5 takeaways from Bears’ first training camp practice
The Chicago Bears hit the practice field for the first time at training camp on Wednesday, where they conducted a light, scripted practice. But there were still plenty of storylines to monitor, including Andy Dalton’s impressive day and some early injuries to keep an eye on.
As the Bears gear up for their first practice with fans in attendance on Thursday, here’s a look at what we learned from the media during Wednesday’s light practice on Day 1:
Eddie Jackson placed on NFI list, Germain Ifedi on PUP list
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The Bears were without three key players during Wednesday's first practice as safety Eddie Jackson (hamstring), offensive tackle Germain Ifedi and offensive tackle Teven Jenkins (back) were all held out. Following practice, Chicago placed Jackson on the Non-Football Injury list, which indicates his injury occurred away from the team. Once Jackson has been medically cleared, he can return to practice. For Ifedi, he was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list after suffering a hip flexor during his condition test at the start of camp. A player can be removed from the PUP list and start practicing at any time during training camp. But head coach Matt Nagy didn't sound too concerned about those injuries.
Andy Dalton turned heads in first practice
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While there's a ton of excitement surrounding rookie quarterback Justin Fields, veteran Andy Dalton made an impression during the first training camp practice, particularly with his deep-ball accuracy. According to The Athletic's Kevin Fishbain, Dalton had several impressive deep balls to pass catchers on Wednesday, including this beauty of a throw to wide receiver Darnell Mooney. https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1420537051561308160?s=20 Meanwhile, according to Jeff Dickerson, Fields looked "off," but noted that there were scripted drills for the defense. https://twitter.com/BrendanSugrue/status/1420496497255370758?s=20
Robert Quinn out to prove 2020 performance was an outlier
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Arguably the biggest disappointment of the 2020 season was edge rusher Robert Quinn, who managed a career-low two sacks for the Bears after signing a massive contract. When Quinn met with the media on Wednesday, he didn't mince words when describing his performance last season. “I’ll be honest. Just a terrible year for me, personally,” Quinn said, via the Sun-Times. “No excuses. But last year is last year. You can’t change it. So I’ll leave that where it’s at and move on to 2021.” While last year was disappointing, Quinn is looking ahead to the 2021 season, where he understands what the Bears need from him. “Everyone is on the same page, and we understand what I need and what the team needs from me,” Quinn said. “I’ll just leave it at that. They know where I’m best at, and we’ll just keep it there.”
Khalil Mack knows he needs to 'get to the damn quarterback'
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Khalil Mack remains one of the most formidable defensive players in the NFL. But while Mack has always been more than what the box score indicated, his job is ultimately to get after the quarterback. And over the last two seasons, he's failed to notch double-digit sacks, recording 9.0 in 2020. “That’s what we got paid to do, coming in and affecting the game by getting to the quarterback and creating turnovers and short fields for the offense,” Mack said. “Ultimately, that’s the goal. Of course, we’re not satisfied with the result last year. So there’s work to be done. Enough talking, I don’t do that. I don’t like to talk about it.” But Mack knows that he can get back to the level of play that makes him a formidable threat on every play. “For me personally, I know I can play better,” he said. “So ultimately, what I can control is what I can control. And that’s everybody’s approach to this season: What you can control is what you can control. But what you bring to the table, we’ve got to bring it all together and be what we know we can be — and that’s a great defense. Just talking about it is not something that I’m accustomed to. I’m an action guy. So I’m not going to say shit. I’ll show you plays.” While Mack still had a solid season, it was impressive given a string of injuries he suffered throughout the year, where he was a regular on the injury report. But Mack won't make excuses. “I’m out there, I’m 100 percent,” he said. “I’m not blaming anything on anything, you know what I’m saying? When I’m out there, I’m doing whatever I can to help the team win. That’s ultimately the kind of guy you got with me.”
Matt Nagy is going to kick up the tempo in practice
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The Bears are coming off back-to-back 8-8 seasons, which is certainly a disappointment following their 2018 campaign and the talent on this team. Speaking with the media, Nagy promised that there's going to be a sense of urgency throughout training camp as this team looks to rebound in 2021. "When you talk about philosophically where we're at, you're going to see and feel a team that practices hard," Nagy told reporters. "That emphasis that we're talking about is going to be on a different level than what you all have seen in three years here with me." The Bears held a light practice on Wednesday, which was a scripted, no-helmets practice. But expect that to change as the team kicks it into gear.
"The practices that we have are going to be fast," Nagy said. "There's going to be no walking around. Every rep is going to count. In 10 reps, you might see a starter get four reps, but those four reps are going to be a hundred miles an hour—and if they're not, they won't be on the field.
"We're going to take that and we're going to use that for Sundays, and Sundays are going to be easy."
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