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Bear Digest

Change from Ben Johnson's First Year Made Obvious by Bears Rookie Camp

The status quo has changed for the Bears because of time, the draft, free agency, and a season of success, as practice and talk at rookie camp made apparent.
Gene Chamberlain|
Tight end Sam Roush warms up during Bears rookie minicamp at the Walter Payton Center.
Tight end Sam Roush warms up during Bears rookie minicamp at the Walter Payton Center. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Rookie minicamps prove very little while providing a nice backdrop for easing new players into an organization. They do help keep the NFL brand out front for a bit after the pressure-packed overhype of predraft weeks, and the frenzy of the draft itself conclude.

The Bears discovered nothing unexpected but saw evidence of plenty at the weekend's rookie minicamp when they took to the practice field and the Walter Payton Center over the weekend.

As they head toward a time when they can take their full team on the field and run plays without pads at organized team activities the week of May 27, here is what they saw or know based on two days of workouts and meetings with players.

1. The right speed for playing

One major goal for them after last season was getting faster. The 40 times from pro days and the combine are one thing, but playing speed is quite another. Their own fourth-round linebacker selection from last year is proof of this. Ruben Hyppolite II ran like a track athlete last combine and they're still looking for evidence of this with game/practice speed. The solution is rookie fifth-rounder Keyshaun Elliott, a player's player.

Fortunately, there was speed very evident from players at this rookie minicamp as they moved around in 7-on-7 and drills.

No. 1 pick Dillon Thieneman had 4.35-second speed at the combine and it was easy to see it translate to artificial turf at the Walter Payton Center. He wasn't alone in displaying this.

"I do think that one of the things that we talked about, not just specifically with that position, but overall, in terms of our defense was that we really need to increase our team speed," defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. "I felt like we were able to do that with several of the draft choices."

Cornerback Malik Muhammad was the other one putting this on display defensively by moving fluidly, and then quickly to the ball after snaps.

Allen saw evidence in this draft of personnel looking for real football players rather than the speed measured only on a stop watch.

"I thought our guys did a really great job, Poles and his staff, did a great job of trying to identify the type of players that we're looking for," Allen said. "We’re looking for smart players, we're looking for tough players, we're looking for highly competitive players.There was a decrease in ‘what's the 40 time, what's the height, what's the weight, what's the athletic movement skills?,' and it was ‘Are they above the line athletically?' " Allen said. "All right, and then let's watch the tape and let's let their football character bleed off the tape.

"Every one of our players that you look at, they have great football character, and it bled off of the tape at us."

2. Adjustment ahead for Logan Jones

All the discussion about the Bears being able to trade Garrett Bradbury now that they have Jones, their second-round center pick, is far too premature and even kind of silly. They'd need depth at the position even if things work out perfectly for Jones, but offensive coordinator Press Taylor reminded everyone just how much the rookie faces before he's on an even playing field with veterans.

"I think like any of these guys, especially interior lineman, every single week there is somebody across from you that was probably some sort of college All-American, or maybe he's a 12-year vet in the NFL," Taylor said. "So, they all present their different challenges, whether you're playing a 320-pound nose (tackle) or you're playing a 300-pound nose (tackle) that's super quick. Or they’re putting typically a defensive end inside in certain pass rush situations, that's probably not as much as you see in the college game.

"And then for us, our center really kind of drives the system. He's making all the IDs. The quarterback will reaffirm him a lot of time. He's making the calls. I mean, everybody's kind of waiting on the identification process from the center. I'm not sure if that happens in all the college systems. It definitely didn’t used to, as there was a lot more up-tempo systems in college."

They did get trained well on the offensive line.

"But I think that's one element that I think is a little bit different from college of the pros is that,” Taylor said.

This requires time on task against actual players in live conditions.

3. Offensive expansion

Tight end Sam Roush and receiver Zavion Thomas let Ben Johnson expand the playbook. The third tight end is exceptional as a blocker but on the field it was apparent he moves well and stands out because of his size (6-6 1/2, 267). A target like this as a third will give Johnson plenty of other ways to move the offense besides where last year's player let him go.

"I mean there, there's going to be weeks where it's heavy usage because we feel like base defense from this defense gets some predetermined looks, maybe less variety," Taylor said. "There may be times where if we throw 12(-personnel) out there and they play nickel, we want to, and we're in an advantageous position to run the ball. There may be times where if we go big and you go big, depending on who we have and the skill sets of our players, we can spread you out and we can throw the ball. So it's kind of, it's a game-by-game basis, really, as it plays out.”

Johnson pointed out how only a few seasons ago everyone was moving to three-wide receiver sets.

"But I think the more you can look to attack the defense, whether it's you want to give them a base defense or you feel comfortable competing against them when they're in their sub defenses, the flexibility that tight ends give you, it adds a dimension to your offense,” Johnson said.

Thomas' speed obviously does something else, but his ability to take handoffs and challenge defenses out of the backfield means more of the field for defenses to protect.

4. Head start for all

So much of what was discussed by coaches at the rookie minicamp had to do with possibilities and adding on, as opposed to last year. They were talking about teaching and repetition last year, while hollering about details to players.

“I think that'll be a big thing," Taylor pointed out. "I mean now we're in Phase 2 with our players. This time last year we were just teaching them how we wanted you to hold the ball and where we wanted you to align. They didn't necessarily know we were going through play call drills with the quarterbacks.

"They didn't really know what the words meant to where now every tape is our guys running these concepts. It's our quarterback calling plays that he called throughout the course of last year, to where now it feels like we're more into the system and we're learning and growing and revisiting some of it.

"Whereas opposed to last year, everything was new for coaches and players for most of us."

As Taylor noted, only Johnson, receivers coach Antwaan Randle El and QB coach JT Barrett had the experience in their offense last year. Coaches were learning right along with players. It's not this way now as younger players learn from a staff experienced at teaching it.

It's why Johnson has stressed how their real improvement across the board this season can come from within.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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