The Chicago Bears might have a lot of the same pieces from their 2025 playoff run, but they are a different team overall.
This is a franchise that enters training camp with a lot more confidence and a clearer sense of who they are as a team. The 11-6 record in 2025 showed that the Bears know how to win games, and they are carrying that momentum into training camp.
A key piece to that puzzle is head coach Ben Johnson, who has more experience under his belt entering his second season with the team. New Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor spoke to the media before Day 2 of training camp as he talked about the biggest difference between Johnson this year and last season.
"I think there is a little bit more we don't need to be walked through everything," Taylor said via CHGO. "We understand his vision better."
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Johnson had a certain way he wanted to go about things in his first season. This was to set the proper culture for the Bears and make sure everyone was on the same page before spreading it throughout the locker room.
That culture setting paid off for Johnson, as the Bears won the NFC North and made it to the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs. Chicago had to learn the hard way multiple times throughout the season how to win football games.
The players understand better than anyone what Johnson's expectations are and what happens if they don't do things correctly. Last year, Johnson was not afraid to get in the faces of players at training camp and coach them hard.
Training camp this year will hopefully go smoother than some of the mishaps from the first week of last year. Too many times, Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense struggled to line up correctly or had pre-snap penalties, sometimes resulting in the starters being kicked out of the huddle.
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Chicago's coaching staff knows what Johnson wants and has been able to follow through on his vision so far in Year 2, leading to strong results at OTAs. The Bears are hoping the momentum from there will carry over throughout training camp and have them in a strong position to be ready for the 2026 campaign.
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