The reason for this is Matt Eberflus’ time for the assignment statement. The Bears defense hadn’t even practiced together until two weeks before the season began. They were coming off a training camp in which several starters or key backups were missing at various points, and some of those same players weren’t even used in the offseason. But the key point is simply knowing the scheme better.

“Another year in this system, the comfort level is just a lot different and I think we’re ready to go,” Edwards said.

They expect safety Kevin Byard to be back to 100% after suffering an injury late in training camp. Backup defensive tackle Zacch Pickens was the only other question, and he is preparing for his full-time return.

More importantly, the few new additions all know their roles, most of which are less important, such as new defensive line backups Chris Williams and Darrell Taylor.

“I mean, I think with this system, you definitely have to have some sense of it,” Edwards said. “You definitely have to understand as much as you can, just like with any system.”

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“Here, you have to run and attack the defender and be near the ball, you have to be on every single play, things like that. You can be behind on a passing play, but you have to sprint to get the ball because you don’t know what’s going to happen. Keeping that in mind and building it into the system, I think that’s one thing that takes the pressure off linebackers in this system who have been successful in the past.”

If it had only been the opening loss to the Packers, the scar would have been less severe. Instead, the Bears lost four games early on and seven of their first nine games before turning things around in a 7-10 season.

“Yeah, I mean, if you look back at last year, all the close games where we lost the win, right?” Edwards said. “All the times we outran them in the fourth quarter on a two-minute drive and we weren’t able to get a stop or anything to get us off the field and win the game.”

The worst example of this occurred later in the season when the lead was thrown away in Detroit.

“I think that’s been a big focus of the coaches this year, even in the offseason,” Edwards said. “You know, that was one of the first things we did, which was the two-minute drills and stuff like that, to make sure we’re focused on those details, but I also think just having a good understanding of what we’re trying to do schematically will help us a lot in general.”

Edwards expects this group to emerge from the camp and not grope around in the fog, as it seemed last year.

“Yeah, I think the coaches have done a good job of pushing us mentally, trying to get a lot of things in front of us to see what’s working and what’s not, to see if we’re moving and where the guys fit best,” Edwards said. “You try to get the most out of what you’re trying to do and try to get a feel for what it’s going to look like in Week 1.

“But I think we handled it really well. Of course, it helps a lot to play against a really good offense every day. So I think there was competition every day and we were ready for it.”

All of this is possible when you know the scheme. The Tampa-2 style is their trademark now, whereas last year it was just a plan.

They even had a different defensive coordinator to start with, but now Eberflus will lead his defense with Eric Washington as coordinator. Tremaine Edmunds missed most of the practice last camp and is now a key middle linebacker. And of course, pass rusher Montez Sweat is on the team.

“Yeah, I mean, I’ve said this before, chemistry is something that’s important in this league,” Edwards said. “Understanding how the guys are going to play up front, understanding how the D-line fits certain things, and at backer, knowing how we adapt each play.

“I think from this point last year to this year, it was a very different game. So I think we’re a lot more comfortable now.”

They believe that this level of comfort allows for a quick escape on opening day.

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