Chicago Bears training camp: Bears set a new tone with increasingly physical practice

Breaking down the sloppy Bears Family Fest practice at Soldier Field | Chicago Sports Tonight

The Chicago Bears were back at Soldier Field for Family Fest, but Ben Johnson was not happy with the practice. Our panel breaks down the sloppiness in the practice.

Two days removed from a Family Fest practice that Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said was marred by sloppiness, there was a shift in tone.

"We got a little short-yardage, goal line going in," Johnson said. "Today will be a good, physical practice."

Johnson was true to his word. 

The Bears had their most physical practice of training camp by far, and perhaps their most physical training camp practice in years. It challenged both sides of the ball.

A challenged defense:

Defensive back Tyrique Stevenson was asked if he had ever had a camp practice like Tuesday's practice.

Stevenson, playing in his third season, couldn't recall.

"That's the most we ever hit while I was here," Stevenson said. "Everyone came ready to play."

The Bears had live tackling across all the team drills, from the 11-on-11 drills to the 7-on-7 drills. There was no attempt to stave off the physicality, either. The coaches watched it, and allowed it to continue.

The short-yardage work and goal-line situations could be a catalyst for the physicality. That physical energy manifested itself into four scuffles. The first was Rome Odunze taking exception to getting his helmet taken off by a defender. There was a minor scuffle with a general audience after that, but then there were two more that featured Roschon Johnson taking down Jonathan Owens and Gervon Dexter Sr. getting into it with Braxton Jones.

Cornerback Nahshon Wright, who had spent time with the Vikings and Cowboys before joining the Bears this offseason, said that was the most physical practice he had ever had in a training camp, too. 

Wright said Johnson brought the physical tone immediately when he said the offense was coming for the defense. That resonated as a challenge.

"Coaches demanded physicality," Wright said. "He let us know early this morning that's what he wanted today."

The defense responded, which fit defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's mentality. His press-man scheme is something that evokes a certain type of physicality, but also demands the corners believe they're the best out on the field. 

"We want to let you know we're better than you," Stevenson said. "We want to rock ‘n roll."

A determined offense:

The Bears' offense has to prove it's better than what 20,000-plus saw at Family Fest. This kind of physical practice became a challenge.

"It's just one of those days where you kind of get to see what you're about," Roschon Johnson said.

The Bears' offense had that kind of day. They began team drills with a healthy set of positive plays. The first-team offense in the 7-on-7 drills had five completions in a row before Tremaine Edmunds broke up a pass with a bang-bang play near the sidelines.

Then, came the goal-line work.

In three plays, Edmunds stuffed Johnson before Johnson then bowled into the end zone on consecutive plays for touchdowns. It was a reminder of how physical Roschon Johnson is as a Bears' running back, and how he excelled in goal-line situations in the 2024 season. 

Roschon used that physical practice to his benefit, as his scuffle with Owens was just a product of the heightened energy in practice.

"It’s just camp. Football," Roschon said. "When you compete at a high level, stuff like that is bound to happen."

The offense needed a swift jolt of energy after Sunday. The three delay of game penalties were concerning, and Ben Johnson followed that up saying "we're not going to win many games," if the delay of game trend continued.

The offense needed a challenge, and the coaches are delivering that message ahead of the joint practice and preseason game vs. Miami.

It's now time to see who responds to that challenge.

"We really gets to see who really wants to play," Roschon said.