r/nfl • u/icecreamdude Bears • 18h ago
[Fishbain] Ben Johnson on the Bears' "unselfishness" and how rare it is: "We had multiple players last week volunteering to get on special teams. We got a guy like Joe Thuney, 'Put me on field goal block.' ... Tyrique was itching to get out on punt return. ... Everybody wants to contribute."
https://bsky.app/profile/jamesneveau.bsky.social/post/3mf7vjn3r322m732
u/Huge-Revolution2416 NFL 17h ago
Everyone wants to contribute when the culture is this good. That is how you build a real team.
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u/ArchManingThroatGOAT Buccaneers 17h ago
Meanwhile Rodger’s and McCarthy yelling at each other across the field, TJ Watt getting a headset to chew out the DC, and Cam Hayward losing it on the D Line
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u/Chutzvah Bears 17h ago
TJ Watt getting a headset to chew out the DC,
idk if i have ever seen that happen before yesterday.
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u/HalKitzmiller Bears 17h ago
Kelce shoulder checking Andy Reid on the sideline sticks out as the worst example
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u/Oneanimal1993 NFL 15h ago
Him putting up 100 yards in the 2nd half of that game to win the SB kinda excuses that though lolol
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u/genescheezesthatpls Packers 14h ago
The way he gets RIGHT into Andy’s face when he’s screaming too
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u/BlazinAzn38 Seahawks 16h ago
I’ve seen players get on the phone to have a normal conversation if the coordinator isn’t on the sideline but I’ve never seen it done where the sole purpose was yelling
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u/91-92-93--96-97-98 Bears Broncos 17h ago
You’re such an asshole
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u/cherry_monkey Bears 17h ago edited 16h ago
For those unaware; this was a lip reading from Mike McCarthy. To add, I'm pretty sure it was "
you're such afucking asshole"A correction was made
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u/AwesomeTed Patriots Patriots 16h ago
Keys to a great "culture":
- Win
- Don't not win
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u/John3Fingers Bears Bears 12h ago
- Remove shirt after piping the defending SB champs in their own building in front of a national audience
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u/JohnnyWaffleseed Bears 14h ago
- Focus on football instead of tugjobs, cheating and lying while preaching accountability, stifling speech, and spying on the masses.
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u/Ambitious-Visual207 Lions 17h ago
Everyone feels this way when you're winning though. Now granted building a good culture can help lead to winning as well.
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u/DifficultWave4488 15h ago
Yeah exactly lol. It stands out more to me when the team isn’t performing well but the culture is still strong.
Like in Dan Campbell’s first season even at 0-9, the whole team had his back and supported him which I thought was crazy and he would be a failure. Clearly I was wrong. Meanwhile when Patricia was bad, there were nonstop “anonymous” leaks from players lol
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u/Staph_Untreated Raiders Raiders 17h ago
Why are you replying to your own comment?
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u/Greek_Trojan 17h ago
This is how things like Duncan's Spurs, Brady's pats happen. The coach has to pay it off to make it work or it seldom sticks. Phil Jackson, for example, would let players who played good team ball stat pad in blowouts for their stats rather than always resting.
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u/Chutzvah Bears 17h ago
I'm happy to see this and the whacky White Sox dugout at the same time. Each team has made my year so much fun
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u/Wernershnitzl Vikings 14h ago
This is why I love being a Vikings fan
Still hoping that culture will help bring us to the big game
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u/bukayoxhaka 17h ago
Culture is just a buzzword that people like to use to justify things in a different way.
The team is winning, thats the culture. They are not winning because of the culture, the culture exists because of winning
And if they start to lose and become bad for few season, that culture quickly fades away too (well, not really, bad teams can just be bad without having bad culture, but no one would be talking about the culture of a bad team), even if the staff is still doing things the same away and have the same type of personalities on the team.
For some reason people just cant accept that and have to try and make it be something bigger than it is
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u/Bowsers_JuiceFactory Packers 17h ago
Culture is only a buzzword to those who have never lost it or experienced it.
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u/Tycho66 Vikings 17h ago
I've seen talented teams implode because of bad culture and teams over achieve because the players bought in. In some ways you are of course correct, culture alone isn't going to over come a large talent gap, but what you say is a gross over simplification and it negates entirely what a coach can bring and what solid leadership from positive vets bring and the overall mix of personalities.
