Hands down the best thing I learned at #BearsCamp yesterday was David Montgomery is no longer battling depression and that he is in a much better place both mentally and spiritually.

That’s more important than anything on the field. No question about it.

— Will DeWitt (@Wi11DeWitt) August 4, 2022

The best ways to spent $50 at Billy Goat Tavern and Old Town Ale House is sitting right there.

— Ross Read (@RossRead) August 4, 2022

Start at Billy Goat.

8 Old Style bottles ($3.50 each = $28. But with buy backs on fourths it’s $19. Yet we are still tipping buck a beer so let’s call it $30.)

2 double cheese. ($6 each = $12)

Total at Goat = $42.

Then Uber to Old Town Alehouse.

$20.

Old Town.

5 tall PBR cans. ($4 each = $20)

Great night out. $82.

The Drills.

Justin Fields in first team drill today: 2-for-4. It includes drop by Kmet, big gain to St. Brown, a near-interception by Gordon and a short throw to Mooney.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 3, 2022

Justin Fields in second team drill today: 3-for-5. It included a quick, short one to Mooney (possible hot read) turned into good gain, a PBU by Brisker (well behind Kmet), a scramble shovel to Harry, a short completion to Mooney and an out-of-bounds deep miss to Montgomery.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 3, 2022

Justin Fields in third team drill: one completion. It included a sack where he slipped, two busted screens (call them wins for the D), a step up and scramble up the middle and a checkdown to Herbert on 3rd and 13.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 3, 2022

Justin Fields in fourth team drill: 5-for-7. Ball moved with gains. He capped it with a short TD to Mooney on fourth-and-1 inside the 5 (after a timeout, too). Best passes when to St. Brown during drive. Got a key 3rd-down conversion when Kmet caught deflected pass by Brisker.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 3, 2022

Justin Fields in fifth team drill today: two big completions to Kmet (tough one through traffic) and Harry (3rd-and-10). It was a two-minute situation. There were sacks. But it still ended with 3 points from Santos.

— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 3, 2022

• Injuries, injuries, injuries. Coach Flus today confirmed that Thomas Graham will miss time. If it’s a hamstring issue, that’s usually 3-4 weeks conservatively. Again, this is an injury that is manageable on August 1 and less so on August 21. Hamstrings can nag all season if the player is rushed back too quickly. If Graham doesn’t play the opener, it isn’t the biggest deal in the world.
• Early Justin Fields Update:
  • Leadership qualities off the charts. Even ownership feels he’s taken control of the team.
  • Mechanics/fundamentals are coming along. Delivery looks far more compact. Decision to deliver still needs to quicken. (Offensive coaches thought a few of the practice “sacks” on Monday could have been avoided.)
• Al-Quadin Muhammad is having a very strong early camp. Does that mean anything? Not really. But the Bears need multiple guys to complement Robert Quinn in the pass rush department.
• From Courtney Cronin’s Twitter: “…Khari Blasingame came away with a highlight play for the offense, roughly a 35-yard leaping catch down the sideline during the team period. Impressive play.” Don’t be surprised to see Blasingame utilized a ton in the passing game.
• An excellent piece detailing the coaching foundation of Eberflus, by Colleen Kane in the Tribune.

• Injuries, injuries, injuries. Lucas Patrick’s injured right thumb might seem minor but it’s hard to imagine a more significant malady for a team’s center. There are still 42 days until they start keeping score, so it’s a good thing the injury happened early, but Justin Fields will need time with his center before the 49ers arrive at Soldier Field on 9/11.
  • My guess at the starting OL for the opener: Reiff-Whitehair-Patrick-Schofield-Borom.
• Training camp practices are always a double edge sword. If one position group is thriving, it must mean the position group facing them on the other side of the ball is struggling. There is very strong reason to believe Ryan Poles has rebuilt the secondary in a single draft. Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker are not only making plays, but also carrying themselves like they belong. So much of secondary play is about swagger and these kids have it. But this wide receiver group is not very good. Darnell Mooney is a top player on the ascent. Velus Jones Jr. has the potential to be a versatile, exciting tool. But Byron Pringle, N’Keal Harry, Equanimeous St. Brown are all basically fourth options. It would be worrisome if this group were consistently winning on the practice field.
• Teven Jenkins is severely trending in the wrong direction. No player on this roster needed to prove more during these practice sessions. His unavailability is disconcerting.

