Bears 'physical' defense takes bite out of doily-soft Dolphins

It's not exactly the Monsters of the Midway or Mike Ditka and his iconic gruffness, but the Chicago Bears ruffling the dainty feathers of the Miami Dolphins can only be viewed as a good thing.

When you haven't finished with a winning record since 2018 or won a playoff game since 2010, a tweak of the identity is necessary. New head coach Ben Johnson arrived with a reputation as one of the NFL's most innovative offensive minds. But after Thursday's joint practice with the doily-soft Dolphins, perhaps he's instilling a defensive as well.

The Bears' defense took it to the Buffalo Bills a week ago, intercepting MVP quarterback Josh Allen three times in a joint practice. Thursday they were at it again, picking off Dolphins' quarterback Tua Tagovailoa another three times. If this keeps up, Bears' franchise quarterback Caleb Williams won't have to be Superman after all.

By all accounts, the Bears shoved around the Dolphins. So shaken was Miami that after the workout offensive lineman Aaron Brewer went as low as calling the Bears' physicality "B.S." and "fake."

The Dolphins arrived expecting a walkthrough and the Bears punched them in the lip. Perfect. We don't remember defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan making many friends in 1985 when his unit bludgeoned opponents on its way to Super Bowl XX.

Here's hoping we hear more of this in the regular season: Complaints about Johnson running up the score and the big, bad Bears' defense being too physical.