IMPASSE AWAY: BEARS, SMITH FINALLY COME TO TERMS ON ROOKIE DEAL
After missing all of camp with his holdout, Smith now faces the work of catching up
The Sun-Times’ Adam L. Jahns, Patrick Finley and Mark Potash break down how the Bears progressed through training camp, which ended Sunday, and what lies ahead:
The Bears and rookie linebacker Roquan Smith will . . .
Jahns: ... come to forget their contract impasse, which ended Monday. But it’ll take time because Smith has missed so much preparation. The language in his contract will be different than what’s in everyone else’s deals. Now he’ll have to prove he was worth it. It’s about time he left behind Athens, Georgia, to join his new team for good.
Finley: ... have less than four weeks to get ready for the Packers in the season opener. If Smith stays healthy — if he doesn’t push to get himself caught up physically with his teammates overnight — that should be enough time to earn the starting job, if he plays well. As coach Matt Nagy likes to say, he needs to develop a callous.
Potash: ... have time to get Smith acclimated into defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s system. Smith won’t be rushed or pushed to win the starting job. That’s one benefit of a first-round draft pick joining a top-10 defense where he’ll be surrounded by players with a lot of familiarity in the system. Smith faces a challenge, but compared with savior draft picks, he has the wind at his back. He doesn’t have to start Week 1 and likely will not.
The biggest challenge awaiting Smith is . . .
Jahns: . . . winning over teammates. Sure, he’ll be welcomed with hugs and fist bumps, but he should still be ready to hear jokes about missing the Bears’ entire stay in Bourbonnais. Smith is a special talent, but his search for a special contract has slowed his development. His teammates will be able to tell that on the field. Smith’s mistakes — and any potential injuries — will be magnified because of his lengthy absence.
Finley: . . . getting into game shape. If Smith is as good in coverage as the Bears think he is, he should play almost every down. No matter how hard he worked out back home, there’s no substitute for practice time — and preseason game action — to get ready.
Potash: . . . avoiding injury as
he either consciously or subconsciously tries to catch up on missed time. You’re never in as good a shape as you think you are when you’re working out on your own and not playing actual football.
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky has been . . .
Jahns: . . . better than some are saying. Those who expected Trubisky to turn into Carson Wentz overnight had unrealistic expectations heading into camp. Wentz didn’t take off until his second season in Eagles coach Doug Pederson’s offense. Trubisky only has been in Nagy’s offense for several months. Give him time. His determination and work ethic will take him far, but it’s still a complicated system.
Finley: . . . what the Bears expected. Criticism about interceptions in practice or two sloppy drives in a measly preseason game miss the point. Training camp is for Trubisky to learn the offense and lead his teammates, and he’s doing both.
Potash: . . . good enough, considering he’s learning a new offensive system, getting acclimated to new receivers and playing against a top-10 defense that has had much greater familiarity and cohesiveness.
I’m concerned about . . .
Jahns: . . . outside linebacker Aaron Lynch and his ailing hamstring. Nagy said Lynch had a few setbacks in camp. That’s a problem at a problem position. The Bears are short on proven players at outside linebacker. Even Leonard Floyd has much to show in his third season. The Bears need Lynch to answer the bell, but questions about his durability and fitness appear as if they’ll linger.
Finley: . . . the Bears’ pass rush. Lynch hurt his hamstring on the first day of practice, leaving a thin position even worse. Floyd’s return to health is reassuring, and Isaiah Irving and Kylie Fitts have shown promise. Still, the Bears need more at outside linebacker.
Potash: . . . Trubisky suffering a significant injury. He’s the one player the Bears cannot afford to lose. Backup quarterback Chase Daniel knows Nagy’s system well, but he’s not Trubisky, or Nick Foles, for that matter.
Be excited about . . .
Jahns: . . . the Bears’ offensive talent. The days of throwing passes to Josh Bellamy and Deonte Thompson are gone. Camp showed that the Bears are deeper, with plenty of threats around Trubisky. They include receivers Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller, tight ends Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen and running backs Tarik Cohen and Jordan Howard.
Finley: . . . the Bears’ newfound depth at receiver. If Miller comes close to repeating what he has done in practice, the Bears will have added four pass-catchers — Miller, Robinson, Gabriel and Burton — more dangerous than anyone who played a regularseason game for them last year.
Potash: . . . a season of Bears football without the dread of watching a wayward team spinning its wheels and a coaching-staff death watch in the second half. The Bears will struggle, but unless Trubisky is a bust, most of their mistakes will be in the name of progress and not because they lack an NFL-quality receiving corps or an inventive game plan. Long, long way to go, but barring major injuries, the Bears should at least be improved this season.
My training camp MVP was . . .
Jahns: . . . Miller, and there isn’t a close second. The Bears’ secondround pick impressed every day. He runs routes like a veteran. The separation Miller gained with his footwork on seemingly every snap was significant. He’ll contribute this season, and fans will love him.
Finley: . . . Nagy. Miller and cornerback Prince Amukamara can arm-wrestle over the award for best camp performance, but the first-year coach has invigorated a franchise whose last winning season was three coaches ago.
Potash: . . . defensive end Akiem Hicks. It’s hard to make judgments based on training camp, but Hicks is coming off back-to-back years of growth — with a lot of eyes on him — and looks ready to take another step this season. Nose tackle Eddie Goldman looks better, too, which only increases the possibility that Hicks will have a huge season in 2018.
Matt Nagy has proven to be . . .
Jahns: . . . the breath of fresh air the Bears desperately needed. The different vibe around the team starts with him. He’s nothing like John Fox or Marc Trestman on or off the field. It’s OK to be excited about Nagy’s pairing with Trubisky. It might just work.
Finley: . . . himself. Friends who have known him since college are impressed he hasn’t transformed into a screamer, dictator or philosopher simply because he’s now a head coach. Being comfortable in his own skin will help him navigate the ups and downs of the NFL season. And there will be plenty.
Potash: . . . not Fox. It remains to be seen if the Bears’ offense can execute on game day what it’s implementing in training camp, but until then, Nagy has been a breath of fresh air. Andy Reid indeed seems to prepare his coaches well; Nagy rarely, if ever, looks like a rookie head coach. His handling of injuries and Smith’s holdout has been admirable.