A few things appear to be much different at practice in head coach Matt Eberflus’ second season with the Chicago Bears. The Bears held their second practice of OTAs Tuesday. It was the first practice the media was allowed to watch, and they offered insight as to how things will be different for Chicago this season.
Change is expected and needed after the Bears finished in the league’s basement in 2022. We’ll recap some of the biggest observations made during Tuesday’s practice.
1. Eberflus is changing up the practice format for the passing game
According to Adam Hoge with CHGO Sports, Eberflus has switched up the practice format here in the early part of OTAs. The Bears will have more of a light walkthrough in shirts and shorts instead of going full blast like last season. That should help the players learn the concepts easier before their padded practices.
The Bears will utilize two fields this year in order to maximize reps. That will be helpful for a young roster that needs as many reps as possible before the season starts. The Bears should have done that last season.
These changes will improve the passing game, which is also getting a boost in practice this season. The Bears will spend more time on passing in practice this season. It would appear the Bears are planning to rely more on the passing game this season. And they should after spending the equivalent of three first-round picks on the passing scheme since the trade deadline on Chase Claypool, D.J. Moore, and Darnell Wright.
2. Reports on the Chicago Bears offense look positive
Practice reports from OTAs through training camp were mostly negative for Justin Fields and the Bears’ offense last year. It’s still one of the earlier OTA practices where players are still in shirts and shorts, so most beat reporters were reserving much of the judgment they’ll Tweet about during padded practice.
But some early excitement was reported about the Fields to Moore connection. The Bears’ offense appears to be much better than where they were a year ago. That’s a good sign.
3. The Chicago Bears have a linebacker getting production
Eberflus hinted that the Bears moved on from Roquan Smith last season partly because he didn’t create enough ball production. The Bears’ biggest free agent signing of the offseason was off-the-ball linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Edmunds wasn’t known for grabbing passes, forcing fumbles, or getting sacks in Buffalo, but he looked more at home in the Bears’ defense when he picked off P.J. Walker in the endzone.
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