PHIL THOMPSON CHICAGO TRIBUNE
The NFL season kicks off Thursday with a prime-time showdown between the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys — and the Chicago Bears will be under their own spotlight when they host the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football.”
What will quarterback Caleb Williams look like in first-year coach Ben Johnson’s offense?
How will Dennis Allen’s defense perform against Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, making his NFL debut?
Even with an extra day, the Bears have a lot of preparations ahead of them this week.
“Camp is one thing, but when you start game planning, you start really putting into how you want to execute a game plan,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said Monday. “We haven’t got into that yet.”
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Still, players left training camp last week feeling a lot of optimism.
“Excited,” said Drew Dalman, who signed a three-year, $42 million contract in March to become the Bears’ new center. “I feel like we had a really good camp, working hard and making progress. So I think we have a lot of confidence and a lot of momentum going into the season.”
Here are three things we learned from Monday’s virtual news conference with Edmunds and Dalman.
1. A new wrinkle to the Vikings offense — and a troubling old one.
The lack of pro tape on McCarthy presents a challenge. It’s hard to pick up tendencies from the La Grange Park native, who completed 4 of 7 attempts for 30 yards in his lone preseason appearance Aug. 9 against the Houston Texans.
And McCarthy didn’t play at all as a rookie last season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee in the preseason.
“We watched a little bit of preseason,” Edmunds said. “You may look at a little bit of stuff from last year as well” with Sam Darnold at quarterback for the Vikings.
“It’s always kind of hard going against a new quarterback because there’s not a lot of film out there. We just need to take little things that we pick up here and there.”
Regardless of who’s under center, Edmunds said, “you have to trust your technique, trust your fundamentals and trust what you (have) as a defense, scheme-wise.”
While McCarthy represents the unknown, the Bears know they’ve struggled against Aaron Jones and the Vikings running game. In two meetings last season, the dual threat compiled 235 yards from scrimmage — including a 106-yard rushing day Nov. 24 at Soldier Field — in a pair of Minnesota wins.
That game plan also is in the works, Edmunds said.
“Aaron Jones is a good player,” he said. “He’s been a good player in this league for a while now. … We’ve got to do a good job of knowing who their guys are and … making sure we understand and have awareness of where they are on the field and how they’re trying to attack us.”
Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson (1) smiles as he chats with officials during a commercial in the second half during a game between the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Viking at U.S Bank Stadium on Dec. 16, 2024, in Minneapolis. The Vikings beat ...
Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson (1) smiles as he chats with officials during a commercial last year. Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
2. Drew Dalman and Caleb Williams have a direct line of communication.
Williams isn’t a rookie, but as a second-year quarterback playing in a new scheme, you could forgive observers for wanting to make that comparison.
Dalman, who’ll be snapping the ball to Williams this season, has experience working with inexperienced quarterbacks such as the Atlanta Falcons’ Michael Penix, a rookie last season.
“It’s just focusing on — maybe a bit cliche — one task at a time,” Dalman said. “On any given play, you’ve got a whole sequence of: ‘Let’s get the play correct for all of us. Let’s all get lined up correctly. Let’s all remember the snap count.’”
It’s not dissimilar with Williams.
Bears Vikings Football (copy)
Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams walks off the field after an incomplete third down pass against the Vikings. Abbie Parr, Associated Press
“We’ve done a really good job of communicating with each other,” Dalman said, “and letting each other know what’s helpful, what’s not helpful, what kind of things he really likes to hear from me and what things we (on the offensive line) need to hear from him.”
Still, the starting offense under Williams was prone to pre-snap hiccups in training camp and preseason games.
“That falls on everybody’s shoulders,” Dalman said. “I don’t think that’s just Caleb or any one person.”
He said he has seen Williams’ confidence in managing the huddle grow. It just takes repetitions.
“When you first start out you have a lot of things on your mind, so it’s hard to focus on any one thing,” Dalman said. “And then the more reps you get, the more things become a bit more unconscious and you rattle them off quicker. So I think that stuff is progressing.”
3. Micah who?
If the stunning trade of Micah Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys to the Green Bay Packers last week was enough to tip the scales in the NFC North, the Bears certainly aren’t letting on.
The Pro Bowl pass rusher’s sudden arrival with the Bears’ archrival seemed to barely register a blink.
“Honestly, man, I’m worried about what we’ve got going on here in Chicago,” Edmunds said.
Dalman added: “I mean, I heard some guys talking about it, but I didn’t see. … Great player and all that, so it’ll be a good challenge and everything. But honestly, right now, I feel like we’re so one-week-at-a-time that that’s very much on the back burner.”
The Bears won’t see the Packers until Week 14 on Dec. 7 in Green Bay.
“We’re focused on Minnesota and we’ll handle all those things when they come,” Dalman said.
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