With just a few days away from their Week 6 showdown with the Washington Commanders, the Chicago Bears are trying to find any kind of competitive advantage they can to steal a win over the team that used a Hail Mary to beat them last year.
Chicago is showing how much they want to win by thinking outside the box to secure their third win of the season. This time, the odd approach they are taking is something Bears fans wouldn't think to do, but it is genius.
The Chicago Tribune's Brad Biggs reported that the Bears brought in punter Matthew Hayball for a tryout. Seems odd since they already have an effective punter in Troy Taylor, so why bring one for a pointless workout?
Well, that's because Hayball is left footed. So is Washington Commanders punter Tress Way.
All of this is simply to get punt returner Devin Duvernay used to the rotation and kick direction of a left-footed punter. The more practice he gets with it, the better Duvernay will be.
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It seems like a pointless move to make since it's special teams, but after the impact NFL fans have seen in that unit this year, it makes a difference. Look at what the Philadelphia Eagles did with their three blocks in two weeks and how those won them games. Bears fans should understand that part with Josh Blackwell's late-game field goal block to beat the Las Vegas Raiders 25-24 in Week 4.
Never discredit the impact of special teams.
Duvernay is one of the premier return specialists in the NFL, and the Bears want to make sure they win the field position battle with him. In four games, He has returned nine punts for an average of 11.4 yards per return and 11 kickoff returns for an average of 25.5 yards per return.
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Whether this will actually impact the game remains to be seen, but fans have to admire the Bears' desire to do whatever it takes to beat the Commanders. That small attention to detail might not have been noticed a year ago, but a new mindset with a new coach means finding different ways to win.