LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Things are different around Halas Hall, which in a way is more of the same. The story surrounding the Bears in Week 1 is usually a story of change. New quarterback or new coach. New system or new scheme. It’s like that for many NFL teams who are chasing the perennial playoff contenders– those teams who have found success and kept enough pieces in place to sustain it.
Even though things may change year after year, feelings often remain the same. Every offseason we hear that players are in the best shape of their lives. Defenses are always flying around in training camp. Chemistry developing and iron sharpening iron and so on and so forth.
This year things legitimately feel different around Halas Hall, though.
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“We know we’re the real deal,” said safety Jaquan Brisker.
Brisker’s been around since GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus took over in 2022. He senses a shift from that tear down year to this year when the expectation is to have something to play for in Week 18. So does nickel corner Kyler Gordon, who joined the Bears when they were bereft of talent. Now he lines up against an offense that’s loaded with playmakers.
“It’s a constant competition. It’s a constant want to win on every play, down, series.”
In recent Bears memory, there has often been hope, there has sometimes been a plan, but never has everything come together.
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In 2021, when the Bears traded up to draft Justin Fields, the idea was to have him sit behind Andy Dalton and learn the game, similar to how Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith in Kansas City or Jordan Love sat behind Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay. Accordingly, Dalton took the majority of first-team snaps in training camp. When Dalton got hurt in Week 2, the Bears plan was derailed and it was clear they didn’t have a contingency ready. The gameplan for Fields and the offense in Week 3 was built towards Dalton’s strengths– not Fields’– and the Bears put forth one of the worst offensive performances in franchise history. Fields threw for 68 yards. He was sacked nine times for a loss of 67 yards.
The following year, the Bears brought in Poles and Eberflus, who tore the roster down to the studs. Fields was left to learn a new offense with Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis leading the way in Week 1. By the end of 2023, it was clear the Bears would be better served by moving on to a new quarterback, and they did.
It’s a similar story with Mitchell Trubisky beginning in 2017. The Bears wanted Trubisky to sit as long as he could with Mike Glennon acting as the bridge QB. Glennon was so ineffective through the first quarter of the season, though, the Bears were practically forced to start Trubisky in Week 5. In 2018, they had a new coach in Matt Nagy, added new weapons in Allen Robinson and Khalil Mack, and were one kick away from winning a playoff game. In 2019, Nagy was coming off of a Coach of the Year Award and the team largely ran it back. But folks started questioning whether Trubisky was the right QB for Nagy, and whether Nagy was the right coach for Trubisky. By the end of 2020, it was again clear that the plan wasn’t going to work.
One could see the Bears headed down the same path again. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams could struggle early in his career just like Fields and Trubisky did before him. The Bears could fire Eberflus if things tailspin, and the cycle of changes may continue.
Things are set up differently this go around, however.
This time around, the Bears built up their roster before dropping in the quarterback. Williams could have the best supporting cast of playmakers a No. 1 overall pick has ever enjoyed. Poles isn’t trying to fit in puzzle pieces on the fly. Cornerstone players like DJ Moore, Jaylon Johnson, Cole Kmet and Montez Sweat are already in place.
Instead of retooling an aging roster year after year, the Bears have loaded up on young talent. Moore, Johnson, Sweat, Kmet, Gordon, Brisker, Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, D’Andre Swift, Darnell Wright and Tyrique Stevenson are all 28 years old or younger. All of those guys have valuable experience and are expected to be cogs on this team for several years. All of those guys can continue to develop together.
“This is a game where you need that type of chemistry,” said Edwards. “One more year under our belt with the scheme and what we’re trying to do as a team. I feel like we have a way better understanding of just our foundation in general from last year, how good we can be, and believing it.”
That belief is another big difference. It wasn’t long ago that the Bears lost 14 games in a row between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. The belief had become that the team would find ways to lose rather than ways to win.
Early in 2023, Eberflus adjusted his schemes and took over defensive play calling. He tried new things like using dime packages more often and dialed up more blitzes to create pressure. The personnel at his disposal improved, and so did the defense. The Bears started winning more games along the way. After going through endless adversity, the team seemingly came out stronger on the other side.
“It feels definitely more confident,” said linebacker Jack Sanborn. “It’s not like the previous years were not confident or anything like that, but just the guys that we have around here have been around here and know what to expect, know how to go about it, what we’re trying to do. That’s just different.”
“You can see our explosiveness and how we got off the ball in the preseason,” said Teven Jenkins. “It correlated even from the ones to the twos and threes. I mean that’s the stuff that we set as the standard now. We have new standards every year and this year, I feel like it’s going to be pretty special.”
The Bears said similar things last year, but they fell flat. The defense was incredibly confident coming out of training camp, yet they were embarrassed at home in a 38-20 loss to the Packers in Week 1. All the talk at the podium did not amount to anything on the field.
The Bears don’t talk about that Week 1 dud much amongst themselves, but they haven’t forgotten about it. There’s a glimmer in players’ eyes who were here last year that the slow start still stings. They want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“We know what we want to do,” said Gordon. “We know that starting fast is what we’re going to do. It’s imperative for us that we start fast.”
Of course health is an x-factor for every NFL team, every year. The injury bug bites without fail, it’s just a question of how hard. Last year the Bears missed a lot of players throughout the summer and the early stages of the regular season. So far this year they’ve been fortunate in that department. All starters are on track to start in Week 1.
“Everybody's got their feet under them,” said Brisker.
There have been hiccups on offense throughout the summer, but their operation and execution improved along the way. The number of pre-snap issues dropped. Williams and his receivers seemed to be more in sync.
The defense on the other hand looked dialed in from day one.
Where the Bears find themselves now is the culmination of work that both Poles and Eberflus started when they took over the reins two and a half years ago. They had a long term view of the team they wanted to build and how they wanted to build it. Poles remained disciplined with his roster decisions. Eberflus remained steadfast in his principles and his program. They continued to shape the team to fit their ideal culture.
Again, things still may not work according to plan, but the plan appears to be sound and they stuck to it. As the team prepares to turn the page from rebuilders to contenders, vibes are high.
“It definitely feels more fun this year,” said Jenkins. “It’s just all these personalities that they brought in here, it’s a lot of different people. It’s just a lot by the way people act in here, we understand each other better.”
Gordon also feels like everyone understands the ultimate common goal.
“Everyone I’m seeing is just itching to go out and win.”