October 01, 2022
Bears Analysis

2022 Bears training camp: Offense, defense grades for Aug. 10

By Sean Hammond
Chicago Bears offensive lineman Cody Whitehair, left, works with fellow lineman Shon Coleman during the team's training camp, Saturday, July 30, 2022, in Lake Forest.

Cody Whitehair, Shon Coleman Chicago Bears offensive lineman Cody Whitehair, left, works with fellow lineman Shon Coleman during the team's training camp, Saturday, July 30, 2022, in Lake Forest. (Nam Huh/AP)

LAKE FOREST – Training camp is back in full force and the NFL season is right around the corner. Each day during Bears training camp, Shaw Local will grade the Bears’ offensive and defensive performances.

Shaw Local Senior Bears analyst Hub Arkush and Bears beat reporter Sean Hammond will be out at Halas Hall in Lake Forest each day during camp. Follow Hammond on Twitter here, and follow Arkush on Twitter here.

These grades are subjective and take into account many different factors. No two practices are the same, either. Some days the team will work on specific scenarios like the red zone or two-minute drill, while other days practice could be reduced to a simple walk-through. A good day or a bad day in training camp certainly won’t make or break the season.

Offense: C-

As the first preseason game approaches, the Bears’ 90-man roster is looking thin thanks to injuries. More than a dozen players sat out practice Wednesday. Among them were several projected contributors on offense: running back David Montgomery, tight end Cole Kmet, receiver Byron Pringle and receiver Velus Jones Jr.

With all the injuries, it has been hard to get any sort of read on where this offense is at. Outside of receiver Darnell Mooney, quarterback Justin Fields is throwing to a lot of unproven talent.

Offensive star of the day: Isaiah Coulter

Coulter made two nice catches during practice. One came as he crossed over the middle of the defense, another was a deep ball from Fields in an end-of-game scenario.

Defense: B-

Like the receivers, the secondary continues to work without cornerbacks Kindle Vildor, Thomas Graham Jr. and Tavon Young. Cornerbacks Lamar Jackson and Jaylon Jones have been seeing reps with the first-team defense. They have generally performed well.

Jaylon Johnson, Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker have been rock solid in the secondary. Matthew Adams continues to see a lot of action with Roquan Smith sitting out.

At some point, you would like to see the defense start creating more turnovers.

Defensive star of the day: Caleb Johnson

Johnson has seen some reps with the first-team defense at linebacker with Roquan Smith out. On Wednesday, during a rep with the second-team, Johnson came on a blitz and demolished running back Darrynton Evans. Johnson would’ve likely had a sack if it were live action.

Chicago Bears
Sean Hammond

Sean Hammond

Sean is the Chicago Bears beat reporter for Shaw Media. He also contributes to high school football coverage at Friday Night Drive. Sean has covered various sports at the amateur, college and professional levels since 2012. He joined Shaw Media in 2016.