The Bears were fairly quiet when it came to expectations a year ago, coming off a disastrous season and a hard reset at head coach with Ben Johnson replacing Matt Eberflus. They seemed to learn a tough lesson after launching the 2024 season with “Hard Knocks” in what came across as a pre-celebration of success.
There’s been a little more chatter this year, though.
The Bears earned the right to voice high expectations after going 11-6 and winning a playoff game last season, and the logical next step from there is to establish themselves as a legitimate contender, but it’s never automatic. Regression, personnel misjudgments and injuries lurk as pitfalls for any team.
After a relatively quiet offseason, most of the talk at Halas Hall has been about improvement coming from within the existing roster. By nature, that’s all projection, and they need to produce some proof.
The Bears’ big ambitions hinge predominantly on the potential rise of quarterback Caleb Williams, who did a lot of great things last season but still has a lot to sharpen. They’re counting on having the best tight end group in the NFL, some unexpected patches on the offensive line holding steady and second-year wide receiver Luther Burden becoming an elite playmaker.
On the other side of the ball, they believe they can fix their pass-rush problems with better coaching and the emergence of defensive ends Dayo Odeyingbo (17 1/2 career sacks in 69 games), Austin Booker (six in 27) and Shemar Turner (second-round pick who played just five games as a rookie due to injury).
That’s only optimism until they show results, and those should be evident early in training camp. The Bears report Tuesday and start practice Wednesday, and likely will begin more intense sessions Aug. 3.
One of the biggest talking points in the building has been that the offense will be ready to roll immediately now that Williams and others are fully versed in Johnson’s offense.
“We can hit the ground running a little bit from an offensive perspective,” Johnson said during Organized Team Activities.
That starts with Williams, at this stage of his partnership with Johnson and in his career overall, running the show so authoritatively that he can correct any errors by teammates. From the beginning of camp, it should look significantly different than it did a year ago, when Johnson was all over him for pre-snap missteps and delay-of-game penalties. The team’s 10th practice was so “sloppy,” Johnson said, that it’d be impossible to win many games unless it got dramatically better.
Williams also should look sharper as a passer from the jump. When Johnson set the bar at 70 percent completions last year, he specified that it applied not only to the season at large, but to every day of practice.
Johnson said the coaching staff is putting a letter grade on literally every throw Williams makes, and while he wouldn’t reveal his report card at the end of minicamp last month, he said only, “It’s been OK.”
Williams completed just 58.1 percent of his passes last season, which was last in the league among players who threw at least 250 passes and the lowest by a Bears quarterback in more than a decade.
It’s hard to tell where Williams stands on that. In one sense, it’s merely one statistic by a player who set the franchise passing record, produced insane highlights and led the Bears to their first playoff win in 15 years. In another, it’s a vital part of the equation for an efficient, consistent passing attack.
Johnson undoubtedly would lean toward the latter. Williams has agreed with his coach on that point multiple times, but also seemed casual about it in an appearance on “Pardon My Take” this summer, saying, “We’ll get it up just to shut everybody up and… make everybody’s heart feel warm and lovely. He added an acknowledgment that it would significantly help the offense overall.
None of the last 10 All-Pro quarterbacks had a completion percentage under 65. All nine teams ahead of the Bears in passing yardage last season completed at least 64% of their passes. It matters.
Beyond Williams, the first week of training camp will be a great indication of how well Burden grasps the playbook. Johnson said he’s “buying Luther Burden stock right now” at the end of May, and it’s likely he’d only make a comment like that if Burden was on top of his job. If he’s shaky this week, that’s a concern.
Many other areas will be difficult to fully evaluate until full-contact practices are underway. That’s when it becomes clear how strong the offensive and defensive lines are, as well as what the Bears have in the running game with D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.
The main goal for now is to pick up where they left off offensively. Everything should be clear in the huddle. All the pre-snap motion should be clockwork. Delay-of-game flags shouldn’t happen. Routes should be crisp, and passes should be sharp. It’s time to back up the talk.