Bears Mandatory Minicamp: Three things we learned during the week of practice ahead of training camp
The Chicago Bears wrapped up their week of team minicamp last week and are officially on break until training camp begins later this summer.Before the bright lights come back on at Halas Hall, which will be even brighter when the team returns to the field, let's take the opportunity to review what we saw and […]
The Chicago Bears wrapped up their week of team minicamp last week and are officially on break until training camp begins later this summer.
Before the bright lights come back on at Halas Hall, which will be even brighter when the team returns to the field, let's take the opportunity to review what we saw and what we learned from the Bears' week of practice during mandatory minicamp.
Here are the three biggest takeaways based on what was shown on the field and what we learned during the press conferences following practice.
1. Caleb Williams and the offense will be just fine.
This wasn't the case during the two weeks of organized team activities in Chicago. During those two weeks of practice, the Bears' offense and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams struggled from what we could tell during the days of practice open to the media and now we know why.
“This year we started off with a bunch of disguise and a bunch of movement, but I thought from day 1 he’s gotten better with it," linebacker T.J. Edwards said. "You definitely see some things that you don’t really expect a rookie to do. He moved us a couple times with his eyes the first day, had me and Tremaine [Edmunds] hot about it”
The slow start for the unit and the team's rookie quarterback was expected going up against a strong defense while learning a new offensive scheme. However, the offense adapted quickly and learned from all their mistakes during OTAs.
The unit still wasn't perfect during minicamp by any means, but progress was clearly evident on the field with the offense hitting more shots and converting when they needed to. Going into training camp, there's still some key areas to continue working on, but the unit and Williams are clearly finding a rhythm against the starting defense.
2. Running backs will become more of a "weapon back" in Chicago.
For the last couple of seasons, the Chicago Bears have been one of the best rushing offenses in the league under previous offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. With new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron now in Chicago, the unit will look become more pass-oriented than the last few seasons.
However, with a rookie quarterback, the team will still be relying on the run game to help open things up but in a new way. The running backs in Chicago will be featured more as a "weapon back" that can hurt the defense in multiple ways either on the ground or through the air.
"I feel like if you got a good running game, that makes everything else work," running back D'Andre Swift said. "Play action, receivers, everything kind of just trickles off one another. So, if we got a good running game, I feel like it makes the whole offense itself more balanced."
During minicamp, we got to see Swift, Khalil Herbert and Roschon Johnson all catch passes out of the backfield from Williams, proving all three backs could be used interchangeably. However, Swift still seems to be the one to dominate the touches.
3. Adding an veteran defensive lineman might not be a priority anymore.
Entering minicamp, the Bears' defensive line looked like the unit that had the biggest concern out of all the starters on offense or defense. This week saw the return of Pro Bowl defensive end Montez Sweat who helped clear everything up for everyone.
"We're trying to pick up with where we left off last year," Sweat explained. "We lost two great guys up-front but we got some young guys really stepping up and an experienced guy like Jake Martin is really making some noise out there. So, I'm pretty excited with what I'm seeing."
Sweat had even more praise to give out during the week to rookie defensive end Austin Booker and second-year defensive tackle Gervon Dexter for each of their development so far this offseason.
The Bears have two available spots currently open on the 90-man roster if the front office wants to bring in a veteran defensive lineman before making cuts but, in all honesty, the group the team has up-front looks strong. We'll see how things look during training camp once pads come on and rushers start rushing.
Caleb Williams describes the biggest challenge he’s faced learning the new offense during minicamp
He’s had a lot of learning moments.
