How Al Harris can help Tyrique Stevenson turn page on sad Bears chapter

Harris already has advice for Stevenson to help him forget it all and they're not really difficult instructions to follow.

"Just be him, the guy who he is," Harris said. "Whatever happened last year happened last year. Clean slate from here on out.

"I wasn’t coaching. So I can’t judge him off of anything he was doing. All I can judge him by is what he’s doing now."

What Stevenson needs, Harris says, is something most good defensive backs have.

"Short memory—and then I'll take it from there," Harris said. "If you’ve got a short memory, then I’ve got you from there."

It shouldn't be so short he forgets the lessons of last year—like to avoid taunting fans while the final play has begun. However, Harris wants all of the defensive backs worrying about the ball. He has a rather lofty goal and if they're worrying about what happened the last play then they're not worrying about the football.

"Mindset-wise, as far as me, we have to lead the league as interceptions," Harris said. "The ball is very important.

"If you’re taking the ball away, you’re winning games. That’s part of the mindset. That’s up to me to implement that into the guys and whatever messages DA (Allen) has to make sure those are getting across to the players."

"Mindset-wise, as far as me, we have to lead the league as interceptions."Bears DBS

An aspect of Stevenson's play many scouts commented on was his aggressive and physical play and this goes right in line with what Harris says is Allen's desired approach.

“It’s up to us (coaches) to set the culture and set the mindset of the guys," Harris said. "I’m right along with DA. You’ve got to be nasty, it has to be violent.

"You get what you emphasize out of the players, so whatever we emphasize as coaches, that’s what we’re going to get from the players.”

Forgetting the past and being more aggressive is ideal for any cornerback, whether they're in the zone-heavy scheme like the Bears played under Matt Eberflus or the Allen defense that relies on more man-to-man coverage.

The Bears offense has a totally different approach this year with so many plays expected to come from under center. The Lions, under Johnson ran a league-high 56.2% of them from under center according to Pro Football Network.

It seems their approach on the defensive side is just as drastically different.

After last year both Stevenson and the team can use something drastically different.