Where do things stand with DB Adrian Colbert this week? How much was he able to do yesterday?
"He was able to go through his non-contacts. He's got the blue jersey on, so we're working through that part of it. Thankfully his feet and his head weren't hurt so he's been able to fly around, show all that speed that we're starting to like."
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was thinking that maybe next week would be the more realistic week to have him back. Is that what this week seems to be suggesting?
"It seems that way. But, you never know."
LB Reuben Foster was named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month. Did that kind of surprise you or does that kind of fall in line with what you've been seeing during those three games in November?
What are some of the things he needs to work on?
"The consistency. Like all rookies. Continue working his hands in block protection. These linemen get on you faster. They're much stronger than they were in college. So, you can't always just dip and rip. You've got to use your hands, create extension and get them off you. And, his footwork in the box. But other than that, just play recognition and instincts and all that stuff that comes with it. It's going to take reps. Shoot, everyone has a little bit to improve on too. He's going in the right direction, that's the cool thing."
DB Antone Exum Jr. and CB Leon Hall played almost the same amount of snaps Sunday. Is it something where you're trying to find their skills and put them in a position to succeed or is it kind of competition for snaps going forward?
How far back do you go when looking at the Bears offense and QB Mitchell Trubisky? Do you go back to Week 1 or do you start at the last three or four games, or how does that work?
"I watch every game. The amount that we actually give to the players may not cover that much ground, but I'll watch every game, every preseason game that he was in so you try to get as much information as you can."
How have you seen him progress from week to week? Or is he pretty much the same guy as he was when he started out the year?
"He's progressing. I do think [Chicago Bears offensive coordinator] Dowell Loggains is a really good offensive coordinator and a very good teacher. That staff, they've got some good things going on on that side of the ball. I know they may not like the results from a statistical standpoint, but I don't think stats always tell a story of where a team is going. I do think they're progressing and they are getting better. It's no different than us. We're on that same path. Our stats may not show it, but I do think we're going in the right direction. That's kind of the theme I see with them."
"From a play standpoint, it looks like he's getting a little bit more comfortable in the pocket. He throws on schedule. When you watch him going through his reads, he's very quick to make his reads. The ball comes out of his hands pretty quick. In that regard, it seems like he's being able to read and process defenses a little bit quicker."
Are you able to go back and check out the scouting reports some of the personnel department and the offensive coaches did on him leading into the Draft? Or is that too far in the rearview mirror now?
"That would probably be too far in the rearview mirror. I've not looked at those, from a college standpoint. The only college tape I saw of him was when he played against Stanford."
You mentioned Colbert's injury work affect him during the non-contact drills. How will you determine if he's ready to play on Sunday? What will be the test for him?
How would you assess DL Cassius Marsh's play, especially in setting the edge?
"I thought he brought a lot of energy, plays with a tremendous amount of effort and grit. I thought he did a good job setting edges. He was up on [Seattle Seahawks T] Duane Brown most of the game in pass rush situations. He had some success, but Duane is one of the better ones. He's hopefully going to get another chance this week. But, he brought a lot of good things this week in terms of just the amount of energy, the work ethic and the things we stand for as a defense."
Are you settled on Reuben as WILL in base just for the rest of the season?
"If we can help it, for sure. If we can help it, we'll maintain what we are on defense right now from a players standpoint. Hopefully, we don't have to shuffle in anymore. [LB] Brock [Coyle] is doing a great job communicating to the defense, getting all 11 guys lined up. There's a calmness with him in there right now. He's actually playing some pretty good football, too. Between him and Reuben starting to get comfortable with each other, communicating and speaking about what they see on tape, that's starting to evolve. It's really like Week 4 for those two in my mind. So, you're only going to see them get better as the year progresses."
"For sure. Between Brock, [S] Eric Reid, and Reuben himself, he studies, he puts in the work too. Communicating and talking to each other is such an underrated part of this game and when you have that continuity week in and week out, you only get more and more comfortable with what you're hearing from each other. With Reuben, one, getting reps for himself, and two, the communication part, being able to have just a calm pre-snap setting I guess you could say is allowing all of them to play faster. It's been good for him."
What does DL Aaron Lynch need to do to get on the field, to be active on Sundays?
"Keep working to get healthy. Keep grinding. You're going to see Aaron on the field. He had a really good day at practice yesterday. Hopefully, he can stack it up again today. He's going in the right direction. He's got a great attitude, and he's doing all the right things. He's just still working through what he's got. He's actually working and showing that he wants to get on the field too, so that's cool."
You said he had an issue over time. Is he having to lose weight after the injury?
Are you saying that he will be on the field on Sunday?
"No, we're working through that also."
What have been your impressions of DL Solomon Thomas coming back last week?
"Solomon came back, again, he's played with the same energy and effort that we're used to. Do I think there's a little bit of rust that he had to knock off? There is. I'm expecting some good improvement from him this week."
"As a defensive coach, pumped. Got a hell of a ball player. Yeah, I was pumped. I'll just give you a short answer on that one."
What purpose does it serve when you have your defensive linemen dropping into coverage?
"For the most part, defensive linemen dropping in coverage can serve two purposes. One, when you're trying to bring an overload to one side to overload a protection. Then the second part is when you're trying to rush three and just kind of plug the middle of the field to eliminate any crossers or any low holes. Because in our natural three-deep defense, there's a void in the middle. To be able to plug that part of the field on occasion. That's basically what the main purposes are."
Does that work for you? Obviously when it doesn't work, and there's a defensive lineman chasing down a receiver it stands out. When that player isn't targeted, it doesn't show up necessarily to us.
You seemed to rush three in that game more than you normally do. What was the reasoning behind that? Were you trying to protect your free safety who hadn't played much?
"No. Seattle knows our three-deep scheme. They know our scheme. Just trying to plug the middle, take the middle away from [Seattle Seahawks QB] Russell [Wilson] and let pass rush lanes move on before we brought them back into the pressure. I'm not sure how many we did, to be honest. From a three-man rush standpoint, I think we're in the bottom half of the league in terms of the amount of times we actually do it. I can't give you the exact number; I think we're at 19, 19th in the league, which means 18 teams actually rush three more than we do. It was just a matter of taking away the middle of the field."
What is your assessment of DL Elvis Dumervil's season?
"Tremendous veteran leadership. He's provided some juice off the edge for us. I wish we could find more opportunities for him. Unfortunately, the way the score's been for the course of the year, he hasn't been able to get as many opportunities. In his opportunities, he has been affective. He has had some sacks. I know he wants to kick himself. He's had two sacks, one that was called back on a penalty and then the one Sunday that he actually had Russell in his hands and he slipped out of it. That, I'm sure he would love to have back. But, he's been good. He's been a tremendous help in that D-Line room too and a very good asset on the football field too."
"Yeah."
And teams running it?
"For sure."
What does the Bears offense try to do to you?
QB Nick Mullens is running the scout team for you guys this week. Is he proving a nice facsimile of Trubisky?
"I like Nick man. He diced us up yesterday. He does a good job man. All those quarterbacks, they do a really good job. But Nick, he's a professional quarterback so you'd expect nothing less from him."
He seems size-wise and movement-wise a good approximation of what you're going to be going against this week. Is that what you see?
"Yeah, Nick's got good zip. I can't give you a full scouting report, but I do know we all love him. We think he does a really good job."