of whom have experience in the run game. They also added veteran Germain Ifedi, who figures to serve as the starting right guard.

While rookie running back David Montgomery didn’t exactly thrive, he had a solid season in 2019, which was hampered by the run game’s struggles. With the new additions on offense, the Bears are confident with the current group of running backs they have on their roster, including Montgomery, Tarik Cohen and Ryan Nall.

“We feel like we’re in a good place right now to be able to move forward and feel very multiple in what we do,” Nagy said. “Trust me, all of our players, all of our coaches are doing everything we can to know that we need to be a lot better than where we were last year offensively.

“There’s no finger pointing. It’s all about solutions. It’s about working together. It’s moving on.”

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Matt Nagy preaches more collaborative effort among offensive coaching staff

Matt Nagy will remain the Bears’ play-caller in 2020, but he’ll have experienced offensive minds to help keep the offense together.

When your offense was one of the worst in the NFL last season, obviously changes need to be made. Which is exactly what Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has done this offseason.

That started with the newest members of his offensive coaching staff, which include offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone, who bring a combined 40 years of experience with them.

And, no, it’s not a coincidence that those new coaches specialize in the areas where the Bears struggled most last season as an offense.

While Nagy runs the offense, first and foremost he’s the head coach, which means that his responsibilities run deeper than just offense. Nagy will remain the play-caller in 2020, but he’ll have experienced offensive minds to help keep the offense together.

“I need to be an excellent head coach,” Nagy said, via SI.com. “In order to do that, the more manpower you have on that side of the ball—that can help get it going and can keep it together, and keep it detailed and overcommunicate clarity and still have beautiful ideas—the more of that we have, if done the right way, it can just take off. So what we’ve done with those three guys, we’ve explained their roles—who’s responsible for this, who’s responsible for that.”

“They’re all in. They all get it.”

According to Albert Breer, it’s similar to how the Philadelphia Eagles run things, where the head coach is responsible for calling plays, the offensive coordinator runs unit and staff meetings and specific coaches are responsible for individual parts of the offense (red zone, run game, etc.). He hopes that, ultimately, it’ll benefit the quarterbacks room.

“The way they had things in Philadelphia, with Frank Reich, (Doug) Pederson and Flip in 2017, that’s a pretty good deal there,” Nagy said. “And I think the quarterbacks in those rooms feel that. Now, the quarterbacks know too the structure of these things. So when you do that, and when you all speak the same language, which is what we’re doing right now, with us and the quarterbacks, that’s what we think can really help us improve in that room.”

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What’s the key to fixing Bears offense? It’s all in the details for Matt Nagy

The Bears will be looking to redeem themselves following an abysmal outing on offense last season, and Matt Nagy brought in reinforcements.

The Chicago Bears’ offense will look a little different in 2020. Not only have the Bears brought in Nick Foles to compete with Mitchell Trubisky, but they’ve added some new offensive minds in offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo, offensive line coach Juan Castillo and tight ends coach Clancy Barone to help Matt Nagy get this offense back on track.

But before Chicago brought in Foles, the focus this offseason was scheme evaluation. The Bears had one of the worst offenses in the NFL in 2019 — and there were a number of issues other than just quarterback play.

While the Bears were far from a great offense in 2018, they were good enough with this Chicago defense. So what happened with the offense’s massive regression in 2019? For Nagy, it’s all in the details. Something that has been the focus for this Bears offensive coaching staff this offseason.

During these scheme evaluation meetings, Nagy got some fresh perspective from these new offensive coaches about what went right and what went wrong. According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, Nagy was frustrated in the flaws of the 2019 scheme, which these coaches pointed out. More than anything, he was frustrated with himself.

“I’d get pissed off and say, ‘No, put on 2018 and show them how that same play worked,’” Nagy said. “Then those coaches see that same play and say, ‘Well, 2018, that play looked pretty good.’ So that’s been our challenge: Why? Why from 2018 to 2019 did that happen? There’s a lot of things that go into that. And I will always start with myself in all of this, you have to be able to do that.

“For me, right now, forget the X’s and O’s, forget the play call and all that, I look at the word details. I think the greatest teams in all of sports are extremely detailed, and it comes naturally to them, because they do it over and over. It’s a repeated habit.”

During Breer’s discussion with Nagy, the one word that continued to come up was “details,” which is something that’s been a focus this offseason. It’s something that Nagy’s new coaching staff will help enforce.

But Nagy has the added advantage of knowing most of these players heading into Year 3 of this offense. He knows what they do well and what they don’t. Certainly having some new offensive minds — guys that haven’t been here from the start — has allowed for a fresh perspective when it comes to evaluating what concepts to keep and what to get rid of. It’s been a collaborative process for Nagy and his new coaching staff, one that he thinks will be beneficial.

“For the coaches that have been here, now going into our third year, we’ve now had the luxury of understanding our current players, what they do well, and what they don’t do well,” Nagy said. “So as a staff, we’ve seen concepts that we like, that we think are worth keeping. And concepts that, you know what, whether they were good or not in Kansas City, they’re not very good here in Chicago. So we’re gonna bag it, let’s get rid of it.

