NFC Notes: Tremaine Edmunds, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears LB Tremaine Edmunds thinks he will be in a good position as a playmaker in Chicago’s defense. 

“I’m excited, just because I feel like I’m going to be in a position to make a lot of plays,” Edmunds said, via Larry Mayer of the team’s official site. “Just because of his background on defense, he has a great understanding of it, just putting guys in position. As a player, that’s all you can really ask for is to be in a position and now it’s up to me to go make the play.”

Edmunds thinks there will inevitably be some mistakes in his first season with the Bears but is focused on building into the system. 

“I’m just excited about what’s to come, just by going through it every day. [But] Rome wasn’t built in a day. I told somebody that today. There’s going to be mistakes that have to be corrected. That’s what this time is for. It’s not about going out there and being perfect from Day 1 or Day 2. Each day we have to continue to build. It’s like a journey. We have to keep taking that journey because at the end of the day, once we fulfill the dreams that we have and the goals that we set forth to ourselves, it’s going to feel a lot better just knowing where we started from.”

Lions

Lions S Kerby Joseph made a splash as a rookie, picking off four passes in his first year in the NFL — three of them from former Packers QB Aaron Rodgers. Going into Year 2, the Lions want to make sure Joseph can still play disciplined without unnecessarily reigning in his ball-hawking instincts. 

“We see the plays he is capable of and now it is just being consistent, over and over,” Lions HC Dan Campbell said via the Athletic’s Colton Pouncy. “Here’s the thing a little bit with Kerby: Because he’s instinctive, he’s a good athlete, he’s rangy — there are times where he could veer off a little bit and maybe go out of the wheelhouse of what we want. Just a little bit. But that is all part of being a young player that has some ability and is learning to grow.”

Packers

Packers WR Samori Toure is entering his second season and notes that while he hasn’t changed his routine much, he feels stronger after working on learning the playbook and being more consistent. 

“I didn’t do a lot of stuff different, but I just feel like I was more intentional in the weight room,” Toure said, via Packers.com. “I’ve got a pretty wiry body, so honestly, I put on eight pounds, and I really don’t even notice but I can definitely feel a difference. I feel more explosive. I feel stronger.”

“I feel like I’ve made a big jump,” Toure added. “That’s something that’s been consistent with me, even throughout college. I’ve been able to make a lot of progress throughout each year. It’s just a matter of being comfortable with the system, the playbook, the speed of play, and all that.”

Packers HC Matt LaFleur and WR coach Jason Vrable both spoke about Toure and where he currently is in his development. 

“Samori has had his moments and we gotta continue to build upon those and become more and more consistent along the way,” LaFleur said. “But he’s a guy that we definitely have high hopes for. He has the tools necessary that you look for in terms of being able to separate. He has them in his body. He possesses those. It’s just continuing to get more and more reps.”

“If you guys would see Samori right now, you wouldn’t even recognize the guy from last year, his growth,” Vrable commented. “He’s probably, of everybody, the one that everybody around the building is like, ‘(Number) 83 looks unbelievable right now.'”