Last season, the Chicago Bears won three games in a row to start the season 4-2. After a bye in Week 7, the seemed headed for a 5-2 record before the fateful Hail Mary against the Washington Commanders. Nine more losses later, with three offensive coordinators and two head coaches, it was a lost season.
It wasn't pretty overall, but the Bears won their fourth game in a row in Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints. They are 4-2 again, but it's fair to say a couple of wins during their current winning streak are games last year's team would have found a way to lose.
After the Week 6 win over the Commanders, Bears' safety Jaquan Brisker talked about how different the locker room is.
"Yeah, it’s definitely different in the locker room," Brisker said, via Bears Wire. "Like I said, it starts in practice. You can feel it. The energy is different in practice. The way, guys are getting closer, the way we meet without the coaches and things like that, and then the way we communicate on and off the field, it’s amazing. You can tell things are trending up, and guys are believing."
Jaquan Brisker doubles down on difference Ben Johnson has made
Brisker spoke to the media on Monday, the day after the win over the Saints, and he was asked what feels different about "this 4-2" compared to last year's 4-2 start.
"This 4-2, we're on a four-game winning streak, we have a different coaching staff, a couple different players, offense, defense and special teams", Brisker said. "We're closer. We're actually closer (as) players, and player-coach. We're on one line. Everybody's on the same type of level, that's different."
Brisker was then asked to expand on his thoughts about the difference coaching has made. He immediately cited the confidence the coaching staff has in the players. More specifically, Brisker talked about how the coaches profess their belief in players throughout each week. That creates unity and belief in the face of whatever adversity might come.
Beyond how he would influence Caleb Williams' growth as a quarterback, the Bears surely hoped Ben Johnson would be able to create a culture like the one he came from in Detroit. Instilling belief in players and simply relating to them better is a core piece of that. Brisker's comments confirm that Johnson possesses those aspects of Dan Campbell's approach.
A 0-2 start after a bad loss to Johnson's former team could have snowballed into a longer losing streak. If this were last year's team, under last year's coaching staff, it's fair to assert the Bears would not be 4-2 right now.
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Brisker puts words to the idea that things are different now, and many of his teammates would echo his sentiment.