“That’s where we’re at right now, and we’re real excited about some of the newer ideas and thoughts we have, that these other coaches have brought.”

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5 questions we have following Bears’ 2020 NFL Draft

There are still some unknowns continuing through this offseason as a result of the Bears’ 2020 NFL Draft.

The 2020 NFL Draft in the books, but the work has only begun for the Chicago Bears ahead of the scheduled start of the regular season.

While the Bears addressed some issues on their roster — including cornerback, tight end, pass rush and wide receiver — there are still some unknowns continuing through this offseason as a result of the draft.

Here are five questions we have following the 2020 NFL Draft:

1. What’s the plan at strong safety?

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the draft, there was a strong belief that the Bears were going to bring in a strong safety to pair with Pro Bowler Eddie Jackson. When guys like Antoine Winfield Jr., Grant Delpit and Jeremy Chinn were still on the board when Chicago’s second-round picks rolled around, it was a surprise when the Bears chose to bypass a safety for a tight end and cornerback.

The Bears currently have four safeties that figure to battle for that strong safety job — Deon Bush, Jordan Lucas, DeAndre Houston-Carson and Kentrell Brice. But none of those guys inspire confidence on a starting basis in the secondary.

Bush figures to be the favorite to win the job. But if the Bears were confident that Bush was the guy, they wouldn’t have brought in Ha Ha Clinton-Dix last season. There are still some safety prospects on the free-agent market, including Tony Jefferson, that the Bears could bring in. Otherwise, it’s likely we’re going to see Bush or Lucas opposite Jackson in 2020.

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6 takeaways from the Bears’ 2020 NFL Draft

There’s a lot to digest with this Bears’ draft class, including several implications for this team moving forward in 2020.

With the 2020 NFL Draft in the books, the Chicago Bears welcomed seven new players to their roster. General manager Ryan Pace addressed several roster needs, including tight end with Cole Kmet, cornerback with Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor, pass rush with Trevis Gipson, receiver Darnell Mooney and offensive line with Arlington Hambright and Lachavious Simmons.

There’s a lot to digest with this Bears’ draft class, including several implications for this team moving forward in 2020.

Here are six takeaways from the Bears’ 2020 draft class.

1. Safety wasn’t a pressing priority in their eyes

Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

Heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, safety was listed among the top needs for the Bears. With a strong safety spot left to vacate with Ha Ha Clinton Dix’s departure, the Bears were expected to bring in a rookie to start opposite Eddie Jackson.

The stars looked to be aligning for Chicago in the second round. The Bears had some top safeties still on the board when picks 43 and 50 rolled around, and they’d have had their pick of LSU’s Grant Delpit, Minnesota’s Antoine Winfield Jr. and Southern Illinois’ Jeremy Chinn.

Instead, they opted to select tight end Cole Kmet at pick 43, surely a need, but it was definitely a surprise. When pick 50 rolled around, they nabbed one of the draft’s top cornerbacks in Utah’s Jaylon Johnson, which no one could argue with.

“It was a pretty deep corner draft and there was a run on them in the first round,” GM Ryan Pace told reporters. “We tried to stay true to our board as we could and when Cole was there with that first pick, we were excited to get him there at that spot.”

There were still some developmental safeties on the board when Round 5 rolled around, but the Bears opted to forgo safety for edge rusher, cornerback and wide receiver. If anything, it speaks more to the deeper cornerback class than anything.

The Bears feel comfortable, to a degree, with Deon Bush, Jordan Lucas and DeAndre Houston-Carson competing for that strong safety spot opposite Jackson. Not to mention, the Bears could still snag Tony Jefferson on the free-agent market if anything else.

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5 things to know about new Bears OT Jason Spriggs

The Bears added depth at offensive tackle with the signing of Jason Spriggs. Get to know Chicago’s newest offensive lineman.

The Chicago Bears added depth to their offensive line with the addition of former second-round pick Jason Spriggs. Spriggs, who’s spent his career with the Packers, signed a one-year deal with Chicago on Friday.

While he certainly won’t be competing for a starting job, he’ll provide much-needed depth at a position that was a concern last season. While Spriggs hasn’t lived up to his second-round billing, perhaps new offensive line coach Juan Castillo can salvage some potential left in Spriggs.

Let’s get to know the Bears’ newest offensive lineman:

1. The Bears were interested in Spriggs in 2016 NFL Draft

Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via USA TODAY NETWORK

It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that the Bears are taking a chance on Spriggs considering general manager Ryan Pace was interested in the former Indiana Hooiser in the 2016 NFL Draft.

The Bears were looking at drafting Spriggs, but Packers general manager Ted Thompson traded up to snag him before Chicago could with the 48th overall pick. Instead of getting Spriggs, the Bears traded back and drafted interior offensive lineman Cody Whitehair with the 56th overall pick.

Considering Spriggs hasn’t lived up to his second-round billing — and Whitehair has earned a second contract — the Bears certainly got the better end of the deal.

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