Bear Digest

What Preseason Told Us About the 2024 Chicago Bears

Analysis: It's apparent the Bears are improved from the way they played in preseason, even moreso than the game results, but not everything is positive.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams' snaps were limited in preseason but now it's time for him to show what he can do when everything is on his shoulders.
Caleb Williams' snaps were limited in preseason but now it's time for him to show what he can do when everything is on his shoulders. / Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
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It's easy in the NFL to complete preseason without really knowing what kind of team you have.

The games feature first strings for a quarter, and maybe once in a preseason for a half.

They do not game plan for the opponent. They're still installing parts of their offense or defense depending on how well experienced they are with the systems.

Not everyone even follows the same path. For example, the Bears used starters for a half against Cincinnati while the Bengals played none of their starters. Its common for this type of thing to happen as different teams have different priorities and approach them with different plans.

There have been times when it was impossible to determine where the Bears were based on preseason.

This is not one of those preseasons. There is no doubt they are improved. Any trend toward sloppiness and indecision on offense seemed to vanish by the start of preseason.

Even while playing starters against Cincinnati subs and missing a quarter against Houston's subs in the preseason opener, it was obvious the Bears were better than last year.

Even with a rookie quarterback, they looked improved. The Bengals practice in the rain told more than the game did, and they more than held their own on defense against Joe Burrow by picking him off three times. Meanwhile, Williams impressed Cincinnati so much that reporters from the Queen City were raving about him. And they're used to seeing Burrow's brilliance. The game did nothing to change any of these opinions.

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Here's what preseason revealed about the Bears as they bring their roster down to a size where they no longer to put extra lockers in the middle of the locker room to accomodate 90 players.

Whether it's enough to handle the Lions and Packers in the NFC North remains to be seen, but it's a long time until November when they face division teams for the first time. These strengths or weaknsesses coming out of preseason can change by November.

1. Higher Offensive Efficiency

When the Bears started camp, they were complaining about the cadence issues and couldn’t get plays off properly. It was a holdover from OTAs.

When they finished four preseason games, they had committed 13 fewer penalties than opponents, averaged 2.5 yards more per play than opponents and achieved perfect balance overall with 66.7% pass completions and 206.5 passing yards per game and 120.3 rushing yards per game. They outrushed four opponents by 33.3 yards per game and out-passed them by 58.2 yards per game (206.5-148.3).

It was their best completion percentage for quarterbacks in a preseason since 2015 and they threw for almost 300 more yards in this preseason than in that one but did it in one quarter less because they didn’t play the fourth quarter against the Texans in the Hall of Fame Game.

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While the starters didn’t have the passing percentage success the backups did, they produced points and moved the ball even with a rookie quarterback.

The goal is bigger plays and fewer mistakes and the Bears showed in preseason they understand how to achieve this. The system lends itself to this style of play.

2. Caleb Williams Needs Reps in the Pocket

When former NFL QB and analyst Shaun King last week criticized Williams after the spectacular throws of preseason, it had Bears fans bristling.

“There's a glaring deficiency that Caleb Williams has that he needs to fix,” King said on Fox radio. “I don't think he sees the field well. When you watch him play, you rarely see him in the pocket, in rhythm, delivering the football on time. Almost all of his highlight plays are broken plays. I think it’s because he doesn’t see the field well from the pocket.”

This isn’t new but it also isn’t true almost all of them were on extended or what he called broken plays. Some were intentional bootlegs or rollouts designed to get him outside of the pocket on the move to take advantage of his ability to throw on the run. He also thew some from inside the pocket.

Williams sees the field like most rookie quarterbacks do but needs to learn the offense and how it attacks defenses better.

Still, it underscored more needs to happen with Williams within the pocket and he needs to work at this even if practices are now aimed at winning games and not just improving player skills.

Until his game is more diverse, Williams will not have the consistency the Bears need to be a playoff team. He was their only QB without a passer efficiency rating of 100 or higher. And he didn’t even hit 80. He’ll have to make up for it with the big plays. Without efficiency, and with big plays, he’ll need to avoid turnovers. This is rare for a rookie.

