The biggest obstacles facing the Chicago Bears right now in 2024…..

The biggest obstacles facing the Chicago Bears right now in 2024.

The Bears will hold a mandated minicamp for three days beginning Tuesday, and it will be the first time they have practiced with the whole squad, or at least those who are healthy enough to practice.

So far, certain players have consistently been absent at various periods during voluntary exercises known as OTAs.

Just before their first practice on a field together, it’s a good idea to identify the major challenges they’ll confront.

It’s been four seasons since they made the playoffs, six since they won a division, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 2010. Overcoming a history of losing isn’t one of their issues, though, given the high turnover in personnel and coaching over the years.

The team’s owners and fans are the only ones who bear responsibility for their defeats.

Since their previous playoff victory, they’ve had five head coaches. The only remaining Bears from the 2020 playoff team are kicker Cairo Santos, long snapper Patrick Scales, tight end Cole Kmet, and cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Scales is the sole remaining member of their division’s title squad from 2018.

NFL = Not for Long. The cast changes, and so do the challenges.

Caleb Williams represents a sort of rebirth, but only at one position, despite being the first pick in the draft.

Here are the five most pressing issues facing the Bears in 2024 as they approach required practice, and they have nothing to do with training camp on HBO’s Hard Knocks.

5. The Defensive Line

This is a personnel issue. It’s something you’d expect them to have corrected by now, but GM Ryan Poles prioritized other positions over it.

It’s possible they’ll have a solution in some form, but this is the team with the fewest sacks in 2022 and the second-fewest last year, despite adding edge rusher Montez Sweat and improving the rush. The lack of a pass rush from the front four is an issue when the coach employs a defensive strategy based on the assumption that they will play seven in coverage and not blitz.

Will Austin Booker, a fifth-round rookie defensive end, find a way to contribute in the rush? Can one of the others who haven’t done it yet, such as DeMarcus Walker, Gervon Dexter, Dominique Robinson, or Zacch Pickens, emerge as a force in this scheme?

It’s not only the pass rush. They lost 3-technique Justin Jones to free agency and are banking on Dexter or Pickens to replace him in their second year, since neither approached even average run defense, according to Pro Football Focus grades.

4. Regaining Winning Momentum

Almost always, teams must learn to win together in order to figure things out. They come to an epiphany as a team, and once they do, they can move on to higher prizes. Detroit did it.

Last year, the Bears appeared to have developed the confidence and knowledge as a team to win games after suffering a 14-game losing run, an 11-game divisional losing streak, and an eight-game home losing skid.

The recipe was a defense that forced turnovers and an attack that featured a running quarterback who had never passed for 2,600 yards but had run for more than 1000. The dynamic that helped them win five of the last eight games, including five of the last six at home, has shifted.

Can they rapidly restore the momentum they appeared to have in the second half of last season, or will they have to re-establish it?

3. The NFC North

It was exactly 30 years ago that the Bears defeated the Detroit Lions at home in November and advanced to the playoffs with a 9-7 record under coach Dave Wannstedt. What’s the significance? That season, the Lions, Vikings, and Packers all made the playoffs alongside the Bears. Tampa Bay was also a member of the NFC Central at the time, and the Buccaneers were the only team that missed the playoffs.

The same four divisional teams appear to be on the rise, and some observers would not be surprised if all four made the playoffs. The NFC North opponents, who all play in Week 11 or later, may pose the most challenging challenge to the Bears on their schedule.

Jeff Kerr of CBS Sports wrote a division strength assessment last week, ranking the NFC North second only to the AFC North.

“The NFC North could compete with the AFC North for the best division,” said Kerr. “It depends on how the Bears and Vikings progress.”