NFC Notes: Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears QB Justin Fields knows that his team doesn’t have any big-name wide receivers between Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle and the others, yet he still thinks Chicago can get the job done with the group they have.

“We don’t have an Odell [Beckham Jr.] or a Cooper Kupp on our team, but at the end of the day I think if everybody is on their P’s and Q’s, and we’re on top of everything and not making mistakes, the players we have right now are good enough,” Fields said, via Scott Polacek of Bleacher Report. “The front office thinks that, too. The fans outside of the facility, don’t know what’s going on at practice. Just because we don’t have a big-name guy, doesn’t mean those guys aren’t talented. I have plenty of confidence in myself and my teammates that we’re going to get the job done.”

Lions

Lions DC Aaron Glenn said that first-round DE Aidan Hutchinson is proving to be “everything that we thought” after selecting him at No. 2 overall. 

“Here’s my initial read, everything that we thought we were getting shows up, not just in practice but in the meeting room also,” Glenn said, via ProFootballTalk. “What else shows up is just those little things where you’re like, ‘Can he do this? I wonder if he can do it.’ And then you see it in practice that it shows up.”

Glenn praised Hutchinson’s quickness as a defensive end and ability with his hands. 

“He has this quickness that’s just unbelievable. He has this ability to bend and turn and continue to work his hands that is outstanding. Those are one of the things I talked about in practice yesterday with our D-line coach like, ‘Just watch him. He’s always working. He’s always working.’ That’s that relentless attitude that you guys could see when he was at Michigan that made him so successful. It’s natural for him. There’s no doubt in my mind that this player is going to be a really, really good player for us. I’m excited to see him once we get into training camp and he gets into games for us.”

Packers

Packers GM Brian Gutekunst voiced confidence in third-year TE Tyler Davis and is excited about his potential next season. 

“As his opportunities grew, not only in games but in practice, I think we might have something there. So I’m excited about that,” Gutekunst said, via PackersWire.

Packers HC Matt LaFleur pointed out that Davis had an impact on special teams and was a player STs coordinator Rich Bisaccia was excited about. 

“He certainly made his mark on special teams,” LaFleur said. “I know he’s a guy that Rich was really excited about when we hired him, just what he can bring. He’s a guy that’s going to give you great effort each and every snap, and he can really run.”

LaFleur added that Davis continued to improve throughout last season and eventually earned a role. 

“Tyler is a guy that I didn’t know a whole lot about when we acquired him. It was just something you could see each day when we were out there as he was learning the offense and getting his reps on the scout team. Then he got forced into play, and I thought he did a hell of a job,” LaFleur said.