NFC Notes: Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

The apparent lack of firepower in the Bears’ receiving corps has been a popular topic of conversation this offseason. Teams usually try to load up around their young signal callers, but Justin Fields will be throwing to a group headlined by Darnell Mooney, Byron Pringle, Equanimeous St. Brown and third-rounder Velus Jones. New OC Luke Getsy pointed out however that his experience in Green Bay taught him something about unheralded receivers. 

“Of course, everybody wants Davante Adams. Who wouldn’t want Davante Adams, right?” Getsy said via Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. “That’s part of it. But Davante wasn’t Davante until he became Davante. I think the system will enable some of these guys to play at their potential. And so we’ll see what we can do. We’ll give them an opportunity to show me what they got.”

Jones was the only pass-catcher the Bears drafted, and he’s been criticized as a 25-year-old rookie whose career-high in six years of college football is just 704 yards. But Getsy defended Jones, saying he’s obviously more mature than the typical rookie. 

“He’s all business, man,” Getsy said. “He came in in a suit. He was ready to go. He takes great notes. Bought his own whiteboard, you know. He came in ready. He was focused, he has a business approach. So, I’m excited, he’s somebody that’s going to be all-in, focused on trying to figure everything out. It’s a lot for all of those guys right now but I loved the way he came in his approach. I mean he can handle this league, you can see that already. Then the speed just jumped at you on the tape. When that guy gets the ball in his hands, he looks like 4.3 on the field. Not many guys can do that and I think that is what stood out about this guy. He has a chance to score every time he touches the ball.”

“We want versatile guys, guys that can do a bunch of different things, give us an opportunity to do a bunch of different things with each guy,” Getsy added. “So, we don’t want just one guy that can run down the field. We don’t want just one guy that can run a choice route. We want guys that can do a bunch of different things. He definitely has that versatility so that’s really cool. It was fun to see this weekend.”

Packers

Packers HC Matt LaFleur has high praise for first-round DL Devonte Wyatt so far during rookie minicamp.

“He sure looked good in some of the pass-rush things we were doing. I love his intensity, his focus. You can tell he’s been coached hard,” LaFleur said, via PackersWire.com. “There’s a reason he was a first-round pick. You can see it.”

Vikings

Former Vikings LB Chad Greenway enjoyed playing for Mike Zimmer and was critical of the team’s current group of players that he claims couldn’t step up and play for a head coach with an elite football mind.

“[Zimmer] wasn’t for everybody and I think his approach was very aggressive,” Greenway told Fox News Digital. “It’s a little more pressure and a little more serious and that’s fine. I could adapt because I had been in the league for nine years already. I could adapt and adjust, but a lot of other guys couldn’t, and it was hard for them and I could understand that. I think he’s a very good football coach — an elite football coach, an elite football mind — and at the end of the day is a great guy that I loved playing for.”