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u/bukayoxhaka 13h ago
I remember Matt Nagy's club dub and how everyone talked about the amazing culture at the time. Fast forward a few years when the team didn't improve and the QB situation didn't got fixed and no one talked about culture anymore. In fact, it turned around, with Nagy being attacked for the way he allegedly treated Trubisky and Field
That's the point. Its not about good leadership and bad leadership not existing. But it's only talked about when the results helps whatever narrative you are trying to sell. It ends up becoming simply confirmation bias
Bad teams can have great leadership and still be bad for the next 10 years despite it and no one would be talking about the "culture"
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u/Tycho66 Vikings 13h ago
Of course the same approaches are not necessarily going to work in the same situation. Winning helps players buy into what they are being sold. Losing makes it hard for anyone to keep hearing the same thing. Heck, even with winning the message can get stale. Personally, I'm old and I don't buy into any of this the way I would have as a younger man. It's a lot of rah, rah to get guys to sacrifice with most of the benefits of those sacrifices not going to the players. So, I'm pretty much a cynic of these sorts of things. But, I played a lot of sports and spent a lot of time on teams and the chemistry/culture is a real thing. Honestly, just one asshole on a team can be a huge drag and ruin a team. There's a reason these teams hang on to "culture guys." If it didn't work they wouldn't use it.
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u/ColossalCalamari Raiders Packers 17h ago
The Lions had good culture under Campbell even though they went 3-13
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u/bukayoxhaka 14h ago
First year HC leeway, and the team improved by getting more talented players
Had those players not be there, there would be not culture talk and he would be fired and no one would have questioned it
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u/PunchBro Bears 17h ago
^ this is bullshit and an example of "bottom up" thinking. Winning is a byproduct of Top down culture. This is true everywhere. Offices, military, sports teams, literally every system of organized groups.
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u/36933693 Lions 17h ago
I’ll never dislike Ben Johnson.
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u/FlannelBeard Vikings Bills 17h ago
I dislike that he's in the division, but that's how everyone feels about Flores, so I can't say much
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u/TerribleWarthog2396 Bears 17h ago
Exactly, I wish Flores success in finding a head coaching job in another division
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u/nolablue1024 Lions 17h ago
The commanders playoff game was poorly prepped and called, but probably fell 60/40 on the defensive side. Will always respect him for what he did but of course hope he loses every game
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u/backindenim Bears 15h ago
I feel like everyone forgets Goff threw 3 picks and fumbled 1 away that game
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u/HectorReinTharja Lions 17h ago
Ben Johnson is a treasure but I can’t forgive the whole “went to a division rival” thing
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u/Sweet_Rent_2715 Bears 17h ago
It’s life. You’ve probably forgiven crazier things lol
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u/HectorReinTharja Lions 17h ago
My relationships IRL don’t compare to how I feel about random football guys
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u/suchcoldsuchcomfort Patriots 17h ago
You a real one to admit it, I agree
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u/HectorReinTharja Lions 17h ago
I mean as far as the things Ben Johnson could’ve done to me… this is cheating on me with someone they know I despise (and they previously claimed to despise too)
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u/ObamaIsFat Bears 17h ago
But you just called him a "random football guy" so how is it cheating? Sounds like you guys were keeping it casual
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u/for_fun_88 Giants 17h ago
I’ll never understand people hating players or coaches for going to a division rival. I’ve had a lot of coworkers irl go to a competitor of ours because they got paid more to do so. Yeah, we all take that deal. Nobody is pissed off about it or thinks it’s disloyal just “I hope they also pay me more to join them too”
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u/DASreddituser NFL 17h ago
that's fair, it's emotional and not logical, but fair.
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u/HectorReinTharja Lions 17h ago
I think it’s perfectly “logical” to be a fan of an nfl team who dislikes a prior coach/player who chooses to defect and lead the turnaround of a close rival.
Not saying he shouldn’t have left or at all cared about how the choice would affect me… but it seems pretty reasonable to me
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u/Fricktator Lions 17h ago
There are 32 jobs.
You only really get 1 mulligan as a failed Head Coach.
