Eberflus talks about lack of execution in loss to Browns |
CHICAGO - After another difficult loss for head coach Matt Eberflus and the Chicago Bears, the team is regrouping to prepare for their next game against the Arizona Cardinals (3:25 p.m./FOX).
Going forward with the rest of the season, despite not being in the playoff picture, the team is playing for each other, according to Eberflus. “Really, it’s just relying on the relationships of the men and the guy next to you. So, we believe in the man next to you and that’s (important) for us, the relationship piece and how hard we work,” Eberflus said. “The guys are tight and we’re just going to keep pulling together and that’s what we’ve been doing all along and we’re going to keep doing that and that will be evident in our work that we put in for this week and it will be evident in the play we have on Sunday.” This game has the potential to have serious draft implications. With the Cardinals sitting at 3-11 and Chicago at 5-9, depending on how their seasons both finish out, this game could serve as the tiebreaker to determine who has the better draft pick. However, that does not and should not be at the forefront of Eberflus’ mind. Still, this game brought back concerns from earlier in the season about Chicago and their mentality when they get a lead. Some reporters asked Eberflus about how after the game, Darnell Mooney, who also dropped the hail mary, apparently stated that the team got comfortable with their lead. Mooney clarified this was more present with the offense than the defense. That would explain the performance at the end of the game from the offense, who did not appear to be motivated to score. Eberflus denies this is a mentality on the team. “We can’t ever relax with the mindset like that, and I don’t think our guys do that,” Eberflus said. “I, in fact, know they don’t. So, we just got to keep the hammer down.” All season, he has discussed fundamentals and things coming down to the fundamentals and execution. What Mooney said would certainly explain the lack of execution on the part of the offense, particularly in the fourth quarter. Execution was lacking throughout the fourth quarter for the offense, but especially from Mooney on that final play, as the ball hit him right in both hands and the stomach. Mistakes like that cannot happen. “It comes down to execution. It comes down to winning the line of scrimmage, and short yardage is always that, and when you have those plays, you have to win up front, and that’s a big part of it, and having the right push, obviously, is important and design,” Eberflus said. “Design is also important too. So, it’s all three factors.” With a showing like this, it appears Eberflus has sealed himself as finishing his coaching career with Chicago with two losing seasons. After how dismal things were last season and at the beginning of the season, from the defensive coordinator resigning to the running backs coach getting let go, a 14-game losing streak, and struggling to get a division victory, he has had a historically awful run as head coach. In fact, his win percentage is still the lowest in franchise history despite the win streak the Browns just snapped.
