LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Chicago Bears fervor made it to Cooperstown, N.Y. While there with his son for a baseball tournament, general manager Ryan Poles garnered some attention from other Chicago-area teams that made the trip.
“All of the kids found me, and I answered probably more questions than I’ll answer today,” he said Friday at the start of training camp.
Linebacker T.J. Edwards felt it while playing golf around his hometown during the summer.
“Checking in when you get to the pro shop, there’s always (people) getting excited, asking questions, trying to get insight on everything,” he said. “That’s Chicago. That’s why you love it.”
Expectations for wins and losses haven’t gone up at the same level as the interest and intrigue, thanks in large part to rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. But as Poles opened training camp, he previewed what will be felt at Halas Hall in the coming weeks when practice begins, and fans can come to see this team for themselves.
“We love the excitement that is coming from the fan base,” he said. “You can feel that in the city this summer.”
Here are five takeaways from training camp report day.
1. Offensive urgency
Wide receiver DJ Moore and tight end Cole Kmet understand there will be some growing pains in a new playbook with a rookie quarterback. They also know this team isn’t built to take its time going through some kind of learning curve.
So when asked for a timeline for the offense coming together, Moore responded simply, “Tomorrow.”
“We gotta get this thing going quickly,” Kmet said. “There’s not going to be time to kind of meander through this thing. We’ve got to get this thing going quickly here. We’ve got to operate at a high level. We’ve got to really take advantage of our walk-throughs when we get these things at night. The better we are through these things, the faster we will be on game day. But it’s got to happen quickly.”
Kmet said that balance between patience and urgency will be apparent for Williams when padded practices start.
“Now it gets real with pads on, and when he gets through his first live NFL game, dudes are gonna be coming after him,” he said. “There’s a patience level to it, and there’s also an urgency level to it, and he’s gonna feel that, and that’s just natural with the NFL. That is part of it, and we’ve just got to be there as teammates to guide him through this process.”
Moore, in his seventh season, isn’t interested in taking his time to get up to speed. Presumably, neither would Keenan Allen, entering his 12th season.
“We’ve just all got to come together as quickly as possible,” Moore said. “Everybody’s gotta start to mesh, and they’ve gotta start tomorrow when we get on the field.”
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2. Not worried, but eyes open at edge rusher
Assuming the question would come, Poles got in front of it, using part of his opening statement to address the defensive end spot.
“We feel really comfortable with the guys we have on our roster now, and I’m excited — we’re both excited — to see (defensive line coach) Travis (Smith) and (defensive coordinator) Eric (Washington) really put their hands on those guys and develop them as we go through the beginning of training camp,” Poles said. “But we will always have our eyes on the list of players that we could potentially bring in.”
Translation? The Bears believe in what they have opposite Montez Sweat and also won’t say no to a possible upgrade.
“I don’t really see it as a defensive end problem,” Poles said. “Our mindset’s always, ‘How can we make a position group the best we can possibly make it and as deep as we possibly can make it?’ So it’s … continue to develop the players that we have in and see, especially when we get pads on, see how they do. We saw some really encouraging things during OTAs. But we all know this game is played in full pads, so we want to see that process through.”
The padded practices begin next week. Maybe after the Hall of Fame Game, a free agent could come in if the Bears believe they need it. Yannick Ngakoue is available and knows the scheme.
“With the physical therapy, our athletic trainer has been a part of that all the way through,” Poles said of Ngakoue, who broke his ankle last December. “Evaluation-wise, I think once we got Montez, you saw the sack rate go up for really everybody. So I think it enhanced everyone. But I really enjoyed our time with him. I thought he did a nice job. Brought some leadership. So, it was positive.”
3. Deeper O-line
With so many starting spots solidified and even many of the backups known, the most competitive position group could be the offensive line.
The main starting competition will take place there (center: Ryan Bates versus Coleman Shelton). It also features one of the biggest question marks as we await what kind of camp right guard Nate Davis will put together.
After adding more veterans to the group, Poles said he feels better about the offensive line.
“Obviously, we’re excited to see Darnell (Wright) take the next step,” he said. “I know he has the opportunity to be pretty special. Braxton (Jones is) coming along and continuing to get better. And then we have, with Bates and Coleman competing inside, I think there’s opportunity that we can be really talented and deep.
“One of the tough things we’ve had to do the first two years is just a lack of depth and not enough versatility to really create the best five from Week 1 all the way to the very end of the season. We’re happy with that group, but obviously they’ve got to continue to work, get better and build that chemistry together.”
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4. Injury report
Third-round rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie was not ready for the start of training camp, as he is still dealing with a quad injury. The Bears placed him on the non-football injury list.
“He has done an outstanding job this offseason working and rehabbing,” Poles said. “We love his work ethic. That’s one of the reasons why he’s here. He’s progressing. Everything is positive, but I don’t have a specific timetable now.”
Veteran tight end Gerald Everett is also starting camp on the NFI list. That transaction took place after media availability, so we don’t know the injury. Rookie defensive end Jamree Kromah, who was placed on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list Wednesday, was activated Friday afternoon.
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5. More praise for Dexter
Continuing an offseason of positive things said about second-year three-technique defensive tackle Gervon Dexter, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds is pleased with what he’s seen.
“Just his physical stature and his build speaks measures as far as the work that he’s put in,” Edmunds said. “I saw it even last year when he first came in as a rookie. He works extremely hard. Obviously, he got drafted high, but at the same time, you can tell it’s a chip on his shoulder and just seeing him take that next step, being dominant like we know he could be.
“The way they practice, like for Dex to be so big, he’s always one of the first ones to the ball running out of the stack. And it doesn’t go unnoticed; everybody in the meeting room sees it. His work speaks for itself, and it’s going to translate over to the field.”
(Photo of DJ Moore and Cole Kmet: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
