NFC Notes: Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears HC Matt Eberflus was asked how quickly second-round S Jaquan Brisker was picking up the defense and snapped his fingers in response.

“We’re just so thrilled with his talent, with his mental makeup and just the person he is and where he is in his development so far,” Eberflus said, via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic.

“From my senior year of high school to here, it was a lot of hard work behind closed doors, a lot of maturity, a lot of accountability to make sure I’m on point with everything and make sure I’m doing everything right,” Brisker said. “And then making sure I’m making my family happy. My last name is on my back, so make sure I’m doing everything right off the field.”

Packers

Packers second-year G Royce Newman said the game is beginning to slow down for him and he’s more accustomed to playing at guard.

“Learning the technique, the speed of the game, how much it’s ramped up. Getting used to that,” Newman said, via PackersWire. “Blocking these guys in the middle because I played tackle in college, so just learning how to play guard again, getting used to that.”

Newman feels he’s playing faster, stronger, and more mentally prepared for his second year in the NFL. 

“Don’t have to worry about where I’m going like when I first got here,” Newman said. “I can just play faster. I had an offseason to get stronger. The mental game is evolved where I can play faster.”

Vikings

Vikings WR Justin Jefferson spoke about the changes he’s noticed under new HC Kevin O’Connell.

“It’s not a run-first offense anymore,” Jefferson said on NFL Network. “Just us being able to put different people in different positions and distributing the ball, really. I’m so excited in this offense, us just being in OTAs learning the plays, going through it with our defense and stuff. We’re all excited, we’re all happy to have [O’Connell]. It’s definitely a different vibe and different connection in the building with him there.”