Bears coach Ben Johnson mentioned the past in passing at the owners meetings.
"Listen it's a different regime," he said. "What happened last year was last year. We're moving on. We're moving past that."
It's much appreciated by Bears fans who got tired of hearing the same old platitudes through three failed seasons. On Monday, though, Johnson won't be talking to the fans or talking to media about the organization.
He will address the players on his roster as a team for the very first time. What he's going to need to tell them needs to carry more impact than let's forget last year.
Many lived through last year and are scarred for it. Now, they're going to want to hear something from Johnson saying why what he said when he was hired is really true.
Asked about the nature of his comments, he punted.
"I haven't totally formulated what that presentation is going to look like quite yet," he said at the owners meetings. "I tend to like to procrastinate just a little bit. That's where the best work tends to come out.
"So I'll figure that over the weekend, though."
He'll also need to keep in mind how those things everyone has heard far too often don't need to be repeated. When Johnson said what happened last year was last year, that applies to what was said last year.
Bears fans do not want to hear the same old, same old from this coaching staff or team once they start working.
Here are the 10 last things Bears fans want to hear this year from the coaches or team.
10. Gervon Dexter is still young
It's the third year for their 2023 second-round pick from Florida, and while he showed some improvement as a pass rusher last year he was also reason why they struggled so badly against the run. They went out and brought in Grady Jarrett at his position so they could rotate players at this position like they will at end. Dexter needs to take that big step up in Year 3.
9. Tyrique Stevenson is still young
Johnson already seemed to violate a few different taboos with something he said about Stevenson at the owners meetings. He'll get a little leeway here because they haven't even started working out, let alone practicing.
"He's a young player that still learning, he's still growing, he's still maturing," Johnson said. "But you see all the athletic traits and you see the potential."
The Hail Mary pass put Stevenson in a place where there are no more do-overs. It's now in Year 3 or never.
8. Dayo Odeyingbo doesn't need sacks
Yes he does. They didn't sign a $48 million defensive end to stand there like a traffic cop or a road block, forcing the running plays back inside. Sure he needs to be stout stopping the run, but there were plenty of chances to sign edge players who have been much better at getting to the quarterback than Odeyingbo and they wanted the former Colts edge because he is 287 pounds and fits the Dennis Allen prototype for that position at end. He needs to be a 287-pound edge rusher then, who occasionally gets to the quarterback for that price.
7. Montez Sweat is getting chipped
If he is, tough. Fight through it. The point of getting Jarrett and Odeyingbo and whoever else they bring in still for the defensive line to rush the passer is to provide help for Sweat and direct double teaming away from him. If they spent that much money/picks and still couldn't free up their top rush man to come after the quarterback, then maybe their top rush man isn't really a top rush man.
6. Braxton Jones isn't ready yet
This is in reference to his ankle injury, which they've insisted is right on schedule for his return to work at least by training camp. Under Matt Eberflus and even Matt Nagy, there was always this tendency to talk about injured players like they were expected back for the start of camp and then they showed up and couldn't practice 100% for two weeks, three weeks. All the while they're losing preparation time for the season.
The Bears are going to be replacing Jones with Kiran Amegadjie or a draft pick if Jones isn't ready, and even though Amegadjie did not get a fair shake last year by being thrown onto the field without any offseason preparation or even in-week work, he will have it now. So will whatever tackle they draft, in whatever round. Jones needs to be healthy and the players behind him ready, no ifs or buts about it.
5. It's the offensive line not Caleb Williams
They replaced 60% of the offensive line because Williams took 68 sacks. Each of these linemen, we've been assured, are especially adept protecting the passer. Block. This one is like a teeter totter. The antithesis is Williams is holding the ball too long. No one wants to hear either one of these two things said again this season.
4. They need to increase their EPA
Johnson and his wonderful insistence that a Poindexter analytic number dictates who wins more than turnovers is the kind of thing the fantasy football fools and geeks like. They want to reduce the sport to numbers.
No one is sitting there during a game on the bench screamng at players: "Our expected points added needs to be increased! Now let's get out there and add!"
EPA is something you can look at after a game and possibly say they need to making bigger gains on passes (old-timers call it yards per pass attempt). The points that will determine what they do in game are the actual points put on the scoreboard in-game and not the expected points added because that is something you look at afterward or before the game. Johnson's team needs to score like it did in Detroit.
EPA is wonderful for Pro Football Focus, not the National Football League in games. Turnovers actually are tangible and every bit the determiner EPA is, and you can actually see when someone has turned over the ball. You can also see when they get into the end zone for real "expected points added."
3. It's Caleb's third offense in three years
Yeah. And if they fire the staff it will probably be his fourth in four years. Williams and the staff better make sure no one talks about how their QB has to have more time to work into the attack.
2. Ben doesn't have his players yet
This one should never be said under any circumstance because Johnson walked through the doors at Halas Hall, dumped gasoline on its use and then set it on fire.
"It's not going to look like it did in Detroit," Johnson said. "We have a completely different personnel group than what we did in Detroit. This entire offense is going to be predicated on the guys that we have available."
No fair talking about what more they need to make it work.
1. They're laying a foundation this year
Foundation is the garbage Eberflus and Ryan Poles fed everyone after Year 1 of the last reboot, when they sold off the team. Then they won only seven and then five. There was no foundation and what was there crumbled in Detroit on Thanksgiving.
"Our mission, starting this spring, is to win and to win now," Johnson said.
Everyone is going to hold him to it because there's no more time for building foundations.
