What mattered at Bears OTAs as minicamp begins? | Bernstein & Holmes

matters so what has mattered and what matters well we are into mini camp this week so it's all mandatory this week which means the attendance should be where you want it to be which will give you a a much clearer picture of what everybody uh is doing when everybody's on the field obviously there's going to be some injuries where guys are held out for cautious reasons but Dan I think overall um kind of the two observations I've had from the two weeks of otaa are that when this defense is full and playing together you're starting to feel them and that's what you want particularly from a unit that knows the system it's playing in that has nine of its starters back that has a secondary that not only is pretty good but is willing to tell you about how good they are when they make plays and so there's an edge there and then I think it might take away for for Caleb Williams is just having that reminder that we're back in line for the rookie roller coaster which I it's it's like hard to readjust your brain because we've done this so often and pivoted and this and that and the other thing but you just have to remember that there's going to be days that look great some days that are really bumpy and over time you're just kind of trying to gather sample size so that you can see what it looked like in miday how it progressed through early June then what does it look like in in Late July and into mid August as the season starts nearing and trying to figure out just kind of how all those things match up as you try to get your rookie quarterback ready to play uh in week one of his rookie season Dan we were talking about Pro Football Focus and their their team rankings that came out last week and they had the Bears ranked 20th and I thought what was interesting about their their analysis was something that we haven't spent a lot of time talking about and that's the defensive line yeah that that they they consider the defensive line to be a weakness I know that we're in the part of the Year where you have no idea who's doing what on the defensive line because they're not doing padded stuff but is there an argument to be made that the Bears in the offseason didn't do enough to improve their defensive line or are the Bears saying the improvement's going to come from the experience of the guys we already have in the room well both can be true and I I think that that argument can be made that that maybe not enough was done you used your resources where you used your resources and you upgraded this football team to a point where the outside world thinks that they should be very competitive for the the entirety of the 2024 season well you still have some problems up front defensively particularly if there's any sort of injury attrition that that kind of waters down your depth there we're still trying to figure out who is going to be the most reli able complimentary pass rusher on the other side of montz sweat we're still trying to figure out where the engine of the Interior defensive line is going to be at the three technique position with obviously a leap of faith being made inside the building on dvon Dexter taking a huge jump in year two but I thought you said that that very well there second ago Lawrence that like at this time of year when you're trying to evaluate offensive and defensive lineman it's just kind of a a guessing game you kind of shrug and even the coaches will tell you we really don't know anything until we cross that bridge in in this year it'll be a little bit earlier because of the whole thing game but when we start to get the pads on and have those live competitive practices where guys are able to hit each other and do some things now we have a a better way to gauge how much progress certain guys have made so when you talk about how the the mandatory nature of this week and the the who reports and how they look is going to mean something are there any immediate depth chart changes when you say look this guy wasn't here this guy wasn't here where are your eyes for who might be plugged in with the one the twos Etc yeah you know the depth chart isn't as much for me the the the primary focus but I'll give you an example from last week like Caleb in the practice that that we were able to observe last week looked really sharp in seven on seven he had some moments in in 11 on 11 you go that's good that that's what it's supposed to look like and then you look down at the roster and you're like okay M has sweat isn't here TJ Edwards is on the sideline for the day with some sort of injury four of your five secondary starters are gone and in Gordon brisker Jaylen and Kevin Berard and so then all of a sudden the context that that frame of the good day was in you go okay well let's see it when all these guys are challenging him the way they can challenge him in in a mandatory period um look like I think on the defensive side of the ball you feel pretty solid about what they're bringing back and and where guys are going to play and so I don't think there's a lot of guessing games going on especially compar comparatively to other years where we've been trying to figure out okay how's this going to solidify and and who's going to fit in where and then with the upgrades they've made on offense you're just trying to get some of that cohesion you know and I think offensive line wise um you know Nate Davis hasn't practiced in in the OTA practices that we've been able to watch um you know