My first full season covering the Bears was in 2004, during Lovie Smith’s first year as head coach. Those practices in Bourbonnais were brutal. The heat and humidity were oppressive. Players were wilting with soft-tissue injuries. Smith was determined to get his team into better cardiovascular shape. That was one takeaway from that summer. The other was an emphasis on takeaways.
During these practices, Bears defenders wouldn’t just try to return interceptions or fumbles for touchdowns. Every single ball — every dropped pass or overthrow that landed inbounds — Bears defenders were expected to pick it up and run the opposite way. At the time, it felt superfluous, but there was a method to Smith’s madness. A culture was created in which the defense could do more than just keep the other team from scoring.
