Column: Matt Eberflus rested nearly all the Chicago Bears starters in the 2nd preseason game. Was it the right move?
The labyrinth NFL coaches must navigate through summer is finding a balance between training camp and the preseason schedule to emerge as prepared and healthy as possible for the regular season.
Twenty-two days before the Bears open the season against the Packers, coach Matt Eberflus chose to sit nearly all of his starters, including quarterback Justin Fields, in a 24-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night.
Fields wore a sweatshirt along the sideline from the start at Lucas Oil Stadium with Eberflus effectively saying the most valuable work his front-line players received this week came Wednesday and Thursday in joint practices with the Colts up the road in Westfield, Ind.
It was an interesting move and likely points to Fields and starters playing in the preseason finale Saturday against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field, but you never know. When announcing the decision, Eberflus emphasized what a great opportunity this was for backups. The trajectory of this season isn’t going to be shaped by how the bottom half of a 90-man camp roster plays.
Fields and the starting offense were on the field for seven snaps in the preseason opener Aug. 12. He handed the ball off four times and threw three passes — two of them screens and all behind the line of scrimmage.
There is real purpose to joint practices and there is a reason they’ve become increasingly more popular with coaches. But controlled practice environments — in which the pass rush runs by the quarterback or pulls up short — do not offer the same experience as preseason reps. Dropping back and reading the secondary, playing quarterback from the pocket or on the run, simply isn’t the same in practice.
How valuable are the reps?
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid must believe they’re absolutely necessary. How else do you explain him choosing to play the best player on the planet in Patrick Mahomes and, yes, expose him to the possibility of injury?
“They have to get ready for the game,” Reid told Kansas City media Thursday. “At the same time, I think it’s tough going into the first game — the first regular-season game. It’s going to be fast, much faster than you can present in practice. So this is at least another step up from that, another kick-up speed-wise to the game.”
The Chiefs’ plan was to use starters for the first half Saturday night in Arizona. They are coming off a Super Bowl championship. Josh Allen started for the Buffalo Bills on Saturday and threw 10 passes in a full quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is coming off three consecutive 4,000-yard seasons. The Bears were 3-14 last season, and their passing offense was abysmal.
It’s possible as the Bears ramp up right guard Nate Davis from whatever issue has sidelined him for most of training camp that the team decided next week would be better for some final experience. But if the Bears have concern about the offensive line and depth in August, that could be a seasonlong issue.
If you’re taking Eberflus at his word, the team does not appear to have any serious injuries right now. That’s a good thing with linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, safety Jaquan Brisker, wide receiver Chase Claypool and others all sidelined recently.
Maybe Eberflus crafted this plan in concert with Colts coach Shane Steichen, who also kept the vast majority of his first units on the sideline, starting veteran Gardner Minshew at quarterback instead of rookie Anthony Richardson. The only projected Bears starters to open the game were strong-side linebacker Jack Sanborn and rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. Rookie right tackle Darnell Wright even got the night off. Starting quarterback P.J. Walker completed 1 of 4 passes for 6 yards on two possessions and was sacked. Walker then gave way to undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent.
Eberflus has to balance keeping his roster healthy while pushing it to improve. The starters — including the defense — didn’t practice Friday. That’s customary the day before any game. They didn’t play here. They will be off Sunday, which is customary after any game day. There is a walkthrough scheduled for Monday. That’s a four-day stretch in which the Bears’ first-unit players haven’t really practiced and definitely have not played football.
The teams did put an emphasis on starters getting work in the joint practices, which didn’t leave as much normal time for the second team, and the third-stringers didn’t get a lot of action in team drills. That probably played a part in the decision by Eberflus and Steichen.
If the Bears come out ready to roll against the Green Bay Packers on Sept. 10, we can look back and say Eberflus had a great gauge on his team and what it needed. Either way, it’s hard to argue with Reid’s logic, right?
