Chicago Bears: Recapping the Latest Buzz Heading into Training Camp
It is hard to believe, but the Chicago Bears will open up training camp in less than three weeks.
The sting of a 5-11 2014 season has faded away, and optimism in Chicago is high following an overhaul of the organization's front office and coaching staff this offseason. General manager Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman were both fired following the conclusion of last season, and the Bears hired Ryan Pace to take over as the team's new GM.
Pace acted quickly and hired John Fox to be Chicago's head coach, and the highly regarded coach brought offensive coordinator Adam Gase with him from Denver and hired veteran coordinator Vic Fangio to run his defense in 2015.
The Bears added a bevy of new players in free agency and the draft this offseason, and the team is currently on break until camp opens up on July 29.
Even though the team has not held a practice session since mandatory minicamp concluded on June 18, plenty of buzz has been surrounding the team over the course of the last few weeks, and we explore some of that buzz ahead.
Jay Cutler and Some of the Receivers Worked out Together in Nashville
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To help build camaraderie between himself and the receiving corps, quarterback Jay Cutler invited some of Chicago's receivers down to Nashville, Tennessee, this week to work out, according to Blair Sheade of the Chicago Sun-Times.
According to the report, receivers Eddie Royal, Kevin White and Marquess Wilson—as well as tight end Martellus Bennett—joined Cutler, but one receiver was notably absent.
2013 second-round pick and former Pro Bowl receiver Alshon Jeffery reportedly stayed in the Chicagoland area and worked out with former Bears receiver Brandon Marshall at his new facility in Naperville, Illinois. Marshall posted a video to his Instagram account showing Jeffery and himself at the facility on Tuesday.
Jeffery not joining Cutler and his fellow receivers in Nashville is not that big of a deal, but the fact that guys like White and Royal were there is a big deal.
According to Chicago Bears radio network sideline reporter Zach Zaidman, White missed the team's mandatory minicamp last month due to injury, but Fox is not worried about White not being able to participate in training camp, according to Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times:
"I do [expect White to be ready]. I think part of the offseason is getting ready for the season. Any decision that we make is going to be with the player’s best interests in mind. It can be physically. It can be a variety of reasons. I feel good about where we are [with White], and I feel good about where we’ll be when we start camp.
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White and Cutler had plenty of time to work together during OTAs, but since the young receiver missed out on mandatory minicamp, his time spent with Cutler in Nashville should help their relationship grow.
Bennett and Wilson have both built a rapport with Cutler over the years, but Royal does not have quite the same connection to Cutler as those two.
Royal and Cutler were teammates together in Denver in 2008, and Royal put up some of the best numbers of his career that season. Cutler was traded to Chicago in April 2009, and the two have been working to reconnect this offseason.
A short trip to Nashville in July for Cutler and part of his receiving corps may not mean much, but it does show Cutler is trying to build a connection with his receivers, which could help make him a better quarterback in 2015.
Depth and Experience Along the Defensive Line Could Be a Problem in 2015
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The Bears were loaded with talent along the defensive line last season, but many of the team's linemen failed to live up to lofty expectations.
Chicago's second- and third-round picks—defensive tackles Ego Ferguson and Will Sutton—both had their share of ups and downs, while the team's big-name free-agent signings—defensive ends Jared Allen and Lamarr Houston—were disappointments.
Willie Young was one of Chicago's lone bright spots on defense last season, but he suffered an Achilles injury in late December.
Despite having a roster loaded with 4-3 defensive linemen, the Bears opted to move to a 3-4 defense this offseason.
Allen, Houston and Young have all moved off the defensive line and are playing outside linebacker this season, while Ferguson and Sutton have moved from defensive tackle to defensive end.
The team added nose tackle Eddie Goldman in the second round of this year's draft and signed veteran defensive end Jarvis Jenkins to a one-year deal, but the defensive line as a whole lacks experience and depth.
Veteran Jeremiah Ratliff played in a 3-4 defense during his time with the Dallas Cowboys, and he is the only defensive lineman on the roster with a proven track record.
CBSChicago.com's Dan Durkin broke down Chicago's defensive line last week, and he noted only Ratliff, Jenkins and Sutton have ever started a game in the NFL.
"This is a young, unsettled group, with mismatched pieces and skill sets," Durkin wrote. "There are some developmental prospects on the roster, but as a whole, this group will likely struggle to stop the run and provide inconsistent pressure against the pass."
Ratliff has the ability to play both inside at nose tackle and outside at defensive end, and the veteran lineman will be a key part of Chicago's defensive line in 2015. After Ratliff, there are a lot of question marks.
Goldman will have to prove he can be an every-down player at the NFL level, while Ferguson and Sutton will have to prove they can handle two-gap responsibilities in a 3-4 defense.
Jenkins played in a 3-4 defense in Washington, but the former second-round pick has been a disappointment up to this point in his career. He has just two sacks to his name in three seasons, and he needs to show improvement against the run.
The defensive line could end up being a pleasant surprise for Chicago in 2015, but as of right now, it looks to be the team's biggest weakness on defense.
NFL.com Lists John Fox as a Top-10 Head Coach
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The Bears' hiring of Trestman in 2013 was an unconventional choice because he had been out of the NFL since 2004, and Trestman looked overmatched at times as a head coach.
