NFC Notes: D.J. Moore, Darnell Savage, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears DB Jaquan Brisker said the chemistry between QB Justin Fields and WR D.J. Moore has been clear on the field.

“It look like they got that chemistry going very fast, earlier than I expected,” Brisker said, via Bears Wire. “They look good, though. They look like they best friends. Justin’s definitely throwing him the ball. Two’s getting the ball, no doubt. Justin looks good, though. He’s going through his progressions. He’s looking very smooth, making good decisions out there, and looking like the best quarterback in the NFL. I thought that last year, but this year it’s different.”

Brisker added that Fields having a number one option to throw the ball to has made him more of a complete player.

“I’d say it is a big difference because he has his receiver out there that he wants and that he knows he can trust and throw it to,” Brisker said. “I won’t say anything bad from last year, but just compared to last year, he just looks different. It’s a different energy. And you know that feeling when you’re out there looking, and you see 1 and 2 going out there, and he’s throwing that ball to 2, and he’s getting it, he’s catching it. It’s timing routes, and it’s on time. So it’s a different chemistry right now. And it’s just OTAs, they just started, so the sky’s the limit for them for sure. For Justin, for DJ, and for that offense. Sky is the limit. You’re going to see.”

Lions

The hype engine for the Lions is starting to kick into gear. Detroit is the preseason favorite to win the NFC North and they got tabbed as the opponents for the Chiefs in the NFL’s massive Thursday night season kickoff game. But HC Dan Campbell is acutely aware all of this hype is coming off a 9-8 season in which the Lions missed the playoffs, and if they come out flat in 2023 it’ll disappear quick. 

“Yeah, look we don’t – we’re not into the hype,” Campbell said via USA Today’s Jeff Risdon. “Like right now, everything is about the work, and it will be when we get into training camp. Goes back to what I said, we’ve got a brand new team that we’ve got to build from the ground up again. Yeah, we’ve got a foundation, but yeah man, we’ve got to get the chemistry right; we’ve got a lot of new faces.

“And all of that other stuff won’t matter if we don’t put the work back in, so that, to me, is the focus. I mean, we can’t worry about what everybody else says. Just like last year, we can’t worry about — when you lose five in a row that you’re back in the dumpers again because if you do that, then you won’t win another game now. And it’s the same thing here. If we’re going to really buy into that and not put the work in again, no, we’ll get our (expletive) kicked, so, that’s not what we’re going to do.”

Packers

Packers DC Joe Barry said the team will have an open competition to decide who starts next to S Darnell Savage in 2023. Barry added that there’s not a front-runner for the spot at this point.

“No,” Barry said, via Packers Wire. “But that’s the great thing about the offseason. It’s May. We get that nine week period where we get to get our hands on the guys, and we are in that fifth week right now. We’ve got some new faces in that room, but that’s what OTAs are for, obviously (what) training camp is for, but we are in the beginning stages of that process of finding that out.”

Barry explained that one of the biggest factors for whoever earns that role will be consistency and the ability to perform their job on a daily basis.

“I’m big on consistency,” Barry said. “I’ve bragged over the years, a guy like Kenny Clark, not only is he consistent with his play, but he’s consistent with everything he does, every single day when he’s in this building. When you have a vacancy, especially with a starting spot and you have a number of guys in competition for that, the biggest thing I look for as a coach is the overall consistency every day. Then obviously you have to get into your job, making plays, and being productive, but it starts with being a consistent guy every day to be one of those 11.”