FIGHTIN’ WORDS
Unlike Pats’ Belichick, Bears coach Fox doesn’t mind sparks flying during practices
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bears safety Harold JonesQuartey did exactly what coach John Fox wants and doesn’t want him to do.
Let’s explain what happened Tuesday during the second day of joint practices between the Bears and New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Jones- Quartey forcefully popped Patriots receiver Julian Edelman at the end of a play during team drills, sparking a minor fracas a day after a melee broke out. Fox and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio promptly removed Jones- Quartey from the field, adhering to the Patriots’ strictly enforced rule of no fighting, which the Bears agreed to while in Foxborough.
“I just try to play as hard and as fast as I can and try to work on my position,” Jones- Quartey said. “The open- field tackle is one of the hardest plays to make as a safety. That situation right there, I didn’t need to bring him down. It was a mistake.
“I tried to get into position, and then he gave me a quick spin. We’re taught to tag the hip, and he gave me a quick spin, and I just naturally reacted that way. Coach Fox preached on not hitting them all week, and I made a mistake there.”
But he also didn’t. The Bears are forming a brash identity, particularly on defense, after essentially having none under former coach Marc Trestman.
As a defense, they want to play fast, physical and rough. They want to be animated and hostile. They want to frustrate and infuriate opponents. The defensive changes they’ve made under Fox and Fangio reflect that.
As for Jones- Quartey’s hit, Fox and Fangio want their safeties to strike receivers, tight ends and backs hard. They want them to be intimidating. If Jones- Quartey delivers such a hit in the Bears’ preseason game Thursday against the Patriots, it will be allowed.
But for now, the Bears are visitors playing under their hosts’ rules. Daily observers of the
Patriots have been surprised by their skirmishes with the Bears. Outside linebacker Lamarr Houston has been involved in a few of them.
“Those weren’t fights,” Fox said. “Those were just pushing matches.” Well, almost. In the most intense blowup Tuesday, Patriots center Bryan Stork shoved and swung at Bears linebacker John Timu during team drills. Timu showed restraint and backed off; Stork was sent to the locker room.
Scrums and ruckuses have been almost daily occurrences for the Bears since the start of camp. It reached a point where quarterback Jay Cutler said the Bears were “kind of being a dumb team” after a blowup during Family Fest at Soldier Field. Fox even said the extracurricular activity could be a waste of energy.
Unlike Patriots coach Bill Belichick, though, Fox doesn’t banish players to the locker room for fighting. He doesn’t exactly encourage brash behavior, but he doesn’t wholeheartedly discourage it, either.
Members of the Bears’ offense were the first to notice the defense’s edge during organized team activities.
“[ It’s] everybody just playing as a unit, playing with some fire, going after it and having fun,” linebacker Jerrell Freeman said.
Defensive end Akiem Hicks said the defense always wants to set a tone.
“That’s something that we want to carry out through the whole season,” Hicks said. “[ It’s] making sure we are on our stuff assignmentwise, and then bringing that excitement and then being able to play hard and fast.”