Chicago Bears OTAs: Latest Player Reports and Analysis

The dark days of winter have finally passed, and organized team activities (OTAs) are now in full swing in the NFL.

The Chicago Bears held their first minicamp late last month, and the team is set to hold three more three-day minicamps in the next several weeks before taking time off prior to the start of training camp in late July.

With a new coaching staff in place in Chicago, the team's OTAs and minicamps are more important than most. Head coach John Fox, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and offensive coordinator Adam Gase are all busy trying to implement new schemes and concepts, while players are busy learning a new playbook and trying to prepare themselves for the long grind ahead.

Player reports have been surfacing in recent days regarding Chicago's OTAs, and just ahead we take a look at the latest reports and offer our analysis. 

Team Is Comfortable with the Pass-Rushers on the Roster

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The Bears opted not to add a young pass-rusher in this year's draft, and they have decided to rely on the veterans they currently have on the roster.

The team signed veteran pass-rushers Pernell McPhee and Sam Acho in free agency, while Lamarr Houston, Willie Young, Jared Allen and David Bass are all converting from 4-3 defensive ends to 3-4 outside linebackers.

Even though the team did not add another pass-rusher in the draft, Fangio likes the guys he has on the roster.

"We have some good choices there and we'll come up with three, four (or) five good outside 'backers," Fangio said, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune. "However many we keep, we'll go from there."

McPhee and Acho have experience playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense, but Houston, Young, Allen and Bass have spent the majority of their careers playing with a hand in the ground. Despite their inexperience, Fangio does not think the transition from 4-3 defensive end to 3-4 outside linebacker is very difficult.

"It's not as hard as everybody thinks," Fangio said, according to Biggs. "It's a slow-growing process. A lot of the things that look hard to them now will eventually be easy, but we have to work through that."

The Bears could have taken someone like Clemson's Vic Beasley with the seventh overall pick or gambled on Nebraska's Randy Gregory in the second round of this year's draft, but the team appears to be content with whom it has on the roster. 

Chicago struggled to get after the quarterback last season. But Fangio's track record suggests he can get the most out of his players, and the team should show vast improvement in 2015. 

Bears Expect to Be Better on Special Teams

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

While many focus on the decline of Chicago's offense and defense under Marc Trestman from 2013 to 2014, the team also struggled on special teams last season.

Kicker Robbie Gould made just nine of his 12 field-goal attempts. Punter Pat O'Donnell struggled to get into a rhythm until the final month of the season. The return units struggled with consistency. And the group as a whole struggled with penalties.

According to NFLPenalties.com, the Bears lead the league in special teams penalties with 28. The team will try to be more consistent under new coordinator Jeff Rodgers.

Rodgers coached under Fox in Carolina in 2010 and spent the last four seasons with him in Denver. During his tenure in Denver, the Broncos had six touchdown returns, and kicker Matt Prater was named to a Pro Bowl.

With more opportunities, both Gould and O'Donnell should improve in 2015, but Rodgers is focused on the return game, saying, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago:

"

No. 1 is ball security. Our No. 1 goal of our return game is going to be giving the ball back to the offense. Every guy is different. I’ve coached bigger guys, smaller guys, faster guys; the ball-security thing is always going to be a common trait. But we’re going to scheme our return stuff based on whatever the player does well. That’s still yet to be determined. Whoever that guy is will win that job in training camp and into the season, they realize they are competing with everyone else on the roster. They realize they’re competing with the guys league-wide who are on rosters. And someone will emerge in that role.

"

Last season, Chris Williams, Marc Mariani, Rashad Ross and Senorise Perry all returned kicks for the Bears, but only Mariani had respectable numbers. Williams did return one kickoff for a touchdown, but he struggled with his decision-making and often attempted to return kicks that were placed deep in the end zone. 

Mariani's 25.5 yards-per-kick-return average was the best on the team, and he sits as the front-runner for the position in 2015. One player who could give Mariani a run for his money this offseason is fourth-round pick Jeremy Langford.

Langford ran a 4.42 40-yard dash at this year's combine, and while he does not have experience as a return man, his speed alone could make him a threat in the return game.

Regardless of who starts the season as the team's kick returner, the Bears should feel confident in the direction their special teams unit is heading with Rodgers in charge.

Offense May Rely on a Rotation at Running Back

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The Bears have one of the best all-around running backs in the league in Matt Forte. But he is approaching the age of 30, and Fox has had success in the past using a rotation at running back.

"It’s a positive that Forte’s had a number of carries and the production he’s had, both catching the ball and running the ball,” Fox said, according to Dickerson. “We’ve always been believers in kind of a one-two punch and rolling guys through there, whether it’s the D-line; a wave of those guys to stay fresh. I’ve always had the approach the same thing with running backs."

During Fox's tenure in Carolina, the Panthers used the duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart in the running game, and he used a combination of C.J. Anderson, Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman last season in Denver.

