Chicago Bears offense hitting its stride at training camp

This time a year ago, weaknesses in the new-look Chicago Bears began to show. Under a new regime, with new coaches and several new players, the offense often appeared stymied in training camp. On top of that, off-field drama in the form of arrests, injuries, and hold-outs kept the Bears in an ugly light.

As we wrapped up the first week of the 2023 training camp, things could not be more different. The Bears are reasonably healthy, no one has been arrested, and of the three key players eligible for contract extensions — Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, Darnell Mooney, and Chase Claypool — one (Kmet) received a big payday while the others sound like they understand they have more to prove.

Most important of all, the offense is rolling.

To summarize the reports from the first week of camp, Justin Fields has been slinging the rock with incredible confidence, anticipation, and accuracy. DJ Moore has been terrorizing the secondary. Kmet has made some circus catches, and Mooney and Claypool are ramping up from their injuries nicely.

Even rookies Tyler Scott and Roschon Johnson have flashed their potential. Scott has struggled with some drops, but his speed is real, and both Fields and PJ Walker have already found him for big downfield completions.

According to multiple reports, Johnson is proving his worth as a pass blocker, far surpassing Khalil Herbert and D’Onta Foreman in pass-blocking drills. I’ve been expecting Johnson to take over the starting running back position at some point this year, and if he proves to be the vastly superior pass blocker, that could be much sooner than later.

I know it’s just practice. I know this is coming against a suspect Bears defense, and they still have to prove it when the games start. But this is the best a Chicago Bears offense has looked in training camp in a long time.

Here’s hoping that the offense, and Justin Fields in particular, can continue to shine. One good week of practice is nice, but like stacking good days of practice, we need to see the Chicago Bears stack good weeks.