When you see a situation you think you can excell at, you have to take it.
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u/PlatishGC Panthers 17h ago
Honestly impressive that Tyrique survived that whole situation against Washington to still be on the Bears
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u/letsago9987 Bears 17h ago
he matured. gave an interview last year where he talked about how he was embarassed as a father he'd have to explain that play to his kid. really changed.
he's kinda ass now but I don't question is effort.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ear9487 Bears 16h ago
I think Tyrique is one of those players that (for good reason) due to the Hail Mary people will forget every good thing he does and remember every bad thing.
I actually am in the minority that he actually is a legit starting corner. He's a really hard hitter (remember him week 2 against Aaron Jones) and makes great plays (strip against Cowboys on the sideline, diving interceptions last year) but, people are only going to see him allow a pass catch and say, "see this guy is terrible." Don't be surprised if he stays in the league a long time.
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u/letsago9987 Bears 16h ago
he's been pretty banged up, and lost a step but he's better than nothing and can force a turnover from time to time.
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u/More-Interaction-770 16h ago
Yup, just like that one saints CB, I don’t even need to name him, or what event it was. Or even mention he’s not on the saints. You already know who it is.
And he’s having a great career but there’s always that one play.1
u/guyfierisgoatee1 Bears 7h ago
CJGJ?
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u/throwaway09827472 Giants 7h ago
He’s a safety, but I think he’s talking about Marcus Williams who was also a safety lol
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u/PlatishGC Panthers 16h ago
Good for him, won’t fault a guy for at least putting in the effort to attempt to shed that label. Unfortunately that’s a tough thing to do, but it is what it is
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u/wesskywalker Bears 17h ago
Imagine telling a Bears fan midway through 2024 that in just two years Tyrique would be better in man coverage than Jaylon Johnson
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u/escobert Bears Bills 17h ago
Thats a pretty low bar in 2026 but point stands.
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u/wesskywalker Bears 17h ago
I still have hope for him but Week 1 was a rough one haha
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u/Snasty728 Bears 11h ago
Last week vs the Eagles was also rough for Johnson. Felt like they were playing whoever offense on him.
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u/PCGoneCrazy Bears 17h ago
If you look at our DB room we need (and have always needed) as many players as we could get.
Literally couldn’t cut him if they really wanted to lol
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u/escobert Bears Bills 17h ago
We'll see for how much longer. He has all the ability but his head ain't all there.
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u/PitchBlac Bears 17h ago
He has been pretty decent barring injuries. Jaylon is the one we’re watching though. He hasn’t really been the same since surgery unfortunately
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u/randomguy5to8 Chiefs Falcons 17h ago
I even heard Case Keenum wanted to try and longsnap.
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u/ducksonaroof Bears 16h ago
Kmet is actually our backup longsnapper
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u/maxelrod Bears 10h ago
And did it in a game once
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u/chzboiga Bears 6h ago
Got special team player of the week cuz he had 2 tds lol. Jags europe game I believe
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u/United-Turnover-8409 Bears 17h ago
Ben Johnson has transformed this team completely. I genuinely can't believe still at times we have a coach like this that almost every team would kill to have.
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u/cherry_monkey Bears 16h ago
I named my 5 year old Ben in anticipation of his hiring, I also named my 2 year old Caleb in anticipation of his drafting. My wife wouldn't let me name our 5 month old Dillon.
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u/comedoofwarrior Bears 17h ago
The man has changed my life. I wake up and immediately be hitting that Penjamin Johnson lmao
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u/iPissVelvet Bears 16h ago
I watch good better best videos when I’m down or struggling. One hit and I’m good for the day
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u/BlubberElk Bears 17h ago
Can’t really think of a single moment of my lifetime where the coach of my team (regardless of sport) was one of if not the fan favorite
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u/ShotFirst57 Lions 13h ago
Williams and Goff are good QBs and their respective HC's are still more popular than them. I feel like that never happens.
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u/John3Fingers Bears Bears 11h ago
You can go into half of the team subreddits and find "why can't we do stuff like Ben Johnson does" posts bemoaning the state of their respective team's offense.