Darnell Wright missed at least one day and we're not sure how many others and so you're just trying to get those units to kind of come together in Jael particularly on the offensive line when you know that their success and their stability is going to be directly related to how quickly Caleb can get comfortable in playing at this level you you mentioned the the rookie roller coaster that she that you go on when you're talking about a young quarterback I I we've talked about it before but I really do think think that the the Bears have done a nice job of not messing around with Caleb like making him the starter and all of those things that being said what are what do they expect like and what's what's the process that's happening for any rookie quarterback at this time of year because I think it's important to remind people of that and and what is it that the Bears hope that they can accomplish with Caleb and between now and when things start in July well it's so because you know you you know you go to a a baseball game or a barbecue or or something in the neighborhood and people want to know how's he look how's he look how's he look and you're like well you know ask me that on like August 20th because in the month of May for a rookie quarterback it's like is he calling the plays correctly in the Huddle and is he's saying them quickly and assertively in a way where everybody knows what they're running and there's not you know uh post huddle realignment and and and you know chaos that you have to clean up is he able to kind of diagnose a couple things pre snap is he understanding the concepts that you're putting in in the classroom going through and walk through and applying them the field it's all you know really grindy boring mundane stuff that even to those of us who are out there all the time you can't really gauge the progress because we're not in the Huddle we're not hearing them make those calls and so the things that they're measuring Caleb Williams on are not the things that the outside world is curious in in in the spring and the early summer you know and so it's it's just one of those things where it's just like okay we're going to get there quick I promise you that you know that especially with the early training camp report date that we're going to be in the thick of of training camp really quickly and then it'll be a time to to kind of check in but right now they're just trying to to to make sure that his comfort level is getting to where it needs to get before they break uh you know obviously mandatory mini camp later this week and then they'll have pretty much a rookie focused OTA session next week that'll be almost all rookies um and then Caleb will go off into his little summer break hopefully stealing like he's got his feet on the ground and he's a little more steady damn this may be an odd question but which voices whose voices as the Bears have practiced are the most consistently audible to you coaches or players either like which because to me that it it always says something from wherever you are however the wind is blowing who do you hear you know like when I reflect back on two weeks ago in the OTA they had out there where the defense played really well I heard the secondary and and and I I really do think that that unit is a group that is supremely confident in itself and is also again willing to talk about it when they make big plays and I think that is a really good um Quality to have in a defense that's not only talented but has that that edge Eric Washington called it a saltiness uh some of his assistant coaches last week agreed that there there's just kind of that that passionate fire that comes out every time that they're together and I think in the short term in September and October and hopefully not much longer than that the defense understands it's going to have to be the engine of everything they're doing and I think they've taken on that responsibility and hearing um some of that chirping I think is refreshing to me because again it's it it provides a Vibe you know and I think that that edge is tangible when they're playing well and they're playing together and again when they're all there which hopefully for the next three practices we'll have most of those guys on the field together what do you think of Hard Knocks making the decision that the Bears are going to be the focus team this year I think it's gonna be fun I think it's gonna be fun for all of us to get a little bit more behind the scenes content I think they're G to have an opportunity to um you know kind of pull the curtain back on some of the stories that they want to tell which obviously you know the team control is um Paramount in in that situation where you can kind of you know shape your messaging how you see fit and and it's going to be interesting to see how they do that you know I don't think that there was like this uh rush like we want Hard Knocks we want Hard Knocks but once the decision was made that hard knock is coming I think they've welcomed it with open arms and you heard some of that from Matt last week where it's just like we feel like we're at a really um you know meaningful and and fun state of our our program on the rise in year three and and we're willing to to to share some of what we're selling here to the the national audience and so I think it's gonna be really kind of cool to see what what is selected and then kind of how it shapes what the outside world's perception is of of the 2024 Bears have you gotten any