The Chicago Bears’ fourth organized team activities are in the books, and the Tribune’s Rich Campbell has some notable absences:
Leonard Floyd is a surprise among those not in attendance. For what it’s worth, Willie Young, Eddie Goldman, Danny Trevathan, and Zach Miller are coming off seasons in which they dealt with various injuries. As a reminder, OTAs are voluntary, so we shouldn’t be too surprised when certain players don’t show up.
Among the observations from those on hand, Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times says the defense was better than the offense. Considering all the new pieces on the offensive side of the ball, this isn’t much of a surprise. Of course, this isn’t to say that the defense doesn’t have its share of new faces too, but generally, defenses have a leg up early in camp and during offseason training.
Newbie-on-newbie crime took place on Tuesday when cornerback Prince Amukamara intercepted quarterback Mike Glennon. Safety Adrian Amos also picked off a pass, according to Pro Football Weekly’s Arthur Arkush, who remarked that it wasn’t a great day for Bears’ quarterbacks (joy). However, that does mean it was probably a good day for the defense, right?! And since Vic Fangio’s squad didn’t pick off too many passes in 2016, you’ll take production whenever and wherever you can get it.
Arkush also chimed in on rookie running back Tarik Cohen with this description of the 5-foot-6 speedster:
Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains could receive a pleasant surprise in Cohen, who, unlike the team’s other running backs, has a reputation (albeit one built on the college level) of being a playmaker catching the ball out of the backfield. That was a missing element when Matt Forte missed time in 2015 and Jeremy Langford (52.4% catch rate) filled in, and again in 2016 with Jordan Howard (58.0% catch rate) in a Pro Bowl season. In any case, the Bears will need to be creative with their backs in order to add a wrinkle to a passing offense that could certainly use a boost.
In case you missed it, wide receiver Kevin White returned to the practice field on Tuesday … and he sounds motivated.
Like White, outside linebacker Lamarr Houston is trying to bounce back from a season ending injury. Chris Emma of CBS Chicago reports that Houston, who is participating in OTAs, says he is progressing well after a season-ending ACL injury.
While it’s tough to draw grand conclusions from a handful of practices, Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com sees the Bears receivers and defensive backs standing out from the group in the early going. The two position groups combined have added 12 players (seven receivers, three cornerbacks, two safeties) this offseason, so it’s possible that the roster turnover at those respective spots could result in improved play.
And for those of you who are visually inclined to see what some of the new Bears look like:
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