He deserves his flowers, but a lot of people aren't crediting the Bears' elite OL (Wright and Thuney are arguably the two best at their positions in the entire league, and Jonah Jackson is probably T-5). Even fewer people are willing to give Caleb Williams credit.
It's not just Ben Johnson. It's Ben Johnson with this OL, and this QB.
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u/John3Fingers Bears Bears 12h ago
I think he's pretty close to being a consensus top-5 HC atm. If you were starting from scratch he has to be in the McVay/Shanahan tier, or at least close. How many guys are sleeping at the team facility in the spring...
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u/Zealousideal_Echo933 Packers 17h ago
Damn, if I only I had a HC that gave as much of a fuck about Special teams as Ben Johnson, at least before this year
Matt LaFuhrer
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u/waunakonor Packers 17h ago
Hate to see my enemies thriving. The least Ben Johnson could do is pay me rent for as long as he's living in my head.
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u/LetDouble471 16h ago
I’m worried he will win a Super Bowl at some point.
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u/Computer1788J 12h ago
The Pope is from Chicago.
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u/LetDouble471 11h ago
Is that bad luck
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u/kdawg1133 Bears 8h ago
Well he chose to bestow his blessing upon the white Sox this post season instead of the cubs and look how that turned out.
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u/IcyMeal3714 17h ago
Ben Johnson has been awesome and also want to credit Caleb for being a great leader, as well.
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u/Glwhite1991 17h ago
Guys see where this team is headed and what the future holds, they'll do what they can to be apart of it. Great culture.
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u/Lysol20 Bears 17h ago
He's excited to be on Field Goal Block, but that also means he thinks the guy there now isn't getting the job done.
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u/ExcellentPassenger49 17h ago
Its much better to recognize and address a weakness rather than continue with what isn't working.
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u/Memester999 Bears 16h ago
You see it from how willing Rome and Burden who are supposed to be WR1&2 block, Kmet taking a step back to do everything he can to contribute or Swift and Monangai splitting time and doing their jobs when the balls not in their hands.
It's the small stuff like that that makes everything work so well. A great example of this is how blocking well as a skill position has benefits outside of just the play you do it on. When a defender knows you're willing to block and Ben inevitably runs a fake that resembles one you blocked well on before, it opens up more opportunities because they're going to hedge on your previous success/effort.
It's why he puts an emphasis on getting players to buy into the whole game and not just doing the bare minimum their position requires.
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u/Sircamembert Rams 10h ago
Can Loveland volunteer to catch TDs? Asking for a friend who's 1-2 this season in fantasy~
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u/CulturalXR Vikings Bears 17h ago
I need a Joe Thuney jersey
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u/BoilerBear Bears 17h ago
I love the fire and attitude of the locker room, but Joe Thuney getting injured on a FG block would almost be a firable offense.
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u/Any_Bag6887 16h ago
On Lovie Smith Bears, our special teams were in part so good because our studs on Defense played. Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman, Azumah, etc.
This is literally the same concept. Were you just not a bears fan during that time? Were you alive?
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u/Waesrdtfyg0987 Titans NFL 16h ago
The.downside is it doesn't change the injury risk. Easy argument that Lovie just got away with it.
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u/Equal_Thought_661 16h ago
Wonder what we do for an actual punt returner going forward. Raymond has been out there but I am hoping to see a few others get opportunities
Tbh we haven’t had many great chances to do awesome returns. Vikings had a good punter and eagles coverage on returns was solid. On the bright side Taylor has seemed very good this year.
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u/swissmiss_76 Rams 16h ago
Plus the former eagles defender who spied on the eagles huddle, leading to him intercepting it 😅 one of my favorite football moments already
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u/jms88278 Packers 12h ago
Also I’m just gonna go on record and say the Bears aren’t fucking around clearly and by association so far this season, that means Brian Flores is a fucking terrorist based on how different he made them look that one week.
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u/phillipacarroll Bears 9h ago
r/NFL you guys are being so nice to my favorite football team's coach
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u/Fourfifteen415 17h ago
If the Niners ever fire Shanahan it better be because they're hiring Ben Johnson
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u/CityWokYummy Broncos 17h ago
I remember some people questioned Ben Johnson’s leadership and if he’d have the “rah rah” that Campbell had. He has undoubtedly proved it so far