The 2023 Chicago Bears are not a normal amount of “bad.” They are the kind of awful that permeates itself on and off the field. The NFL’s worst team is a sideshow when it plays games and, at this blistering pace, seems essentially guaranteed to give us a new dramatic episode every week.
After Chicago’s embarrassing collapse to the Denver Broncos, this week’s tale centers around Chase Claypool. The former high-profile trade acquisition was benched in advance of Sunday’s game. In the aftermath, apparently no one — including head coach Matt Eberflus — could keep a straight story about what was happening with Claypool. On Monday, the Bears’ media contingent let Eberflus have it during his weekly press conference. By my count, they asked him nearly 20 consecutive questions about Claypool’s situation. They were flat-out grilling him about a player for whom the Bears surrendered the 2023 No. 32 overall pick.
And for over six minutes, Eberflus found increasingly silly and distanced ways of saying nothing of substance on the matter.
This was remarkable work in obfuscating:
#Bears HC Matt Eberflus got nearly 20 straight questions to open his presser today about what's happening with Chase Claypool.
Just got grilled on the topic… Question after question…
(via @ChicagoBears) pic.twitter.com/DMbVaSfppn
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 2, 2023
Coach Eberflus is speaking with the media https://t.co/vykv2VXaHg
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) October 2, 2023
I don’t know what the Bears are doing with Claypool. I highly doubt it’s anything more than a player who turns in inconsistent efforts being unwelcome in the team’s already fledgling culture. But Eberflus and the Bears don’t do themselves any favors when they refuse to say anything meaningful and seemingly lie about what’s happening with one of their players. When you have the opportunity to speak up, the least you can do is give a straight, honest answer.
There’s keeping things internal for the team’s sake, and then there’s needlessly adding more angst to a circus. The Bears and Eberflus fit the latter description and don’t even seem to know it.
