Bears coordinators Dennis Allen (defense), Declan Doyle (offense) and Richard Hightower (special teams) spoke to the media Tuesday at Halas Hall. Here are five things we learned from those sessions:
(1) Doyle praised rookie Ozzy Trapilo for how he performed in his first NFL start last Sunday against the Steelers.
Replacing the injured Theo Benedet, the second-round pick from Boston College excelled throughout the Bears' 31-28 victory.
"Ozzy's grown a lot," Doyle said. "I was certainly happy with the way Ozzy played. You come in the locker room after the game, for him to have gone in and played the way he did, everyone was excited for him. I know he was really excited. But that's just a testament to the work that he's done leading up to this point."
After losing a training camp competition for the starting left tackle position, Trapilo initially worked primarily at right tackle but had been practicing at both spots under the guidance of offensive line coach Dan Roushar and assistant Kyle DeVan.
"Dan and Kyle have done a great job of continuing to train him," Doyle said. "He comes in and he's competing for the tackle job in the offseason, in training camp. It's a battle that he ends up not winning. But it just goes to show you the kind of kid he is, to keep coming back to work and continue to progress and get better.
"We know in the NFL, there's going to be attrition. It just is what it is. But we expect our guys who are going to have to step in, the next man in, to perform the same way the original starter would, and he certainly did that."
(2) Doyle was impressed with Colston Loveland's 12-yard TD reception from Caleb Williams versus the Steelers.
Lining up on the numbers on the right side of the field, the 6-6, 241-pound rookie tight end leaned outside before slanting back inside and used his size advantage to cross the face and shield the ball from 6-1, 216-pound safety Kyle Dugger.
"He ran a great route," Doyle said. "It was very similar to the practice rep he took. He took one against our defense and he did a great job really threatening the defender to his outside half and forcing him to flip his hips. A lot of times, guys who are running that route don't go far enough because they're kind of afraid to be walled. He's a big dude who's not afraid to try to use his speed to create leverage.
"[He] did a great job of pressing the outside half. He got that guy to flip and then he came back at a friendly angle. He's a very friendly target to throw to. I know the quarterbacks love throwing to him. There's a reason he went where he did in the draft. There's a reason that we like having him around. He ran a great route and made a great play."
(3) Allen isn't surprised by cornerback Nahshon Wright's success this season.
When he signed with the Bears in April, Wright was expected to compete for a backup role. But an offseason injury to two-time Pro Bowler Jaylon Johnson gave Wright a chance to start since the beginning of training camp, and he has more than taken advantage of the opportunity.
After making sensational leaping interceptions in each of the last two games against the Vikings and Steelers, Wright is tied with teammate Kevin Byard III for the NFL lead with five interceptions.
"He comes here every day, he goes to work, he's always positive, he's always trying to do exactly what we're coaching him to do," Allen said. "Our assistant coaches do a great job with these guys. If you're smart and you've got some talent and you're willing to work, then I think us as coaches and the staff that Ben [Johnson] has put together, we can help you become a better football player, and I think he's exactly that. He's smart, he's got athletic ability, and he works extremely hard. When you put those three things together, you tend to improve."
(4) After experiencing mixed results on two tush push plays versus the Steelers, the Bears are gearing up to face an Eagles team that popularized the play.
"It's a tough play to stop," Allen said. "I think [Philadelphia] runs it better than anybody else in the league. The best way to defend it is not get in those situations and trying to create more third-and-longer and fourth-and-longer situations. Keeps them out of those types of situations, but certainly, yes, it's a difficult play to stop."
Last Sunday, the Steelers ran a conventional tush push play on fourth-and-1 from the Bears' 30, with tight end Connor Heyward taking the snap from center. The defense responded by stopping him short of the line to gain, turning the ball over on downs.
Lining up in the same formation later in the game, Heyward again took the snap but handed off to running back Kenneth Gainwell, who raced around right end for 54 yards to the Chicago 1, setting up a touchdown on the next play.
"We do have a plan in place," Allen said. "And we feel like it's a good, solid plan in terms of not only trying to stop that play, but all the plays that come off of it, and that's what makes it even more difficult to stop."
(5) Hightower was pleased with Cairo Santos' "dirty" kickoffs and the Bears' kickoff coverage unit versus Pittsburgh.
Santos' first kickoff was a knuckleball that short-hopped Gainwell, who muffed the ball. He recovered it but was tackled at his own 5. Santos' second kickoff bounced near the sideline at the 1 and caromed out of the side of the end zone for a touchback. Because the ball landed at the 1 and not in the end zone, the Steelers' drive started at the 20 instead of the 35.
After Santos' next three kickoffs, Pittsburgh took possession at its own 25, 27 and 27.
"It was a huge boost," Hightower said. "The thing I get a kick out of is when I see 'DA' (Dennis Allen) smile big like that when that ball is tackled at the 5-yard line and all our guys—[Josh] Blackwell and [Daniel] Hardy and all the guys and Cairo go give him a big high five.
"We just want to help and aid the team in any way possible. Whether that's from a defensive drive standpoint or that's an offensive drive standpoint, we just want to help the team and contribute. That's all we care about."
