Jason Lieser: Breaking down the Bears’ best, worst of…

Jason Lieser: Breaking down the Bears’ best, worst of camp, including Eddie Jackson seeking some love from the fans

Mitch Trubisky has been OK. The Bears need him to be better. | [Brian O’Mahoney/For the Sun-Times]

After watching Bears training camp for more than a week, Sun-Times reporter Jason Lieser analyzes how the team looks so far:

The most memorable part of training camp thus far …

Eddie Jackson having to remind fans to cheer for the defense. Even in Chicago, where the Bears’ legacy is mostly defense, people love touchdowns. Fans in the end zone just stood there disappointed after a red-zone stop, and Jackson walked over to clap at them and prod them to get happy.

Mitch Trubisky has looked …

Average — and that’s not good enough. “He is doing well, [but] he’s not where we want him to be yet,” coach Matt Nagy said of his accuracy, which is the aspect he most needs to improve. Everything around Trubisky is perfectly in place. The season hinges on Trubisky taking a big step from last year, and he hasn’t shown that yet.

Is the Bears’ Week 1 kicker on their roster?

No. Regardless of how well Eddy Pineiro or Elliott Fry do, this season is too important to entrust it to someone inexperienced. There are always more veteran kickers than jobs, and general manager Ryan Pace has been tracking other teams’ competitions. The Bears’ kicker will probably be someone they sign a few days before the opener.

When preseason games start Thursday, I want to see …

Ha Ha Clinton-Dix working at safety. Clinton-Dix came off the physically unable to perform list Tuesday and might not be game-ready when the Bears host the Panthers on Thursday. They took a risk by signing him as an affordable replacement for Adrian Amos. He needs to prove he belongs.

He’s been impressive in camp …

Wide receiver Javon Wims. It’s still tough for him to make the roster because the Bears have a glut of good receivers, but he’s been making plays left and right. If he can keep that up during the preseason games, he might get someone’s attention and become a trade asset for the Bears.

The Bears should be concerned about …

Their tight ends behind Trey Burton. Burton is hitting his prime and will get a significant opportunity this season if he stays healthy. The problem for the Bears is they don’t have anyone else who has shown they can be a pass-catching threat at tight end. They’re desperate for someone to make headway in that area.

Matt Nagy’s biggest challenge in 2019 will be …

Navigating the kicker situation. One thing that often gets lost is that this is all new to Nagy as a first-time head coach. When the Bears settle on a kicker, he must decide whether he’ll ride with that guy no matter what or keep him on a short leash. How he handles this will ripple through his locker room because of how last season ended.

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here