Bears training camp preview: Justin Fields’ command of offense; how well will OL play?

One thing’s for certain, the Chicago Bears aren’t short on belief in themselves.

As far back as this summer’s organized team activities, we’ve heard both offensive and defensive players talking about how good they think Chicago can be.

Heck, defensive captain Eddie Jackson vowed to have ‘one of the best seasons ever played by a safety’ during minicamp this year.

Minicamp will never be enough to portend whether that belief is warranted. This was a three-win team in 2022 and contact isn’t allowed during the offseason program. Now begins training camp, and though the pads won’t be on for another week or so, we can start answering some glaring questions about the 2023 Bears.

Will Justin Fields demonstrate more of a command of the offense?

For the first time in Fields’ young career, he will captain an offense he’s actually been in before. Matt Nagy was the Bears’ head coach and offensive play-caller in Fields’ rookie season. The team then cleaned house prior to last year, installing Matt Eberflus as head coach, who brought in a new offensive system under offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.  

That means Fields will start over, especially given the fact that Nagy and Getsy are from two different NFL coaching trees and therefore deploy different concepts. Getsy was also tasked with learning more about Fields, a quarterback his head coach didn’t draft, and tailoring a system to fit his skillset. The growing pains were evident in 2022. 

The Bears didn’t have the right personnel surrounding Fields, either. The offensive line was a revolving door due to injury and evaluations. Darnell Mooney was thrust into a No. 1 receiver role before he was ready. There just weren’t enough offensive weapons to create any meaningful production, and it showed.

But that was the learning year. Fields (and Getsy) now enter into 2023 knowing what they’re getting into and can hopefully build from the foundation they set up last year. Fields has been working out all offseason, if social media is any indication, but seemed to be more confident during the offseason program and especially in minicamp.

“He’s a lot more commanding in the huddle than I feel like he used to be,” left guard Teven Jenkins told FOX Sports at the annual OL Masterminds summit earlier this month. “He’s definitely matured in that way. He’s demanding a lot of everybody right now and I feel like there’s like a sense of urgency for myself, you know, just even stepping up in my game because he’s stepping himself up with his responsibilities.”

That’s exactly what the Bears want to hear from a guy they think could be their franchise quarterback. Training camp will be Fields’ first real opportunity to show that maturity.

How is the chemistry between Fields and D.J. Moore developing?

The biggest addition to the Bears’ offense is Moore, whose assumption of the No. 1 role has put the rest of the Bears’ receiving corps back in their rightful places. Mooney is a No. 2 or high-end No. 3 guy whose speed can stretch the field. Chase Claypool (fresh off the PUP list as of Tuesday) can hopefully be relied upon inside the red area and on contested catches with his 6-foot-4 frame. Robert Tonyan should be a reliable pass-catching tight end, which allows Cole Kmet to be the combination player he was meant to be. There’s a total domino effect when you bring in a guy like Moore.

All reports from what we’ve been able to see in minicamp — and what we’ve heard from players, both offensive and defensive — is that Fields and Moore are already on the same page. During minicamp, defensive tackle Justin Jones even predicted their connection was going to be “crazy” this season. Moore was also part of a group that worked out with Fields in Miami this summer, according to pictures posted on Fields’ social media account. 

Plus, Moore has needed to be a chameleon his entire career. In Carolina, he cycled through more than eight different quarterbacks and despite the lack of continuity, he strung together three consecutive 1,100-yard seasons from 2019-2021 and still had nearly 900 yards last year while scoring a career-high seven touchdowns. Change is nothing new for Moore, and he should be able to be productive right away with Fields. All eyes will be on those two to see if they can continue to build upon the connection they already have as training camp ramps up.

Will offensive line continuity manifest into more protection for Fields this year?

The Bears know their starting five on the offensive line already. They’ve known since before minicamp, when Eberflus announced it to the media. Even with as many question marks as there were on the line and players playing out of position, they still managed to block for the league’s best rushing attack. As far as run-blocking grades, the Bears’ offensive line ranked in the top 10 last year, according to PFF. Now, it’s about consistently holding the pocket in the passing game — and Fields is going to need it.

Fields has a cannon for an arm, but he wasn’t at all able to use it last season due to breakdowns in protection and the QB not trusting his blockers even when he could. Continuity should breed trust in addition to consistency so Fields can let the big play develop and take more shots. 

To see a better pass/rush split this year, Fields is going to need chunk yardage and big plays. It should also have a domino effect on the offense in general and open things up. The Bears have all the tools to deploy a well-balanced offense that confuses defenses. But to execute it, and therefore show Chicago Fields is the quarterback of the future, the offensive line has to set the tone.

We won’t be able to see much until the pads come on in that regard but when they do, look for five guys moving in unison during training camp. That should bode well for the season to come.

Carmen Vitali covers the NFC North for FOX Sports. Carmen had previous stops with The Draft Network and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She spent six seasons with the Bucs, including 2020, which added the title of Super Bowl Champion (and boat-parade participant) to her résumé. You can follow Carmen on Twitter at @CarmieV.