Camp Tweet of the Week

Courtney Cronin is killing it on the Bears beat and she’s 100% right about this. Teams are getting comically paranoid.

Teams are taking this “don’t create a competitive advantage for our opponents” stuff too far. It’s the FOURTH day of practice. They’re not even in pads. Want to run a bunch of trick plays in practice? Wait until the session is closed. This is bordering the line of lunacy. https://t.co/pAzRyj74za

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 30, 2022

.@justnfields‘ biggest fan 🥺 pic.twitter.com/35BLXpTvIT

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 29, 2022

• Quick note on Robert Quinn. Do the Bears want to trade him? Not necessarily. Are they open to trading him? Of course. But the team is walking a tight rope. Trading off Khalil Mack was easy. His body and production have been in decline for years and the team couldn’t risk NOT being able to deal him after the 2022 season. It would be very hard for Flus to convince his team their goal is to win games if they unload Quinn for anything else than his current value. And coming off what is arguably his best season, that value is high.
  • And for those buying the whole, “I want to be a Bear, I don’t want to be traded” thing…really? When he was actually asked if he was always planning to report to training camp, he said, “I mean, I’m here. So, I mean, whatever I planned, I’m here. That’s what it is.” He’s at camp because he’s been given assurances from Ryan Poles that he’ll be dealt if the value is there. Otherwise, he’s a Bear. (The quote above was pulled from the Twitter feed of Courtney Cronin.)
• N’Keal Harry: “I got a real chip on my shoulder. I’m looking to come in and prove that I can help this team win.” Two things can be true at the same time. (1) Harry’s career in New England, as a first rounder, was abject failure. He was terrible. (2) A motivated Harry is an intriguing proposition. Remember, the kid is only 24 years old. Justin Fields is 23. The Bears aren’t asking Harry to be a dominant player. They’d be thrilled if he’s a competent role player. Would you take a repeat of his sophomore season and 30-300-2? The Bears would.
• Also from Cronin, re: Harry: “Bears OC Luke Getsy said that he has been impressed with WR N’Keal Harry’s mentality. “He came in here with a purpose.”
• Eddie Jackson getting called out by Flus for effort is going to be a trend this summer. Integrity. It’s coming to the Bears.
• More Cronin: “Cole Kmet said the pass he caught down the seam today in between 2 defenders is one he and Justin Fields ended every private workout with.”

As training camp progresses, there are a myriad of outlets to find information on the comings and goings at practice, specifically those paid to attend and report on the practices. What I’ll try to do is add some color to the proceedings here. Sometimes that will be in the form a longer post and sometimes – like today – just bullet points.

_______________________

• Adam Hoge was the first place I saw this telling quote from Jaylon Johnson, re: the new staff: “The way they hold us accountable is crazy, compared to what we’re used to.” At the end of the Nagy era, this became a major issue with ownership. They could not understand why Allen Robinson was continually given playing time while obviously having no interest in playing. They could not understand why Mario Edwards was continually given reps, mindless penalty after mindless penalty. One text from someone close to ownership wondered if the football team “lacked integrity”. They did.
  • And I am going to do my best to ensure that is the last mention of the previous regime. At some point you have to move on. The Bears did that in January. Bears fans have to follow suit.
• The signings of Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield are interesting, but I’m still interested in how the Bears intend to deploy Teven Jenkins. Several folks inside the building believe Reiff will start at left tackle and Jenkins best path to playing time is at right guard. (They’re paying Reiff to start. They’re paying Schofield zero guaranteed dollars.)
  • This could set the stage for a camp battle between Braxton Jones and Larry Borom at right tackle. But the Bears sincerely like Jones.
• Conditioning alert! Every Bear passed what is notoriously a pretty rigorous test. Roquan Smith has opened on the PUP list, suffering from what most economists call “light bank balance”.
• Schofield’s press conference was terrific. The guy seemed genuinely thrilled to be playing for his hometown team. He also admitted he wanted to be a receiver when younger because of Marty Booker.
• DBB appeared on Wednesday’s edition of The Irish Bears Show. You can see the entire appearance by CLICKING HERE.

