4) Play Smart, Penalty Free Football
A week ago, the Bears struggled mightily with penalties, finishing the contest with 10 infractions resulting in 65 free yards for the Texans. Granted, Houston had penalty issues themselves - with the most blatant infraction not even called - but many of the Bears' penalties stemmed from mental lapses, particularly on the offensive side of the ball.
Simple penalties such as false starts, delay of games, and illegal formations should be relatively easy to iron out through the season. However, the team accounted for seven such fouls last Sunday. With greater focus and poise throughout the game, the Bears will benefit greatly from being more disciplined in their pre-snap execution, which is admittedly made more difficult by all the newness in the offensive huddle.
Still, the Bears must prevent such mistakes, especially in crucial moments. Five-yard penalties can be crippling on third-down opportunities, and potential go-ahead drives in the fourth quarter starting with a simple penalty seem to rarely result in success, for the Bears or any other offense. Penalties will naturally be called throughout the game against both teams - it's simply part of the game - but fouls resulting from too much hustle are much easier to excuse than those caused by mental lapses or a lack of discipline.