NFC Notes: Penei Sewell, Christian Watson, Bears, Lions, Packers

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Bears Bears HC Ben Johnson said that he doesn’t plan to make the off-season easy on his team so that they’re prepared when the season starts. “ You know, you got to pay a price if you want to have success in this league, ” Johnson said, via Bears Wire . “ I don’t think there’s any way you can cut corners and expect to win on Sundays. Our type of guys, they embrace it, they want it. So, I’m looking forward to it. ” Lions Lions HC Dan Campbell gave Penei Sewell the challenge of moving from right tackle to left tackle, and Sewell had no issues with accepting the change, making him one of the league’s best at both tackle positions. “This year wasn’t my best ball. It was far from that,” Sewell said, via Eric Woodyard of ESPN . “And I’m a firm believer it starts up front. I believe that I’m going to set the tone and make plays that typically O-linemen don’t make, so this year was definitely a down year for me.” “It’s just different,” Sewell added. “You’re switching your whole stance and everything, but it is what it is. At the end of the day, you just watch film. Right now, it’s still kind of early so I’m just kind of focusing on myself. As the season goes on, I’ll watch other players and see what they do and take notes.” “Will it be things he’ll have to learn? Yeah, of course there will be,” Campbell said. “But I mean he has played left. That’s muscle memory. He played a lot of left in college and for us for those games in ’21. And he still took reps at left even over the last five years, so that’ll be seamless. Sewell can do it all.” Packers Packers WR Christian Watson commented on the team’s playoff loss last season and his excitement to make another push towards a Super Bowl with an exciting wide receiver group. “It’s definitely fueling us, 100 percent,” Watson told Patrick Claybon and Judy Battista on The Insiders . “Obviously, we’d like to move on from those things, but it’s hard to move on from the reason behind losing those games. I think it really comes down to just not being able to finish in crucial moments, in crucial games, just not being able to finish, That’s been a huge staple for us in terms of our mindset throughout this offseason of just consistently finishing. Finishing everything, finishing every drill, every practice, every play. We’ve got to be able to build on that and carry that into this training camp and start the season that way so we can finish it that way. I think ‘finish’ is a big emphasis for us this year.” “Just an explosive and dynamic room,” Watson continued. “Obviously, we have me and ( Jayden Reed ), who have played a significant amount of snaps with the Packers. I feel like everyone knows what to expect from us. Obviously, we’re going to make plays when our number is called.” Watson also spoke about WR Matthew Golden , who scored two touchdowns in the playoffs after scoring none during the regular season, as well as QB Jordan Love ‘s positive vibes. “I don’t think that we saw a fraction of what he’s capable of last year,” Watson said of Golden. “I think the more opportunities he gets, the more the world’s gonna know exactly who he is. I’m excited for that.” “(Love) just finds a way to get better at the things he’s already been great at,” Watson added on Love. “His consistency, somehow finding ways to get better, I feel like he’s always been the anchor of the offense in terms of his poise and his consistency since he’s got the starting job. He just finds ways to continue to build on that even more. I thin…