LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — As Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and the first-team offense stepped up to the line of scrimmage early in practice Wednesday morning, they heard a loud yell from behind.
First-year head coach Ben Johnson pulled them back off the line. He instructed the unit to step back, ushering in the Bears’ second-string offense instead. Johnson then unleashed strong words toward the first-team offense.
It wasn't the first time that Johnson has demanded sharper performance from his players – and it certainly won’t be the last.
“That's on par for Ben,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “If you're not doing it right, he's going to get you out and he's not going to just see that stuff continue. It's just a lesson to us that you got to be on the details.”
Wednesday marked the Bears’ first practice of training camp, and it was a continuation of themes that were established during the offseason program. Johnson is holding the Bears to a high standard as their new leader. He watched their film and saw a team that was sloppy and undisciplined en route to a 5-12 campaign in 2024.
In leading his first training camp, Johnson is emphasizing that every detail matters.
“I just hope we can in six weeks get enough reps to feel good going into Week 1,” Johnson said. “That’s the challenge. This is a race now. Like, everything is a race. We have to get our fundamentals down. We have to get our execution down. This is going to be a challenge.”
As the Bears’ offensive players broke into individual drills early in practice Wednesday, the defensive players gathered together with new coordinator Dennis Allen.
Those players went through up-downs together. It’s a frequent sight during NFL training camps but is typically reserved as a punitive measure.
Allen wasn’t punishing his players. He was instead preparing them.
“You have to pay the toll,” Allen said. “You have to pay the price. It’s a privilege to be on this defense.
“Training camp is going to be difficult.”
A lack of discipline was too often a problem for the Bears in recent years, and they believe those issues stemmed in part from not properly addressing problems in training camp. Johnson and his staff are aiming to change that, and they have stressed that details aren't predicated simply in the results.
“You may catch a ball and it might be a big play in practice,” Kmet said. “But he's harping on the detail of your alignment is off or your steps are off here and even though we got the result right, we didn't do it the right way at times. Those are the details you need to hear, and you can't be result-driven all the time, especially this time of the year in training camp. You've really got to be detail-driven, and Ben is all about the details and you feel that in every meeting.
“All the reps are important. All of it matters.”
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.