Eddie Jackson thought he knew what to expect coming into the 2022 season. It didn’t take long for his world to get flipped upside down. He wasn’t going to be able to coast on his one great season in 2018 anymore. Expectations for him are far higher for a few reasons. One was the departure of every other veteran leader on the Chicago Bears defense, including Akiem Hicks, Danny Trevathan, and Khalil Mack. That puts pressure on him to step up into their place. Then there was the arrival of Matt Eberflus.
The head coach didn’t mince words when he took over in January. Standards were going to change with him in charge. That means every single player on the roster would be required to give no less than 100% on every play, regardless of practice or game. If coaches saw a player not giving that, they would get called out. On day two of training camp, the defense found out when Eberflus gave them an earful during drills.
Flus yelling at the defense for not going full speed
One player caught the worst of it. Jeff Berckes of Windy City Gridiron was present at practice. He witnessed Eberflus laying into Jackson for slowing down during a play. As mild-mannered as the head coach usually is to the cameras, it sounds like the Bears safety got the “big boy” voice.
That had to be a wake-up call for Jackson. Matt Nagy was never known for getting on players like that during his entire tenure with the team. It is probably why so many little mistakes haunted them during close games. That isn’t going to fly with Eberflus. Jackson appeared to get the message. Later in practice, he picked off Justin Fields courtesy of a tipped pass off the hand of N’Keal Harry. After practice, the safety admitted that this sort of approach by the coaches was needed. Everybody is buying in.
This is a make-or-break year for Eddie Jackson. He has gone two seasons straight without an interception. That isn’t a good thing in a defense predicated on takeaways. He will be 29 years old this December and is still the sixth-highest-paid safety in the NFL. GM Ryan Poles already unloaded several veterans he deemed too expensive. He couldn’t do the same to Jackson because of salary cap issues. That will change in 2023 when releasing him with a post-June 1st designation nets them $13 million.
