Bears News: Edmunds says Dennis Allen inspires belief that they can dominate

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - 1 day ago

CHICAGO - Before coming to the Chicago Bears, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds had been to the playoffs every year since 2019. Now, he has been on a dismal Chicago team for the past two years that has only mustered 12 wins in the past two years.

However, things look like they could be different this coming season. The Bears underwent a massive coaching overhaul. Chicago now has a new head coach, new offensive coordinator and new defensive coordinator among other changes in the coaching staff. They also made some bold moves in free agency, signing veteran defensive lineman Grady Jarrett and developing pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo.

Moves like these give Edmunds some promise that the Bears are improving.

“I think we’re going in the right direction, bringing the right people and that starts up top with the coaching staff and then from there, bringing in the right players and that’s what this time is for, building that identity, building that team chemistry to be able to work towards a goal,” Edmunds said. “But, that’s a long way away. We got to start now. We got to build that identity and we got to put the work in.”

Part of that identity is having a strong leader. Chicago’s new head coach, Ben Johnson, certainly seems to fit the bill. While former head coach Matt Eberflus did not seem to outwardly show a lot of emotion or get too excited on the sideline, Johnson is just the opposite.

He is energetic and passionate and his passion is palpable.

“You could feel it … Being a first-time head coach, being able to address a room, that’s important (because) you feel that as players. You feel that as everybody in the room and he stepped up there with confidence. Guys was all ears, gave him the utmost respect and that’s what it’s all about and you feel that as players. I feel that and I’m like, ‘Okay, this guy the real deal.’ We got the same type mindset. So, that’s the thing you get most excited about even walking out that room. It’s like, ‘I feel the energy, now let’s put the work in as players now,’” Edmunds said. “This guy, we (doesn’t) just want to win, but we want to win by a lot. We want to dominate and I think that’s important. That just talks about his mentality, it talks about his mindset. We (are) going to be the best (and) we (are) going to (dominate) and we want our opponent to feel that for sure.”

To lead the defense, Johnson made sure to hire someone equally energetic and passionate. However, a purposeful effort was also made to bring someone in with a lot of experience since Johnson has always specialized in the offense. Long-time defensive coordinator and former head coach Dennis Allen is precisely what Johnson was looking for.

Edmunds said Allen’s energy, his command and focus on hitting the ground running have generated excitement for him about what this defense can be this season.

“It’s all about the work. I can tell just by his energy, his (passion), the way he (communicates) his words, the tone in which he communicates is all geared towards we want this to happen right now,” Edmunds said. “We (are) not waiting for anything. Let’s get this thing. Let’s hit the ground running and that’s what the message is and that’s what we received as players and more than all, that’s what I receive as a player and it brings excitement because we (are) all excited and not just that, but it’s all about belief, belief that we can win now, belief that we could be special right now.”

It certainly would not hurt the Bears to add some defensive line depth in the draft. You truly cannot have too many pass rushers, especially because Chicago has struggled to generate pressure consistently over the past two seasons. This year's defensive line class is deep, allowing the Bears to use multiple picks to get quality linemen who could make a difference this season.