Wednesday Practice Report: Bears Look Better

Following Tuesday’s practice that did not please the coaches all that much, the Bears put out a much better effort during Wednesday’s practice.

“A good day today, yesterday wasn’t our best,” said head coach Justin Wilcox of the session that did not end until nearly 6:30.

Wilcox said that actually dealing with a “scout team” impersonating an opponent for the first time could have been part of Tuesday’s problem.  “Some of the scout team areas, the scouts out here working together that is always a little bit of a transition,” he said. “Much better today.”

The Bears worked primarily on specific situations Wednesday. “We practice different third downs, the short, the mediums and the longs,” he said. “I think the offense has done a much better job throughout camp, which is usually how it goes. The third and longs are difficult to deal with, especially early in camp.”

Wilcox was asked what he considered the strength of this year’s defense. “I think experience,” he said. “Our guys have played a lot, have seen a lot and there is really no substitute for that. Understanding how to communicate, when they see a certain formation or route concept they can talk about it on the sidelines. All those things, the in-game adjustments are big and the speed at which we’re able to install. And some of the detail of a call, they are just on the next level that way.”

Defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter agreed that having been on the field so much has made the defenders that much better. 

“We are fully into the system now,” he said. “That first year you are teaching concepts, you are really just trying to get the fundamentals down. For the first year, for our guys to play fast, we had to limit a lot of things so they could play as fast as they could. As they understand it you can play with more speed and you can add more bells and whistles.”

That said, both Wilcox and DeRuyter expect to see some true freshmen on the field, starting Saturday against UC Davis. Being able to play four games and still save a redshirt year has added another dimension. Wilcox said the coaching staff is constantly evaluating how and when to use freshmen.

“We talk about it each week and it changes based on where you are at as a team, the health of your team,” he said. “Are they ready to play?  Some guys may be ready now, some guys might be ready in three to four weeks. There is still a lot of learning going on, and like I said the health of your team and what can they do to help you in that game. 

“We talk about that weekly, and things could change. It’s a dynamic process. There are a couple of guys we expect to play. Brett Johnson, he’s a guy we expect to go in rather early in the game. A few other guys we’ll see. But we are prepared for all scenarios.”

DeRuyter agrees that Johnson will definitely see some action at nose guard on Saturday..

“We are expecting him to play. We are going to run the defense when Brett’s in there. He’s physically capable,” DeRuyter said. “He has not had the experience of Luc (Bequette) or Erick Nisch, but he’s got the physical tools to play and he’s going to play.

“He is a state champion wrestler, so he understands leverage, hands. He’s a strong guy, 290 something pounds, plays with good pad level. I think guys that are used to that hand-to-hand combat can hang in there in the trenches, particularly at the nose guard position. It’s a gritty position and wrestlers are kind of that way. They are tough guys and he’s definitely a tough guy..”

Wilcox said there was “nothing to report” on the status of Siu Fuimaono and Aaron Maldonado, who are not practicing because of injury.