Inside the tasks the Chicago Bears want to accomplish in Week 0

The Chicago Bears are in Week 0.

That is, the week before the first week of the season. The 53-man roster is still shuffling, there’s much to figure out and still much to get done on the practice field.

Bears coach Ben Johnson isn’t taking practices lightly, either,

"Shoot, I look back to Game 1 last year," Johnson said. "We had a number of situational plays pop up in that game that we didn't execute at a high enough level."

That’s what is at stake in Week 0.

Here’s what the Bears can accomplish this week as the regular season quickly approaches.

Big picture view:

The Bears don’t want to fall short in Week 1 like they did last year against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.

That was Ben Johnson’s first game as the head coach of the Chicago Bears. They lost 27-24. It undoubtedly remains in Johnson’s mind.

"We're going to make sure we don't fall in that same trap again this year," he said on Tuesday.

With that in mind, the Bears have a strict schedule this week.

Tuesday was a special teams day. Wednesday will be a situational drill day. Thursday will be a padded practice that’s specifically placed to bridge the Bears into Week 1.

That’s when everything they’ve done will bring them to where they need to be.

"That's why that Thursday practice this week is going to be so critical to making sure everything we've built up to this point," Johnson said. "Stamina, endurance, pad level, fundamentals, technique, that we don't lose that as they get some time off this weekend."

Johnson doesn’t want the Bears to lose their edge. The team knows they’ve built up what they wanted to build up.

"I thought we definitely got better. I feel like I got better individually. Most importantly, as a team, we got better," Bears tight end Colston Loveland said. "We kind of found our identity: finishing physical in the run game and in the pass game. We, I feel like, lasted longer being able to practice for long period of time, the way we practice, the live periods, I think that'll help us build a callus."

Roster Management:

The Bears are still shuffling around their roster, too.

The team officially put safety Coby Bryant and tight end Hayden Large on injured reserve. They can return at some point in the season if they’re healthy enough.

"Hopefully, those guys can make it back at some point on the back end of the season," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said.

That allowed them to bring defensive lineman James Lynch and linebacker Jack Sanborn back to the active roster. The Bears needed an extra linebacker with only four on the roster, and Keyshaun Elliott only recently being elevated from the physically unable to perform list.

The Bears still have open practice squad spots, too. They signed three more players on Tuesday – Buddy Johnson, Christian Jones and Zavier Scott – and have two more spots they could use to reach 16. 

Dig deeper:

Running back Kyle Monangai, defensive end Austin Booker and linebacker D’Marco Jackson were not present at practice on Tuesday.

Johnson said Monangai is week-to-week, and Poles said he’s unsure if Booker will be ready to go for Week 1.

BearsSports