Byard on loss to Cardinals: “We just got our butts whooped” |
CHICAGO—Chicago gave up 29 points against the Arizona Cardinals this past Sunday, the most they have given up since their week 11 loss against the Detroit Lions last season.
Safety Kevin Byard stated that the Bears’ loss in Arizona, especially with their repeated slow starts, was due to a lack of execution. “I think the majority, if not all of the games, we’ve started slow. I know as a defense, we came out, got a three-and-out, (and were) able to get a sack on the third down through that. But, we weren’t able to capitalize on that momentum and play complementary football and obviously, we weren’t able to stop the run at all (Sunday) and I think that that obviously allowed them to not really have to take those shots and throw the ball like that because we couldn’t stop the run,” Byard said. “So, just speaking of our road games, we just haven’t figured out how to win on the road just yet and when you go on the road, you have to pack a good defense, a good run defense and you have to start fast and score points on offense and we have (not) been able to do that just yet this season.” Playcalling has been a problem for the offense all season. In the past two games, the play calling on defense by head coach Matt Eberflus has severely been called into question. Against the Washington Commanders, the Hail Mary was a massive defensive blunder for numerous reasons, not just because of cornerback Tyrique Stevenson’s actions. The Chicago defense allowed another massive touchdown at the end of a half when running back Emeri Demercado scored a 53-yard touchdown just before halftime. While the play calling was suspect on that play, Byard defended his head coach. “As players, we have to go out there and (execute). There’s never going to be a perfect call. So, at the end of the day, whatever’s called out there has to be executed by the players and when plays work and things like that and players execute certain calls, coaches look like geniuses,” Eberflus said. “They don’t work, then everybody’s questioning what should have been called and things like that. So, I just think just as a defense and especially speaking on just (Sunday), we obviously just didn’t play well and we didn’t execute the things that we needed to execute and (most) of it was just simple ball. It wasn’t (anything) crazy.” With all of the injuries Chicago had and continued to suffer throughout the game, there are many excuses for why they lost. Having edge rusher Montez Sweat could have made a difference in the run defense. The Bears were short numerous offensive linemen, contributing to their giving up six sacks. While those statements may be true, Byard is not making excuses - Chicago just got beat. “We just got our butts whooped. So, I just think that when you lose in that type of fashion, things are immediately pointed back to last week and the things that happened,” Byard said. “But, when you watch the film, I don’t see anything from last week that affected this game. We just lost. We didn’t play well enough on either phase of the game and the Cardinals did. So, you got to give the credit.” There is a lot of commentary about changes to the coaching staff. Specifically, many people feel that Eberflus and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron should be fired. As a veteran player, Byard has been on a lot of teams that have faced adversity. So, he is used to the outside noise and knows how to tune it out. “The outside noise is going to be there. There’s nothing you can (do to) stop that. It’s all about how you manage distractions and manage things that come about throughout the year whether (it’s) in the building or outside of the building,” Byard said. “So, I just tend to focus on what’s important, tend to focus on what needs to be focused on and that’s obviously correcting the things that we need to correct so we can go out here and get a win and (get) out of this rut.”
