Camp Notes: Defense Finally Outplays Offense, Pads Come On Today, Chicago Closing Gap in Quest for New Stadium

The combination of Justin Fields and D.J. Moore continues to be the talk of camp, but the defense finally outplayed the offense on Monday. Tyler Scott and Chase Claypool have been the biggest (and nicest) surprises one week in. The Bears go to full pads tomorrow, so expect Matt Eberflus and his staff to up the intensity. Here are your training camp bullets for Monday, July 31.

By the way, today is MLB’s trade deadline. If you’re a Cubs fan, we’ve got you covered with all the rumors and all the transactions over at Cubs Insider.

Top 3 takeaways from #Bears training camp Monday:

1- Chase Claypool got a bunch of targets, had his best day catching the football.

2- Tyler Scott continues to impress with his noticeable speed.

3- Demarcus Walker has a big voice that is constantly running.

Pads tomorrow.

— Mark Carman (@thecarm) July 31, 2023

• The wait is over. After five practices in shorts, the Bears will go to full pads for the first time on Tuesday. While Eberflus previously noted pads would come on Wednesday, center Cody Whitehair said it’ll happen a day earlier. Nothing irritates me more than fans who say “It means nothing until the pads come on.” I disagree, otherwise why practice at all? That doesn’t make today any less exciting, however.
• Analyst Kyle Brandt said there is “electricity” at Halas Hall this year.
• The first and second-team defense outplayed the Bears’ first and second-team offense.
• Chicago’s receivers group has a chance to be one of the best in the league.
• Wide receiver Dante Pettis remains on the non-football injury (NFI) list, while tight end Chase Allen wasn’t spotted at practice.
• The best battle at camp so far is between rookie cornerbacks Terrell Smith and Tyrique Stevenson. Stevenson has a leg up, but Smith has narrowed the gap considerably and in fact, he could be ahead, albeit slightly.
• Get to know rookie running back Roschon Johnson courtesy of the Bears YouTube channel.
• DeMarcus Walker might be just what the defense needed. Chicago finished with the least sacks in the NFL, but Walker has been a vocal leader who backs up his talk with his play. Walker, who played for the Titans last year, signed a three-year contract to play for the Bears. He’s going to be a fun player to watch once he’s in pads.
• The Bears pressured opposing quarterbacks on 22.3% of their snaps when they didn’t blitz last season and sacked them 2.8% of the time. Expect GM Ryan Poles to find EDGE help before camp breaks.
• Linebacker T.J. Edwards has been a revelation early on, with how he’s handled the communication piece of the defense, and how fast and instinctive he is to the ball.
• Scott has speed to burn, but he’s leaning on veterans Moore, Claypool, Darnell Mooney, and Equanimeous St. Brown to quickly adjust to NFL-caliber competition.
• Scott’s attention to detail is fueled by his love of the game.
• Claypool had his best practice of the summer on Monday, especially during 7-on-7 drills. He was targeted often and made some nice catches, including back-to-back receptions in tight coverage.
• Whitehair and Teven Jenkins are playing new positions this year, and that’s helped to solidify Chicago’s offensive line.
• After an impressive performance in last week’s conditioning test, Bears rookie right tackle Darnell Wright received a congratulatory text from Poles. Wright took the wrong conditioning plan home and trained the same way the Bears ask their wide receivers to.
• The defense accounted for three interceptions, including two from undrafted rookie Bralen Trahan, and they nearly had another from safety Jaquan Brisker, who just missed a P.J. Walker pick on a ball intended for Velus Jones. Cornerback Kyler Gordon also had a key pass breakup to end the two-minute drill.
• Gordon earned the nickname “Spider-Man” from his teammates.
• Hall of Fame candidate Devin Hester was in camp as a guest of special team coordinator Richard Hightower to help Jones beat punted balls to the spot. Learn from the best, right?
• Hightower is impressed with Scott, and said the rookie wide receiver “never makes the same mistake twice.” 
• At this point, why not evaluate what you have in full pads before jumping to sign a Yannick Ngakoue, Justin Houston, or any other pass rusher who remains on the street?
• The Bears signed free agent tight end Jared Pinkney to their 90-man roster on Monday and waived undrafted rookie wideout Thyrick Pitts to free up the roster spot.
• The Bears are aiming to raise standards and expectations.

