Training camp is upon us, everyone!
The Chicago Bears are getting set to report to camp in Bourbonnais, and that means football is oh so close. I don’t know about you, but even preseason football sounds delicious right about now. The offseason is too damn long … I must have played 10 seasons of Madden since the Super Bowl.
The Bears have definitely improved the overall talent level of their roster compared to last season. And hopefully that goes hand in hand with better luck with health over the course of the season. But they have plenty of questions that need to be answered in the next week, and over the course of the next month during the preseason games.
What’s going to happen with the wide receiver circus? Who will win jobs in the defensive backfield, and where? And, most importantly, what will be decided at quarterback?
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We know what the high-stakes battles are. But what results should Bears fans be rooting for?
Wide Receiver
The depth chart currently assumes that Cameron Meredith will assume the #1 position (as he should), with Kevin White #2 and anyone’s guess afterwards.
The issue is that Meredith, who certainly performed well last season, has yet to prove he can handle taking on opposing defenses’ top cornerbacks. And White, who was a top 10 pick two years ago, is still a complete unknown. At this point, his spot at #2 is assumed based on draft pedigree, not production.
The Bears signed a host of receivers in the offseason to bring some competition to the group following the departure of Alshon Jeffery. They signed Markus Wheaton, Kendall Wright, Victor Cruz, and others to battle for spots on the depth chart.
Wheaton signed a multi-year contract, so his spot is very likely secure. That too in a highly visible role. Wright probably has the upper hand on Cruz right now given his previous experience in coordinator Dowell Loggains’s offense. After that, it’s murky waters.
For the Bears to succeed as an offense, they need Meredith and White to separate themselves as the best receivers on the roster during camp. That means that while going against defensive starters, they must shine and shine continuously. The Bears secondary is still an unknown at this point, and unlikely to be a top unit by any measure. If Meredith and White can’t consistently make plays against their own, unsettled secondary, how will they attack the plethora of talented secondaries they are scheduled to face this year?
Best not to find out.
Secondary
In the offseason, one of the major points of emphasis was to upgrade the secondary. The Bears needed cornerback help, safety help, more safety help, backup safety help, practice squad safety help, you name it. It was that big a mess.
Ryan Pace went all in, kind of, on his pursuit of the biggest names on the market, such as Stephon Gilmore, A.J. Bouye, and Logan Ryan. Except he didn’t sign any of them because he likes to pay players their actual value, not their inflated market value. Alas, he brought Quintin Demps, Marcus Cooper, and Prince Amukamara to Chicago. Certainly not the biggest names on the market. But solid, economical consolation prizes for a team that just isn’t quite ready to contend for a championship just yet.
With Pace’s free agency haul secured, the Bears are looking at Demps, Cooper, Amukamara, Eddie Jackson, Kyle Fuller, Deiondre Hall, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Bryce Callahan, Harold Jones-Quartey, Johnthan Banks, BW Webb, Adrian Amos, Deon Bush, and DeAndre Houston-Carson to battle it out. That’s a lot of names, and a lot of names that Pace is directly responsible for bringing on to the roster.
The Bears are likely to be strongest with Amukamara at the left corner spot and Demps at free safety. Those are givens because that’s why they were brought to the team in the first place. Those spots should be considered locks. One of either Amos or Bush should win the strong safety spot, mainly due to Amos’s experience and Bush’s recent draft status. But how about at the final cornerback spot?
Frankly, despite the contract the Bears gave Cooper, I’d love to see Fuller come in and win it. After missing all of last year and being called out by his own coordinator, watching a motivated Fuller redeem himself and contribute to a hungry defense would be awesome. At the very least he’d help by increasing his trade value. There’s always demand for that.
Quarterback
We all know what the scene is at quarterback. Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer, and Matt Barkley are out. Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez, and first round pick Mitchell Trubisky are in.
Sanchez is a clipboard holder. That much is given. He’ll be playing mentor to both Glennon and Trubisky this season. But the question is who will end up starting?
What we know right now is that Glennon is currently the starter by default. Ryan Pace made the statement when he handed him an $18 million guaranteed contract in the offseason, reiterated it after stunning the football world by trading up for Trubisky, and tripled down on it during his training camp presser today.
The way the Bears look at it, Glennon is the present. The issue is, no matter how green Trubisky is, Glennon isn’t exactly a battle-tested veteran either. Sure, he’s started a handful of games and performed decently at best. But his numbers are just a small sample. The reality is he’s an unknown as well and he also is playing for his career.
The benefits of sitting Trubisky this season are well documented. And it’s clear that’s what the Bears intend to do. But if Glennon flops during camp and Trubisky plays well, how the hell do you sell the rest of your team on “Glennon is our quarterback”? Especially when the whole world knows they are looking forward to Trubisky, possibly as early as 2018?
You can’t. Which is why it’d be best if Glennon took hold of the competition and stamped his name on the starting quarterback spot right away. No matter how Trubisky performs, if Glennon shows that he deserves the job by playing well and commanding the offense, the Bears’ brass has an easy sell to the rest of the team.
“Hey guys, I know Tru is good and all, but Glennon killed it during camp as you all witnessed. And you know he was our guy [for 2017] from the beginning. So, Mike is our quarterback.”
Seems like a simple enough conversation, right? Well, that’s only going to happen if Glennon earns it. And that’s what fans should root for.
Because that’s what’s best for the Bears. It’s best for their 2017 win prospects. It’s best for Trubisky’s development. And therefore it’ll be best for their future.
Isn’t that what we all want?
