Chicago Bears situational day is a reminder of what needs to be solidified before Week 1

Week 0 continues for the Chicago Bears. The team held a situational day where they practiced end-of-half and end-of-game situations.

The Bears' situational day on Wednesday was a reminder of what the team needs to figure out and solidify before Week 1 comes around in about 10 days.

Namely, who's at left tackle, who plays where in the secondary and who's available?

Who's Left Tackle:

Bears head coach Ben Johnson was pretty confident on Tuesday. The team is going to be fine no matter who's at left tackle.

"I think we're going to be good to go for Week 1," Johnson said. "We'll talk a little bit more as a staff just to make sure we're all aligned, but I think we're going to be in good shape."

But, that still needs to be ironed out.

Theo Benedet and Braxton Jones split reps with the first-team offense on Wednesday in situational drills. Jones has been the frontrunner considering his ability to block in both the run and the pass game. However, if he was a cemented starter at left tackle, then it's fair to assume Benedet wouldn't be getting first-team reps.

Then, there's Ozzy Trapilo.

The second-year tackle from Boston College was able to recover from a torn patellar tendon in January enough to come off the physically unable to perform list. However, the Bears still need more from him. Specifically, they need to see him participate in drills.

"It's playing football," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said on Tuesday. "There's definitely rust to knock off. I don't know how long that'll take before he's involved with the game plan and starting or a rotational guy or active. It's too early to tell right now."

Either way, the Bears are confident the offense can execute with whomever is playing at left tackle.

"We're going to be able to operate as an offense and I think we'll be able to score points," Johnson said. "It's going to take all 11 of those guys out there in order to get that done."

The Secondary: Who Plays Where:

On Wednesday, Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen spoke very matter-of-fact about Clark Phillips III. He had been through just one practice and that was focused on special teams.

However, it remains to be seen where Phillips will play: inside cornerback or outside? That's to be determined, but Allen already sees Phillips being a part of the competition.

"I see him fitting into that nickel mix," Allen said. "How quickly does he pick everything up?"

The Bears have rookie defensive back Malik Muhammad playing at nickel cornerback with the first-team defense. But, if he needs to rotate to the outside because of an injury then someone needs to fill in at nickel.

Phillips could be that player.

The Bears also need to decide who plays safety next to Dillon Thieneman. Xavier Woods took first-team reps at safety next to Thieneman on Wednesday. Thursday's padded practice could be the most telling as to who might be in line to get that starting safety spot. 

Who'll Be Available:

There was plenty of the same on Wednesday.

Running back Kyle Monangai, defensive end Austin Booker and linebacker D’Marco Jackson were all not present at practice again. It seems Monangai and Booker, both designated as week-to-week by Johnson, are not available this week.

Next week will be the biggest indicator if they'll be able to go in Week 1.

Without Booker, the Bears' pass rush takes a hit. That means more will be expected of Dayo Odeyingbo and perhaps even Marcus Davenport gets elevated for Week 1.

The Bears will most likely elevate Salvon Ahmed from the practice squad if Monangai is not ready to go for Week 1. Still, D'Andre Swift said on Wednesday he saw Monangai and that he seemed fine and ready to go. Since there was no overt concern for Monangai, he could be held out for precautionary reasons.

What they're saying:

Allen's defense gains a defensive back in Phillps, but loses a defensive tackle in Gervon Dexter Sr. In the defensive coordinator's mind, that's a fair trade.

Allen said the defensive tackle room is one of the deepest units on the team. Rookie Jordan van den Berg made strides in camp, but Kentavius Street had a strong training camp, too. Allen beamed when talking about Street.

"Quite honestly, I think he was the most-productive tackle we had throughout the course of training camp," Allen said. "He's got the suddenness and the explosiveness off the ball that we're looking for to create penetration and disrupt the line of scrimmage."

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