Five Things

1. Walker is the leader Chicago’s defense has desperately needed since Khalil Mack was traded. Robert Quinn led by example, and Roquan Smith mostly deferred, but Walker has been a vocal presence that nobody can miss. Walker instills hustle and intensity and holds his teams responsible for producing. He’s certainly the prototypical player defined by the HITS philosophy of Coach Eberflus. There’s no dog in Walker, and he’s going to endear himself to Bears fans immediately.
2. Claypool can be the difference between an average and good-to-great season. He’ll add tremendous depth to the receiver’s group if he can play at the same level he did during his rookie and sophomore seasons. He’s playing for pride and a new contract, and that’s exactly the type of chip on his shoulder that Poles likes to see in his players. Claypool is hungry, and if he can continue playing with that hunger, the Bears have a real shot at winning a mediocre NFC  North.
3. Scott is the surprise of camp so far, but Trahan is the player everybody is rooting for. If the UDFA defensive back makes the team, Poles will have gone two-for-two in post-draft signees. Linebacker Jack Sanborn was undrafted last year and he’s one of Chicago’s defensive leaders.
4. Jenkins doesn’t get enough credit for his versatility, He’s now played three positions on the offensive line in three years, and he’s found his niche at guard. After a concerning absence during last year’s camp, he’s quietly become one of the leaders on offense by simply being great at wherever he’s asked to play. I would have thought he would have had a short career in Chicago, but he’ll be in talks for an extension after this year, and he’s deserving of the opportunity to stick around.
5. Don’t look now, but the city of Chicago may be the leader among contenders for a new stadium. Negotiations with Arlington Heights and surrounding school districts have hit a snag. The Bears want “property tax certainty,” and those school districts don’t want to give it to them. The property that was once a horse racing track is still considered the leader, but the bid by Mayor Johnson to keep them in Chicago is a lot closer than most fans think. The stadium decision will depend on money, ease of access for most fans, and how the facility itself increases the value of the franchise. Forbes says the Bears are worth $5.8 billion, and Johnson believes a compromise is available that would keep the Bears in Soldier Field.

Can Kevin Warren’s leadership infuse new energy into Halas Hall? Can he aid Ryan Poles in producing a sustained run of success? Will the Bears head into the 2030s playing in a world-class stadium?

The goals. The vision. The push.

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— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) July 23, 2023

Camp Quotes

• “We’re excited about the season. We’ve improved our roster. We’ve improved continuity and we’re excited about that. We’re excited about raising the level and raising the expectations. I think great teams have high expectations and they go chase that.” – Poles
• “Mooney, he’s a guy that I love, because of his mindset. He is his own man and just like, ‘Listen, do you, man. Just be you. Don’t be a robot. If you see something drawn up on paper, you’ve got to get it done. It’s football. They brought you here for a reason, and you’ve got to do things that separate you from the rest.’ I love that about him.” – Scott
• “The biggest thing is having another year in this offense. Having to move from right guard to left guard, [Jenkins] has done a good job. He’s in a good spot, and we’re just gonna continue to grow and get better.” – Whitehair
• “The guys have nicknamed [Gordon] ‘Spider-Man’ because he is so quick, he is so agile, he is instinctive. He’s got Spidey senses. When he makes a play and you go, ‘Wow, how did he make that,’ ding-ding-ding the Spidey senses are going off. All those things—the quickness, the instincts—they’ve been showing up in a big way.” – Defensive coordinator Alan Williams
• “[Smith has] been really solid. He’s learning the position but he’s got a lot of good speed…a lot of good long speed to him. Good size, too. He’s smart, knows what to do, and how to do it. We’re going to create competition at those spots and that’s certainly one of them that we are doing that. It’s good to see him in there. He did a nice job.” – Eberflus