Was Chase Claypool’s blocking against the Packers bad enough to get him benched Sunday versus the Buccaneers? Bears coach Matt Eberflus left that option open.
“We’re looking at all possibilities right now,” Eberflus said before practice Wednesday. “I’m not going to talk about who’s going to be up or down for the game right now, for obvious reasons. We’re looking at all things to make our team better.”
That’s a canned answer, but he surely wouldn’t have responded so vaguely if the question was about DJ Moore or Darnell Mooney.
Claypool is under scrutiny after a game in which he had zero catches and multiple lapses as a blocker. When asked if the poor blocking was a matter of inability or weak effort, Eberflus hinted that it was the latter.
“When you’re blocking the perimeter like that, you have to have good technique,” Eberflus said of Claypool’s blocking. “He’s displayed good technique in practice on that. That’s why we had him in those positions. But perimeter blocking’s all about technique. It’s all about your angles.
“Your intensity, for sure — it’s always about that.”
The Bears made wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown inactive Sunday, and their personnel plan for the Bucs game could come down to whether they want him or Claypool to dress for the game.
Claypool has 14 catches for 140 yards in eight games since the Bears traded a second-round pick to get him from the Steelers last year.
