Sean Desai has the ‘swag coming back’ for the Chicago Bears defense. 4 things we learned from minicamp at Halas Hall.
The Chicago Bears held their penultimate practice of the offseason Wednesday afternoon at Halas Hall, and they wrap up minicamp Thursday in Lake Forest.
With one day left before the team splits apart for summer break, here are four things we learned from coach Matt Nagy and his players.
1. New defensive coordinator Sean Desai is drawing glowing reviews from his players.
Desai was the Bears safeties coach in 2019 and 2020, so it’s no wonder Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson were among the most excited for Desai’s promotion in January.
“I was happy, man,” Jackson said. “I was very excited. … For him to get that type of promotion is huge and it’s well-deserved.”
Added Gipson: “You have a guy who can truly put every guy in position to make a game-changing play at some point in the game. Having him calling the plays and being at the helm is going to be an awesome opportunity for everybody on this defense.”
Desai hopes to restore the Bears defense to the elite level at which it played under Vic Fangio in 2018, a division championship season in which the Bears led the NFC in sacks (52) and led the NFL with 27 interceptions, 36 takeaways and six defensive touchdowns.
Desai promises to put his own fingerprints on the defense, but he is a disciple of Fangio, having spent four seasons as a defensive quality control coach under him. Some Bears players already see shades of Fangio in the revised defensive approach for 2021.
“Scheme-wise, he likes to do a lot of different things,” Jackson said. “He emphasizes the same things Coach Vic emphasized as far as disguise purposes and just challenging us.”
Inside linebacker Danny Trevathan believes Desai’s feel for his players combined with his understanding of the game should help the Bears produce more splash plays in 2021.
“Sean knows our strengths and weaknesses,” Trevathan said. “He watches a lot of film. He’s a smart guy. He knows football. So I think that’s going to help put us in the best situation possible as far as making the right calls and understanding who’s out there and knowing how certain guys can make an impact play.”
After most of the defensive starters chose to stay away from organized team activities the last two weeks, Trevathan said he has felt an energy spike from the defense during this week’s minicamp.
“Nobody loafs on a play,” Trevathan said. “Everybody’s in the right position each play. You can feel the energy. You can feel the juice. You can feel the swag coming back.
“That’s what I’m big on — having that swag and that attitude out there. Celebrate when you make your plays. Have fun. And hold guys accountable.”
2. Second-year defensive back Kindle Vildor is eager to carve out a bigger role.
Vildor had two interceptions of Andy Dalton during Wednesday’s practice, one during 11-on-11 work and another in 7-on-7. He continues to fly around and has impressed the coaching staff with his playmaking instincts.
Drafted in the fifth round in 2020, Vildor could become the top candidate for the slot corner duties and has a chance to compete for a starting role outside.
“He’s definitely flashing,” Nagy said. “Every play you get, every rep you get, you get a little bit more experience, a little more confidence and you can play faster. Now the stuff that goes on on the offensive side of the ball slows down for you and your reactionary skills are better.”
After each of his interceptions Wednesday, Vildor sprinted to the defensive sideline and dunked the football into a blue bin.
“These rookies come in last year and they don’t meet a lot of guys and they’re coming in backing up some (veteran) guys,” Nagy said. “Now? He’s a little more vocal and you’re seeing him let his personality show. That’s a big plus for us.”
3. Matt Nagy can’t wait for preseason games in August.
The Bears will host the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 14 at Soldier Field and the Buffalo Bills a week later before wrapping up the preseason Aug. 28 in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans.
In the spring of 2020, before the entire NFL preseason schedule was scratched because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nagy spoke of taking a different approach to preseason games than he had in his first two seasons as Bears coach, when most key starters played sparingly if at all.
Nagy said Wednesday he plans to use a more aggressive approach to the preseason this summer. For starters on both sides of the ball, that likely means they will see a good deal of playing time against the Bills with some work in the first and third games.
“We’ll talk through the reps and who we have,” Nagy said. “To me, not having preseason (games) last year when you’re trying to evaluate who these rookies are and then see other players too? Man, that was hard. Now I’m so excited to see some of these guys who we want to see play some real live snaps. I’m excited for that this year.”
4. A day after declaring Andy Dalton the Week 1 starter, Matt Nagy offered a progress report on the veteran quarterback.
Nagy was emphatic Tuesday in saying the Bears have a very specific plan for Justin Fields’ development — and that plan offers Fields no chance to win the starting job out of training camp.
On Wednesday, Nagy was asked for an update on Dalton’s progress through OTAs and minicamp, and he expressed confidence. As Dalton continues to learn the verbiage of the Bears playbook, his veteran savvy remains obvious.
Said Nagy: “On the football side, once the ball is snapped — with what’s happening with the routes, what’s happening with his feet, what’s happening with timing — all of that has been pretty simple for him. That goes with the experience he has.
“With some of the stages we’re (working through) right now (with Fields), which is very normal for a rookie, Andy has already conquered that.”
Nagy alluded to a play change Dalton made during a 2-minute drive late in Wednesday’s practice, getting the offense into a new look and converting a first down.
“When you get out of a play you don’t really like and you get into a play you like and then convert it, there’s a lot of ownership there,” Nagy said. “And it’s easy for him. That’s natural. That’s not something where we sit there and applaud him 100 times a day because he did that. That’s supposed to happen. So this offense, he has completely. He really has it down.”
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