Instead of thinking outside the box with their latest hire, the Bears opted to hire a proven head coach in Fox.
Fox was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers from 2002 to 2010 and coached the Denver Broncos from 2011 to 2014. During that time, Fox amassed a 118-89 regular-season record, an 8-7 playoff record and his teams went to a total of two Super Bowls.
The veteran coach has been unable to claim a Super Bowl victory in his 13 seasons as a head coach, but NFL.com's Elliot Harrison listed Fox as the ninth-best head coach in the NFL, writing:
"Like Andy Reid, Fox has been at this profession a long time. Perhaps I'm misreading the tea leaves, but does it seem like most fans either a) don't think much of Fox or b) don't think he will make much of a difference in Chicago this year? Fox won four straight AFC West titles with the Broncos, including one with Tim Tebow at quarterback. In Carolina, he rode an unknown in Jake Delhomme to Super Bowl XXXVIII. Wherever he's been, the defense has improved. Give the man his respect.
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The Bears finished last season 30th in average yards allowed per game with 377.1, but Fox's addition this offseason should help improve the team's defense.
In 2001, the year before Fox took over in Carolina, the Panthers allowed the most yards per game with 371.4. In Fox's first season with the team in 2002, the Panthers allowed the second-fewest yards per game with an average of 290.4.
In 2010, the year before Fox took over in Denver, the Broncos allowed the most yards per game with 390.8. Fox took over the Broncos in 2011, and the team improved to 20th best in the NFL, allowing 357.8 yards per game.
There is no guarantee Chicago's defense will improve as drastically as Carolina's did in 2002, but Fox's track record shows teams improve when he takes over. The Bears took a few steps back last season under Trestman, but Fox should be able to at least turn the Bears back into a respectable team on defense in 2015.
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Adam Gase Is Impressed by the Effort the Offense Has Put in This Offseason
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Adam Gase was one of the league's hottest head-coaching candidates this offseason, but the young coordinator was unable to secure a job as a head coach.
The Bears hired Gase to run the team's offense in 2015, and he has been impressed with the effort the offensive unit has put in this offseason.
"Just watching us practice since April or May and just seeing these guys get better and grasp the offense and really put a lot of effort into what we're doing has been very impressive," Gase said, according to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com.
Trestman ran a West Coast offense in Chicago that relied heavily on the short passing game, but he failed to make adjustments as the season wore on, and opposing teams were able to shut down Chicago's offense.
Gase prefers to spread out his offense to create mismatches in the passing game, but he is not afraid to lean on the running game when needed. Trestman got away from running the football last season despite having one of the league's best running backs in Matt Forte, but Gase will likely try to run a more balanced offense in 2015.
Learning a new offense is never easy, especially for a team that will be running its third different offense in four seasons, but Gase said the offense has had a great attitude.
"I've really enjoyed being around these guys and the attitude they have and the work ethic," he said, according to Mayer. "I think it's hard to come by. In the NFL sometimes you'll have guys that don't work as hard as other guys and I feel that all these guys really try to work really hard, especially on the practice field."
Even though Gase believes his offense is currently moving in the right direction, it will be interesting to see how the offense looks during training camp and into the preseason.
If the offense can continue to pick up Gase's scheme quickly, he will have a chance to add a lot of new wrinkles to his playbook by the time Chicago's first game of the season comes around in early September.
Kevin White Is Ready to Replace Brandon Marshall
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Marshall had three productive seasons for the Bears from 2012 to 2014, but Chicago's new front office and coaching staff decided this offseason it was time to move on from the talented receiver.
The Bears traded Marshall and a seventh-round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for a fifth-round pick, and Chicago selected West Virginia's White in the first round to replace Marshall.
White is not quite at the same level as Marshall yet, and he knows he has big shoes to fill in Chicago's offense.
"Brandon Marshall has done so much," White said, according to Kevin Fishbain of ChicagoFootball.com. "For me to step in and try and take his place and produce on the field is pretty big time. I'm pretty excited. I plan to do big things. I'm going to work, earn my stripes and I just want to help the team win games."
The key for White in his rookie season will be building a relationship with Cutler. Traveling with some of his teammates down to Nashville to work with Cutler is a step in the right direction, but he will need to prove to the veteran quarterback he can be a reliable target.
“He wants to have everything down early, quick,” White said about Cutler, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. “He likes everything to be on time, but he’s willing to help all the receivers.”
White spent the majority of his career at West Virginia playing on the right side of the formation, but Gase explained after the draft that White will be asked to move around this season, according to Fishbain:
"He was predominantly on the right side in [West Virginia's] offense, so moving him around a little bit is going to be different for him, but I don't think intelligence-wise we have any concerns with him. We brought him in for his interview and he was outstanding, picked up what we taught him very quickly and was able to bring it back to us. [Wide receivers] Coach [Mike] Groh had a really good feel for him, and I think he's going to fit in well with us.
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It will be difficult for White to replace Marshall's production—Marshall averaged 93 catches, 1,174 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in three seasons in Chicago—but the young rookie sounds prepared to take over the role in 2015.
Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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