NFC Notes: Jaren Hall, Jordan Love, David Walker, Bears, Packers, Vikings

Bears

Bears HC Matt Eberflus addressed the firing of RB coach David Walker and said his conduct did not meet the standards of the workplace.

“It’s disappointing from my vantage point,” Eberflus said, via Bears Wire. “But we have a standard to uphold to, and when that standard is not met, we act and we act accordingly, and that’s what we did today.”

Eberflus said the decision to fire Walker was made in conjunction with GM Ryan Poles and CEO Kevin Warren.

“I would say the responsibility is there because I’m the head football coach,” Eberflus said. “I would also say that the standard has to be met, right? And when it’s not met, you make a decision. We did that.”

Eberflus proclaimed that the team’s culture is still great.

“The guys work hard every single day,” he said. “The relationship piece is there. We care about each other. We’re working diligently to get this thing turned. We’re 2-2 in our last four. One game was real close, we had a chance at that one. We really feel we’re turning the corner there, and we are excited about this week. But to answer your question, our culture is awesome.”

Packers

Packers QB Jordan Love believes increasing the tempo could help get the offense moving.

“I think we have a good feel for the two-minute play,” Love said, via Packers Wire. “We have so many reps with those plays we run in two-minute. We do it every week in practice—we rep two-minute situations. I think everybody has a really good feel for those plays, understanding where to go with the ball and things like that. I think also once we get going, get that play started, getting rid of the ball fast, we kind of get that rhythm that we need.”

Love added that going into the two-minute drill helps get the offense in a rhythm and keeps the defense on their toes.

“For the defense,” Love added, “it’s hard for defenses when the offense is playing fast. It limits the amount of calls they have. It puts a little bit more pressure on them. I would say, for the most part, it’s that rhythm. Once we get into two-minute, we get the ball rolling and the confidence, and we just get into that positive rhythm.”

Packers OC Adam Stenavich added that the team has explored using tempo more in order to get more basic looks out of defenses.

“We’ve kicked around basically everything,” Stenavich said. “The hurry-up stuff, it does dumb defenses down to some degree when you’re going fast. They can’t make their calls and disguise and all of that. That’s definitely some things we’ve talked about, using tempo to get it going to get these guys playing fast.”

Vikings

Vikings QB Jaren Hall doesn’t expect them to “hold anything back” on their offensive system with him set to start Week 9. 

“I think you’ve gotta have the mindset you can run it all,” Hall said, via ProFootballTalk. “I don’t think we’ll hold anything back. But again, it’s just a matter of, if I can be dialed in on my preparation and take advantage of every minute, because it’s five or six days until Sunday, so you’ve got a lot of time to be ready to go by then.”

Hall said he’s trying to follow Kirk Cousins‘ lead and stay prepared for all situations. 

“Truly to Kirk and everything he’s shown in his preparation, you always be prepared for everything,” Hall said. “It’ll definitely be a mindset if they were to blitz and do that stuff, but that’s, you know, coaches are kind of in charge of all that. They know the looks, and they’ll be prepared for anything they decide to show or not show.”

Hall said coaches are encouraging him to focus and soak up everything he learns in practice. 

“I think that it’s very easy to go down that path and start thinking about that, but lucky for me, coaches are constantly reminding me just to focus on this day, focus on walk-through, this practice, this install — whatever it is,” Hall said. “It’s a long career in the NFL. It’s a marathon, it’s a journey. So, you can’t look at one game or one opportunity like it’s your last. So, for me, I’m just focused on being as prepared as I can for these guys because they’ve grinded so much these last few weeks and come back from so much adversity, that I just want to do my best to focus on this game.”