There will be plenty of new beginnings surrounding the Bears when they start the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings next Monday at Soldier Field.
It’ll be the start of Ben Johnson’s tenure as the Bears’ head coach as well as the debut of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense.
But amid the uncertainty on their own sideline, the Bears will also have to prepare for the unknown on the Vikings’. They’ll need to get ready for first-time starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
“It’s a little bit different,” Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds told reporters virtually Monday. “The first game, the first couple games, going against new quarterbacks, you’re going to come across new things, so you have to trust your technique, trust your fundamentals and trust what you as a defense, scheme-wise.”
Although Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell hasn’t officially announced that McCarthy would start the regular-season opener against the Bears, all signs are pointing in that direction. The La Grange Park native and Nazareth Academy graduate earned most of the first-team snaps during training camp and the team named him a captain last week.
McCarthy will likely play in his first NFL game after a year of setbacks. He entered last year’s training camp as a backup to Sam Darnold and figured to challenge for the starting job as the season progressed after Minnesota selected him No. 10 overall in last year’s draft. But McCarthy missed his entire rookie season after he tore his right meniscus during the preseason.
Edmunds admitted it can be tough to prepare for a quarterback who has little to no NFL film. O’Connell only started McCarthy in Minnesota’s first preseason game against the Houston Texans. McCarthy played one drive that led to a field goal where he completed four of his seven pass attempts for 30 yards.
The Bears didn’t start preparing for the Vikings until Monday, according to Edmunds. But Edmunds did spend time looking at preseason tape to pick up tendencies he could notice about McCarthy and McConnell’s offense.
“We just need to take little things that we pick up here and there and things that may have carried over, whether it’s preseason, whether it’s last year,” Edmunds said. “They still have some of the same guys so even if you’re studying guys versus tendencies and what they like to do. Obviously going into a new year playing against new people, it’s not going to be the same. Obviously studying Darnold is not going to be the same as studying (McCarthy).”
Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has dealt with a hamstring injury for much of camp and could be limited to start the year. Wide receiver Jordan Addison will miss the first three games because of a suspension, Jalen Nailor has been week-to-week with a hand injury while Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Vikings brought back Adam Thielen in a trade last week to boost the wide receiver room.
Edmunds said the Bears want to attack McCarthy right from the start of Monday’s game. But he also knows they can’t just focus on McCarthy.
“Understanding everything that’s at stake, just as far as you know, first game, going against a new quarterback that hasn’t played yet,” Edmunds said. “It’s just a lot of different things. But at end of the day, it’s not more so focusing on (McCarthy), it’s more so focusing on us and making sure that we execute and doing the things that we know how to do.”
The season-opener will be a good opportunity for the Bears’ defense to show what it can do in Allen’s system. Many different Bears defenders, including Edmunds, have looked sharp in camp during joint practices against the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills along with their three preseason games.
“We’ve been working hard to display our talents, and what other way would you want to have it?” Edmunds said. “Opening up the season on Monday night in front of the whole world against a divisional opponent, I mean this is what you work your tail off for, to be in these moments, to be in these games.”