TIME FOR TURNOVERS
NO. 1 ON DEFENSE’S TO- DO LIST: GET MORE TAKEAWAYS
Matt Barkley knows he made two throws he shouldn’t have last week in the Bears’ loss to the Tennessee Titans.
No. 1: A rushed pass to tight end Ben Braunecker that linebacker Wesley Woodward intercepted at the Titans’ 12- yard line in the second quarter.
“I probably should have moved on from that,” Barkley said. “I just kept thinking zone, zone, zone, and get to that concept on the right side that we had. But with the ’ backer matched like that, hugging up [ Braunecker], you’ve just got to get to the [ running back] in a situation like that.”
No. 2: A short- armed throw to receiver Cameron Meredith that safety Da’Norris Searcy intercepted in the end zone in the third quarter.
“I’ve just got to throw that away and move on, live to see another day,” Barkley said. “I was falling away from it thinking that I put that in the back pylon, and obviously it did not end up where I wanted to.”
More mistakes are surely ahead for Barkley, whether it’s Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers or later on. But it’s Barkley’s ability to limit them that will determine whether he has a place on coach John Fox’s Bears.
His goal should be to play like Brian Hoyer did in his five starts for offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains. Hoyer and Barkley are different — Barkley might have the stronger arm — but Barkley can make decisions like Hoyer’s that result in a high completion percentage and no interceptions.
Barkley’s success with Loggains will be telling for both player and coach as Loggains’ techniques, play- calling and game- planning are tested.
“Our games changed when it was Jay [ Cutler] to Brian and then back to Jay and now to Matt,” Loggains said. “The offense evolves a little bit. People are asked to do different things.”
It starts with figuring out what your starting quarterback can do.
“The identity of your offensive unit goes through the quarterback,” Loggains said. “What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? What does he do well?”
Loggains’ relationship with Barkley is in its infancy compared to what he had with Hoyer and Cutler. He was Hoyer’s position coach with the Cleveland Browns in 2014, and Cutler’s last season.
His connection with Barkley began Sept. 5 when Barkley was signed to the practice squad. Barkley, who joined the active roster Sept. 22, didn’t have the benefit of spending the offseason or training camp with Loggains as Connor Shaw and David Fales did, either.
“I knew exactly what type of player Brian Hoyer was,” Loggains said. “The same thing with Jay. And he’s got a ton of tape of being an NFL player.”
Barkley doesn’t. He might be in his fourth season, but he wasn’t a fit for Chip Kelly’s unique offense in his two years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Loggains and Barkley both call acclaimed offensive coach Norm Chow an influence. But Barkley still had to learn Loggains’ offense from the perspective of a backup, and that has its limitations.
“People really underestimate when you’re a backup in the NFL,” Loggains said. “Matt Barkley, up until last week, took zero reps with the Chicago Bears’ offense. He was on scout team. He was on cards.
“All you know is what kind of talent he is. It’s to the point where you don’t know or understand how he reads coverages because you’re holding up cards and they’re circling the guy you’re supposed to be throwing to.”
That said, Barkley’s performance against the Titans was a decent start. His two interceptions didn’t help, but his 51.9 percent completion percentage would have been Hoyer- esque were it not for all of the receivers’ drops.
Barkley’s fourth- quarter rally also showed his coaches some moxie
“Hopefully he improves from his first start to his second start,” Fox said. “That’s the plan, and that’s what we’re working off.”
Follow me on Twitter @ adamjahns.