NFC Notes: Jordan Love, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears DT Justin Jones said their defensive line is still recovering from injuries and will benefit from spending more time together. 

“We’ve got to keep rushing together,” Jones said, via Kevin Fishbain of ESPN. “A lot of guys were hurt this training camp and guys are just getting back and getting healthy. Keep rushing together with the guys that haven’t been there and stuff like that and putting together a rush plan that everybody can benefit from. The biggest thing for us is to keep working and keep getting better.”

Bears HC Matt Eberflus thinks their linebackers like Tremaine Edmunds and T.J Edwards are being put in the right position to make plays.

“Just keep playing the defense, just keep playing the defense,” Eberflus. “They’re right there. They’re right in a position where they need to be. Those guys have been making a lot of plays. It’s more about the strip attempts that we have to have when we’re going to tackle. I think we might be missing that some. We’ve got to do a great job with that. But they’re in position to make some plays, and we’re gonna get them in position.”

Edwards also feels they are close to creating more turnovers. 

“I think there have been times where we have had opportunities and we just happened to be off on our alignment or some things like that,” Edwards said. “But we’re close. And you can feel it in the defense, that that is our goal. We want to make those plays. We want to take the ball away. We want to create and steal a possession. And it’s going to take us all on the practice field every day to get that done.”

• The Athletic’s Adam Jahns and Kevin Fishbain asked around to figure out how things got so bad between the Bears and WR Chase Claypool. Jahns wrote Claypool wasn’t meeting the team’s expectations, including arriving on time for meetings or not committing mental mistakes during practices and games. 
• Fishbain says Claypool didn’t handle being confronted about his lack of effort in Week 1 on the sidelines well, including a blowup directed at OC Luke Getsy. 
• Getsy said they are observing G Teven Jenkins (leg) ahead of Thursday’s game and wouldn’t necessarily rule out him playing even on a short week: “We got some good work in through camp with him on the left side. We’re excited to see him go. We’ll see how far he can go. … We’ll see how the next day or two goes and then we’ll just take it from there.” (Dan Wiederer)

Lions

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes some other executives are keeping an eye on whether the Lions will keep G Jonah Jackson, who is a borderline top-10 player at his position. Detroit has already signed two other linemen to significant contracts and will have a new deal for RT Penei Sewell to consider as well. 
• However, some executives counter that Detroit will want to maintain its strength along the offensive line and would be willing to spend to do so. 
• Lions WR Jameson Williams (hamstring) said he’s feeling good and is ready to play in Week 5: “I’m ready to go,” per Colton Pouncey. 

Packers

Through four games, Packers QB Jordan Love has completed 56.1 percent of his passes, which is well below the current league average. Packers QB Tom Clements commented on the different factors involved with the low percentage.

“We’d like to have a higher completion percentage, but there’s a lot of things that factor into that,” Clements told SI.com. “Sometimes you’re throwing the ball away. Sometimes there are drops along the way. Sometimes it’s long-yardage situations and it’s difficult to get completions in that situation. That’s one area where in real long-yardage situations, younger guys or even older guys try to make the play downfield. At times, it’s best just to check it down and play the field-position game.”

“A lot of things factor into that,” Clements said of Love’s completion percentage. “But I think you can see that he’s an accurate passer. You always anticipate. Based on how he’s practiced and done in the preseason, and years past you have an idea of how he might do when he becomes the full-time starter, and he’s confirmed our thoughts. He’s a good player.”

• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler mentions the Packers hope to have OLB Rashan Gary ramped up back into a full-time role by the second half of the season. 
• That also has been the time of year when they’ve done some big extensions in the past, so Fowler says Green Bay could make a push to sign Gary to an extension in November or December. 
• Packers G Elgton Jenkins (knee) said he practiced on Tuesday without any pain but wouldn’t commit to being available for Monday’s game, per Ryan Wood.