Fox may want to use a two- or three-back system in Chicago, but Forte has been extremely reliable for the Bears over the years.

“This is an unusual situation just because Matt has been in such great shape and has been so dynamic as far as staying on the field,” said Gase, according to John Mullin of CSN Chicago. “We’ve just got to see how it plays out.”

Forte will get the brunt of the load in 2015, but if the Bears want to commit to a rotation at the position, they have plenty of options.

The Bears signed veteran Jacquizz Rodgers in free agency, and the four-year veteran is projected to be the team's third-down back this season. He is average at best as a runner, but he is a smart player who has good vision and excels as a pass-blocker. According to Pro Football Focus, he finished as the league's best blocking running back with a plus-6.9 grade last season. 

Rodgers could potentially earn the No. 2 job out of training camp, but Langford has a chance to win the job as a rookie. Langford rushed for 2,944 yards on 568 carries and scored 40 touchdowns for the Spartans over the last two seasons, and Pace likes Langford's speed.

"The standout trait with him is really his speed," general manager Ryan Pace said, according to Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com. "This guy has home run ability. He’s got upside."

Langford looks to be the front-runner to start the year as the team's No. 2 running back, but Ka'Deem Carey also has a chance to earn the position. He carried the ball just 36 times for 158 yards last season, but he could be featured in Chicago's rotation this year if he has a strong training camp.

Forte will continue to be Chicago's workhorse at running back this season, but he should get more opportunities to catch his breath this season with guys like Rodgers, Langford and Carey on the roster.

Pernell McPhee Is a Rising Star

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McPhee was Chicago's biggest signing in free agency this offseason, and Bleacher Report's Matt Bowen thinks the young outside linebacker is one of the league's rising stars, writing:

"

When you watch the tape from 2014 on McPhee, the true versatility to his game stands out. He can play multiple roles for the Bears in both their 3-4 base and nickel packages. That's where McPhee will rush off the edge, play on the interior of the defensive front or line up off the ball. He gives you options as a coordinator to generate matchups while catering to his skill set given the size (6'3", 280 lbs) and athleticism he brings to the table.

"

McPhee spent much of his time with the Baltimore Ravens as a reserve player, but he was extremely productive when on the field. He finished last season with 27 tackles and 7.5 sacks, and according to Pro Football Focus, his plus-26.0 overall grade was second best among all 3-4 outside linebackers.

He was stuck behind Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil in Baltimore, but he will have a chance to be an every-down player in Chicago. While Suggs and Dumervil were getting all the praise in Baltimore, Dumervil felt McPhee was the best pass-rusher on the team.

“As a pure rusher, he’s probably one of the better ones I've seen,” said Dumervil, according to Ryan Mink of BaltimoreRavens.com. “He’s probably got a better finesse game than me. There’s a move that he does that I can’t even attempt to try to do."

The Bears have only held a handful of practices this offseason, but McPhee has already impressed the coaching staff.

"Pernell has done really well," outside linebackers coach Clint Hurtt said, according to Biggs. "He's a big guy out there in the run game, very physical. But surprisingly he's pretty nimble in space for a man of his size."

McPhee (6'3", 280 lbs) will have to get used to playing a bigger role in Chicago, but he has all the tools to become a centerpiece in Fangio's 3-4 defense.

Jay Cutler Sees Some of Mike Martz's Offense in the Team's New Scheme

Nam Huh/Associated Press

In an attempt to improve quarterback Jay Cutler's game, the Bears hired offensive guru Mike Martz to be the team's coordinator in 2010.

Cutler had some rough stretches in 2010 and 2011 with Martz, but they were arguably two of his most productive seasons in Chicago. In 2010 he threw for 3,274 with 23 touchdowns and 16 interceptions, and the Bears finished the season 10-5.

He threw for 2,319 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 10 games in 2011 before the Bears lost him for the season with a broken thumb.

Martz and the Bears parted ways after the 2011 season, but Cutler has noticed some familiar concepts in Gase's offensive scheme.

“He's worked with a couple different guys; the good thing is, he's heard a few things that I say,” Gase said, according to Mullin. “He'll look at me and kind of, 'That's a little Martz’ist right there.’”

Part of the reason why Cutler had success with Martz was because the former St. Louis Rams head coach rarely allowed Cutler the freedom to check out of plays at the line of scrimmage. Cutler was given that freedom in Trestman's system over the course of the last two seasons, and that may be the reason why the former first-round pick struggled with turnovers last season.

Despite Cutler's history, Gase thinks Cutler is a changed man.

“I think most of us would say when he first came into the league he was that gunslinger-type mentality,” Gase said, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “And I see a more patient guy. We’ve just got to get him there for 60 minutes.”

Cutler looked comfortable at times in Martz's offense back in 2010 and 2011, and if Gase can limit Cutler's responsibilities, he has a chance to have a productive season in 2015.

Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise noted.

Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.

Follow @MattEurich