Hightower provides update on Scott Daly, addresses penalties |
CHICAGO - Special teams took center stage in Chicago’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. After starting long snapper, Scott Daly, was injured on a punt, tight end Cole Kmet stepped in as the long snapper for the rest of the game. He performed so well that he won NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower was proud of the way Kmet stepped in and of the communication from head coach Matt Eberflus when Daly got injured to ensure the injury did not negatively impact the team’s performance. “There’s been some catastrophic things that happen when you lose a long snapper. But, Flus’s communication with (offensive coordinator) Shane (Waldron) and (defensive coordinator) Coach (Eric) Washington and myself was outstanding and (he) kept everybody calm and everybody was calm anyway,” Hightower said. “But, the way we talked through all of that to help each phase and play complementary football and the way we never punted again, it’s a credit to those players, credit to Shane, it’s a credit to Flus and Washington and all those young backups that we had that went in there and played good.” Daly was already Chicago’s second long snapper after starting long snapper Patrick Scales had back surgery prior to the season starting. While the injury looked like it could keep Daly out for a long time, he was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Thus, it seems promising that he will play this Sunday against the Washington Commanders (3:25 p.m. / CBS). Just in case he cannot, the Bears signed long snapper Jake McQuaide to the practice squad. “By the grace of God that kid is able to be back on the practice field this week and he’s an awesome individual and that goes to show you sometimes it works out. So, I’m happy for that kid and we’ll see where it is,” Hightower said. “Obviously, (we) have McQuaide here on the practice squad who’s a constant professional, true pro as well. So, we’ll see as well … The bye definitely helped us. So, happy to see him back on the practice field.” From a special teams perspective, Washington’s greatest strength is their kickoff coverage unit. While most teams still aim to kick touchbacks, the Commanders have taken advantage of the dynamic kickoff. While Hightower acknowledged it will challenge Chicago’s unit, they are excited about facing more returns. “They set everything up off of their kickoff coverage unit. What impresses me is they have really good personnel. But, they’re also coached really well and I’ve had numerous battles with this coordinator at the other spot,” Hightower said. “I was at a lot of good, hard-fought heavyweight fights and this will be another one. So, they just do a good job of playing with good technique and they have a good scheme and they do a nice job with it. So, we’re excited for the opportunity because we know (there’s) going to be some returns.” It is important not to have penalties when facing a team that returns the ball more. The Bears have had problems with illegal formation penalties on the kickoff from having a player move early. Hightower said that he is addressing this problem with the team but also stated that it is a league-wide problem. Nonetheless, he is heavily invested in his players' success. He wants to see them start on offense and defense like some of Chicago’s special teamers did in London. “It’s not that we are ever going to say it’s okay, but you just got to keep coaching and it’s a problem across the league right now. But, we present that information to them. We teach them off of that,” Hightower said. “We show them across the league and we turn every stone we can turn to help these kids get better because I want them to be in a position that (cornerback (Josh) Blackwell, (safety) Elijah (Hicks) and (cornerback) Jaylon Jones were in and be able to go graduate and make great lives and careers for themselves and their family.”
