Chicago Bears: 5 Concerns Training Camp Has Revealed

Chicago Bears training camp has featured a lot to be excited about the past couple weeks. Signs are there that this could be a good team in 2018.

The defense looks every bit as strong as it was last season. Their backfield of Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen may be set for their best year yet. Even the tight end position is looking strong not just in overall talent but also in terms of depth. Never mind the encouraging signs from the majority of the Bears draft class. It’s a pretty feel-good atmosphere.

However, things are never perfect during a camp. There are also areas lingering concerns. Problems that could threaten to undermine the team’s efforts to post its first winning season in six years. Here are some that have cropped up.

Too many tipped passes

Truth be told this is a problem that Mitch Trubisky had last season too. A lot of his passes have a bad tendency to get tipped in the air, some of which have been intercepted in practice. There are a number of reasons why this could be. His pass delivering has a tendency to go 3/4 or sidearm at times rather than over the top, making it easier to deflect.

Also there are times he fails to linebackers dropping in coverage and delivers the ball too low, allowing them to get hands on it. He’s not the only one too. Chase Daniel experienced this problem in the Hall of Fame game and Tyler Bray, even at 6’6 wasn’t immune to it either.

Wide receivers dropping balls

This problem isn’t exclusive to training camp. The Bears wide receivers had three ugly drops against Baltimore as well, one of which cost them a touchdown. Too many times guys have simply bungled what should’ve been gimme catches. Most often the culprit is a simple lack of concentration, which is frustrating given how this offense always struggles to find a rhythm. For a detail-oriented coach like Matt Nagy, this has to be among the most infuriating things he’s had to watch.

Snaps issues from the center

This is something that is becoming a serious concern. Cody Whitehair, the Bears starting center began to experience frequent issues snapping the football in shotgun formation last season. Considering how important the shotgun is to the run-pass option part of the offense Nagy wants to run, this is a big deal. Based on what’s been seen thus far in camp, Whitehair has not gotten over this problem.

He’s not the only one. Rookie 2nd round pick James Daniels who’s also been getting work at center is having similar problems. This is something line coach Harry Hiestand has to get figured out because if the Bears want to improve on offense, they need to learn how to execute consistently. Few things kill momentum more than a bad snap.

Protection on the edges

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One of the biggest worries coming out of the Hall of Fame game was how poor the protection was from the offensive tackles. Granted they were backups and that tends to be the case but it underscores how thin the Bears are at that position. Even their starters Charles Leno and Bobby Massie have experienced periods of struggle where they missed on some blocks pretty badly. Leonard Floyd has been a nightmare for them. It won’t get any easier when the season begins.

Lack of big plays from the safeties

This is not to say the play overall has been bad from the Bears safeties in camp. Overall they’ve been solid in run support and have mostly prevented big plays down the field. No, their issue has been the same as it was last year. They still aren’t able to generate enough big plays. Particularly interceptions. Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos combined for just three picks in 2017.

That’s not enough for Vic Fangio. He wants more and expects more. The cornerbacks have been making a ton of plays in camp thus far. By comparison, it’s been too quiet on the back end. It’s not that they haven’t had any nice moments, it’s the frequency that’s the problem. Can they turn up the juice? Next week will be the first chance to see in game action for the starters.

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