backstory though like I I really want to know was this Ted Cruz and Kevin Warren finally just holding telling hey George we're doing this this is great for our brand this is great get over it we're doing it like what what was the internal sort of political struggle if it existed you know I I got to get a little bit more info on that but I will tell you this when we were in Orlando for the league meetings in March and the the obligatory question came up to the leaders that were there Kevin was the one that that kind of did not put up any sort of stop sign or even a yellow light on it he was kind of like oh we see where it goes and then you know you were like oh I think you know this could be a possibility and then you know George and Ryan had their would rather not do it and you were like okay well maybe they're going to resist the same ways they've always resisted um now they're here and there's no turning back and it's been announced and it's been decided and and and now you've just got to figure out how to uh deal with that added presence and and Matt was part of this in Indianapolis with the inseason version his last year with the Colts and and and he said look like there are certain things that you learn from the experience that you have to be a little more mindful of um conversations you have where you you might want to make sure that you're fully in private before you have it even though you do have some editorial control um and so they're just going to have to figure out how to embrace this and and make the best of it while those uh while those cameras and those mics are are everywhere what do you make of this this big deal that Justin Jefferson signed this this this division has got some players in it it's going to be a tough ride no doubt and I saw that this morning and I was like man guy got paid right and and and deservedly so um you're obviously seeing this off season with some of the receiver contracts that are being signed but that market is changed dramatically versus six seven years ago and DJ Moore is probably the next in line in the building at 1920 football drive to um you know put some pressure on on Ryan poles and and his front office to say okay you know I've got two years left on my deal but if I keep playing the way I'm playing when we get to the end of this year I certainly expect to uh you know go into 2025 with with with a new contract and so uh he's got to be having a really fun private celebration about what these numbers now look like because it's resetting the market in a way that be really really rewarding I if he continues to produce and as we've seen it doesn't really matter who's playing quarterback when DJ Moore is on the field he's going to produce with whoever it is and so he gets another chance to adjust to Caleb Williams who who conceivably could be the most gifted quarterback he's ever caught passes from I know you said you're not focused on the depth chart but I'm interested in where the running backs line up in that we've got a change to the kick return rules that may affect special teams roles and have a propagating effect on some of that and when you have one running back who doesn't really figure in the passing game the way someone else might all the wonderful stuff that we heard Roshan Johnson Roshan Johnson and he was fine you know he was a guy and KH Herbert's fast but has some flaws I don't know how Waldren looks at these guys is curri blasing game going to be on this team it's a good question and you know you referenced the new kickoff rule in there and I think that's fascinating you talk to people around the league about I mean we're talking about roster spots like 48 through 53 here but those are special team spots and you may be looking for different roster construction than you always have because you're trying to add you know eight more kickoffs and you know so that's a coverage unit it's a return unit and you've got these new rules that that change everything you do on that play in the game and so you may be keeping more guys at certain positions than you ever have before because it just caters to what those kickoffs will do Richard hiow was pretty forthright last weekend saying look like this is kind of a a bit of a guessing game for all of us it's a little bit of trial and error and experimentation and then obviously keeping our eyes on what other people around the league are doing to see what's working and what's not and so this is kind of going to be fluid Dan through through uh August as teams try to figure out okay what do these new kickoff rules really mean when it comes down to things like you're talking about like roster construction and and DEP charts and and who can help us in more more phases that's going to be fascinating as far as the running backs go it's going to be interesting to see what Shane does with DeAndre Swift and how often he wants him out there I think there was some disappointment internally last year about um the leaps that they wanted khil Herbert to make as a protector and and and the development he actually did make and so he may you know have to fight to earn a spot particularly with a new regime on offense and so um those will all be things in that as we get into August will'll be you know center of the radar and we'll start to get a feel for how the how the new coaching staff feels about that position on that side of the ball Dan as always we appreciate your time thanks so much you got it fellas have a good week that's Dan werer of the Chicago trib