Translated: He’ll need to take the normal rookie lumps.

3. Dumb Call

There is nothing wrong with Keenan Allen. He’s been blanketed often by Jaylon Johnson, or he paces himself in practices and still makes plays. The fact he didn’t make them in preseason games means nothing. He has been through enough preseasons to know the overall significance of game production compared to how he prepares himself for the season. 

There was no more blatant example of how ready he is than when this silly rumor started about him being out of shape and struggling. The next practice he went out and made four big-time plays, including beating Johnson off the line with a slant that went to the house.

If Allen is fat, old and out of shape, we all need to get fat old and out of shape.

4. Running Game Health

The first half of preseason games is more of a true test of how healthy a team’s running game is, partly because more starters or backups play than later but also because regular-season NFL games mix in the run and pass more during the first half.

The real question for the Bears heading into camp was whether they could establish a running attack independent of a running quarterback. So much of their running game came from the quarterback when they had Justin Fields. Also, there had to be questions about their ability to run with this offensive line because in preseason it varied greatly with Nate Davis injured at times, Ryan Bates out since July and with earlier injuries to Darnell Wright and Braxton Jones toward the beginning of camp. They also were using a new center in Coleman Shelton.

Instead, the Bears ran the ball for a 4.58-yard average in the first half of preseason games with 46 attempts and 211 yards. If they can run, they can balance out the offense and make it even easier for Caleb Williams to operate.

5. Improved Pass Rush But…

The Bears made 12 preseason sacks, more than they have had in any preseason since 2019 when they had Chuck Pagano as defensive coordinator in Khalil Mack’s first Bears preseason. Coincidentally, the offensive line allowed only two sacks. So it was a plus-10 sack differential in four preseason games.

Their pass rush pressure from the front four has generally been far better than in Eberflus’ first two training camps and it indicates the subs in their rush rotation are better because they don’t play Montez Sweat and DeMarcus Walker as much as the others.

They didn’t have consistent pressure early against Houston in the Hall of Fame Game and it was the only time they played from behind in preseason.

The effect from acquiring Darrell Taylor isn’t part of preseason, so it could be an extra kick involved to get the rush at a more consistent level.

The Bears came into the offseason work needing to see they had a complement Montez Sweat. They will head into the season knowing they made a move to provide this with Taylor, and that interior rusher Gervon Dexter has a year of experience he didn’t have last year when the season started.

When they started last season, Justin Jones was still the starting 3-technique and he had a year of experience playing this position in the NFL. They’re right back where they were last year on the interior until Dexter proves he can be a force. On the outside they do have better ability to support their starters with a rotation because of Taylor and Austin Booker.

It’s improved but the degree is the issue. They needed to step it up even to a higher level than where they ended it last year.

6. Punt Return Standoff

No one in preseason or training camp stepped forth to seize the unclaimed punt return job. DeAndre Carter was brought in to do this but made a mess of it against the Chiefs by being duped into a “muff,” as he was blocked back into a bouncing football. If any punt returner surprised, Greg Stroman Jr. and Josh Blackwell did. No one thought much about their abilities to do it and they showed they could. This is definitely not a strength.

7. Jon Hoke’s Mastery

With three interceptions coming from cornerbacks and an opposing completions below 63% for preseason, there is again evidence of cornerbacks coach John Hoke working his magic.

Reddy Steward’s standout play in preseason and some practices as an undrafted rookie is one specific example. The Bears secondary is deep and continues to get deeper as they gain more knowledge on how to play the scheme while being coached on fundamentals by Hoke.

If they get the pressure on quarterbacks they hope for from Sweat in his first full Bears season, the cornerbacks will be able to make more plays on the football. They made plays on the ball far more in preseason than in the first two years under coach Matt Eberflus and Hoke gets some of the credit, along with Ryan Poles and Ian Cunningham for identifying the talent.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain

GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher 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.