The Chicago Bears will begin a week of regular season practices next week with the Tennesee Titans in town for the opener on September 8. All of their efforts from the last five weeks in training camp will be put to the test for real, but the group remains at ease. Thursday?s practice emulated Wednesday?s: shells, plenty of team drills, and new faces.
Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, running back D?Andre Swift, and safety Jaquan Brisker all spoke before the session.
Bears Training Camp Notes: Predictions for 2024 Season
Bears Will Finish 2024 Season 10-7
The Bears won seven games in 2023, and they could have won more had they been as healthy to start the campaign as they were to finish it. Most notably, their offensive line is healthy entering the first week of the regular season. They were without left guard Teven Jenkins for the first four weeks of the 2023 season. Left tackle Braxton Jones missed Weeks 3 through 8.
Nate Davis missed Weeks 2 and 3 as well as Weeks 7 through 10.
The only offensive lineman to start every game was rookie right tackle Darnell Wright while center was a snap-by-snap adventure between Lucas Patrick and Cody Whitehair.
In camp, Davis, Jones, and Jenkins have all had to step out or even miss practice time. But, as Bears general manager Ryan Poles noted when addressing the media earlier this week, the depth among the group is far better than it has been in his tenure.
That will be the key to the Bears? predicted improvement.
The defense will do what it does, though questions remain about defensive tackle and edge rusher, even after trades to bring in reinforcements.
But the offensive line is in better shape than it was one year ago and should have a greater ability to overcome some turbulence than they did before. It helps that they have seen such encouraging signs from rookie No. 1 pick Caleb Williams at quarterback.
Bears? Offense Will Rank in Top-15
The Bears were No. 2 in rushing offense but 27th in passing. This season should see those numbers draw closer, though it should be the latter that takes a significant step forward.
Williams has flashed the spectacular. But the offense?s ? and team?s ? success will largely rest on his ability to stick to the messaging that has prevailed from the top with Poles to the player himself. That is to lean on his playmakers and make plays when the situation calls for it.
Rookies can tend to be over-reliant on their natural abilities, which Williams has plenty of. But he also has the pieces around him to be successful and an OC to help orchestrate everything.
?The verbiage, the vocab. He of like ? I’m not trying to put the offense out there ? but he just does a good job of making it easy to remember things.?
That quote is from running back D?Andre Swift on Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
It is just the latest in a string of comments from players holding Waldron?s ability to teach the offense in very high regard. With so many new pieces on that side of the ball, they must all be able to learn it and move on as necessary.
The biggest question mark around Waldron remains in-game play calling, specifically when adjustments must be made.
Waldron has said he prides himself on that aspect of calling games.
Players have also spoken about the multiplicity he likes to operate with, be it formations or personnel groupings. Tying this back to the No. 1 note, the Bears spent much of the early part of training camp mixing and matching and crosstraining their offensive linemen.
Williams has to rely on his playmakers. But Waldron will be responsible for getting and keeping the rookie and the rest of the offense on track with his play-calling and adjustments.
This is an improved roster blessed with a (projected) soft slate of games.
Bears Will Rank as Top-5 Defense in 2024
This is admittedly based on Brisker?s comments. The safety noted Bears head coach Matt Eberflus? ?swag? as one way the latter has evolved over the past two years. He also said that he was feeling ?good? after returning to practice a few sessions ago from an extended absence.
He also denied that Williams had necessarily ?fooled? him on any plays, saying the rookie has made good throws but ?9?s doing what 9 does.?
Brisker also said the goal is for the defense to be a top-five unit in 2024.
They ranked 12th in yards and 20th in points allowed in 2023, with most of the damage done through the air as the secondary, like the offensive line, was hit hard by injuries. Three defensive players started all 17 games in 2023, two of whom remain in Andre Billings and T.J. Edwards.
Second-year cornerback led the secondary, starting 16 games with Brisker behind him at 15 games played.
They finished the 2023 campaign strong.
That has given them a level of confidence coming into this season that they seemingly had entering last season before a season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers proved to be an ominous sign of things to come early on.
If the Bears can prove their mettle up front outside of Montez Sweat, the secondary and linebackers are in place to take advantage.
This and prediction No. 2 both feed into No. 1, all of which ties into prediction No. 4.
Bears Will Challenge for Playoff Berth
It can be easy to forget, but the Bears were in contention to make the playoffs up until Week 17 in 2023. A few more wins early on and their chances to make it late would have been exponentially greater.
If predictions 1 through 3 play out as expected, the Bears could be in the driver?s seat down the stretch rather than chasing.
It also helps that they will not face a division opponent until Week 11 when they host Green Bay.
The Packers earned a Wild Card spot with nine wins, which may not cut it in 2024. The Los Angeles Rams (10 wins) and Philadelphia Eagles (11 wins) secured the other Wild Card slots in 2023.
Chicago was 2-6 in one-score games in 2023. They lost several games due to an inability to close out games on both sides of the ball.
Greater cohesion and talent could pave the way for the Bears? first playoff berth since 2020.
Training Camp Injury Round-Up and Former Bears News
The Bears are still without defensive tackle Zacch Pickens, and they officially placed long snapper Patrick Scales on injured reserve. Both players? respective outlooks remain nebulous at best. But the additional action for Scales could be informative as to the severity of Pickens? injury.
Eberflus acknowledged some concern over the second-year tackles Week 1 availability. But the Bears have not been required to disclose much else.
The Bears also added defensive line depth, trading for Chris Williams who has ties to Eberflus.
Sweat and Keenan Allen remained sidelined. Roschon Johnson was absent and has missed back-to-back sessions after showing progress in his return from an ailment. The first injury report comes out next week and could include some interesting destinations.
Jenkins participated in team drills but also ceded reps to multiple teammates while doing side work and after. Offensive lineman Ryan Bates was also doing some side work.
In former Bears news, ex-Bear Brett Rypien quickly landed on his feet after being a part of the deadline cuts.
The journeyman remains in the division, signing with the NFC-rival Minnesota Vikings. Vikings head coach Kevin O?Connell worked with Waldron on the Rams in 2020 and runs a similar style of offense. The Vikings lost rookie first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy for the season to a torn meniscus.
Rypien joins a QB room that includes fellow journeymen Sam Darnold and Nick Mullens. He was the odd man out in Chicago behind Williams, QB2 Tyson Bagent, and practice squadder Austin Reed.