Oh, and the Loch Ness Monster could be a real thing.

Welcome to the Unofficial Beginning

of the

2022 Chicago Bears Season!

Rule #1. Injuries Matter Most.

The Bears can’t evaluate the myriad of young players on this roster if they’re not on the field. And the number of young players they must evaluate is overwhelming. Gordon. Brisker. Gipson. Jones Jr. Borom. Jenkins. All pivotal. All likely starters. Yes, the Bears will have the opportunity to complete reshape their roster next off-season. But they have to exit the 2022 campaign knowing which of these guys can be significant contributors. That means they have to stay healthy.

____________________

Rule #2. Teams Don’t Show Fans, or Media, Anything.

It is always the most puzzling thing about the summer. NFL teams, the most secretive organizations in professional sport, hold practices in front of fans and media. And the fans and media think what they’re seeing is relevant. Why? Why would a team run a single play of note in front of a crowd that could easily be filled with spies from rival organizations (and usually is)? With every single fan in attendance now possessing the equipment to record every moment of practice, why would a team risk putting something they are going to rely upon during the season on tape?

Training camp practices are fun for fans. And the videos produced from these practices go a long way towards building excitement for the coming season. But if you’re trying to discern who is going to be good and who is not going to be good from a series of vanilla concepts run at 3/4 speed, you’re making a classic camp misstep.

____________________

Rules #3. Avoid The Joe Anderson Boner.

The following is excerpted from a piece I wrote in July 2014:

Read More …

The Chicago Bears don’t think they are going to be good in 2022. Teams that think they’re going to be good don’t sell off Khalil Mack for (essentially) future cap space. Teams that think they’re going to be good don’t enter a season with 3/5 of their offensive line unsettled. Teams that think they’re going to be good don’t balk at just about every available free agent, including several at positions of extreme need. The Bears don’t think they’re going to be good in 2022 because being good in 2022 is not essential to this new leadership.

Rebuilds are a weird discussion in the NFL. In baseball, a rebuild requires selling off every viable commodity and losing for a decade while stockpiling draft picks and minor league assets. In the NBA, there are teams with multiple superstars and teams without them; everyone else is irrelevant. In hockey…I don’t know anything about hockey. There’s something with a forecheck I think?

In the NFL, rebuilds don’t exist. There are teams with top-level quarterbacks and teams without them. The teams with them are relevant each and every season and the Bears believe Justin Fields will get there. They do not believe, however, that he’s there right now. (And no one watching the 2021 tape would objectively disagree.)

When it comes to the roster around the quarterback, and when there is turnover at the head coach/GM positions, it takes no more than a single off-season to dump men and money and start the whole program over. Poles and Flus have followed a repeatable template, specifically one engaged by the regime running things in Buffalo currently.

But next season will be Fields’ third in the league and second in the system. No more excuses.

Next off-season the Bears will be loaded with cap space, chock full of draft picks and operating with endless roster flexibility. No more excuses.

The Bears are not going to be good in 2022 and that will be understandable. But the excuses end entirely in 2023. The new leadership will have had two drafts. They will have had two full off-seasons with the quarterback. They will have had the economic flexibility to craft the roster in their image. And while they took over a franchise that hadn’t won a playoff game in many-a-moon, the cupboard was not entirely bare when they arrived.

If the 2023 Bears aren’t competing for January football, questions can again be seriously asked about the men in charge of football operations in Chicago, including the quarterback. But in the meantime, we will all try and find minor joys in a season replete with minor expectations. This team needs to play hard. They need to play fast. They need to display, on Sundays and not Thursdays, they are a well-coached group. They need to show fight, even when they are undermanned talent-wise. And perhaps most importantly, they need to provide entertainment to a fan base tired of being bored to death when they turn on their televisions to watch Chicago Bears football.

After all the mediocrity, that’s not too much to ask from 2022. In 2023, we’ll all expect much, much more.