Training camp is in the books, the 53 is set, and opening night is just around the corner. I wish I could say that I’m as excited as most Bears fans are, but the high number of unanswered questions and injury issues has me a bit wary. I am definitely ready for some real football though.

QB Caleb Williams made some improvements in the second half of training camp, but his play was fairly uneven overall, and pre-snap penalties like delay of games are still an issue. He looked great against the Bills as he led the team to an opening drive TD. It was like, "Oh yeah, here we go! A real offense!" Then, he looked not so great against the Chiefs, fumbling the first snap of the game and not doing a whole lot until KC pulled its starters late in the first half.

I think these two performances are a pretty good indicator of what we will see from Williams and the Bears this season. There will be high highs, with HC Ben Johnson high-fiving Caleb as he comes back to the sideline after throwing a TD pass. And there will be low lows, with Johnson chewing out Williams on the sideline like Mike Ditka used to chew out Jim McMahon back in the day. There will also be some "No, No, No… Yes!" plays where Caleb looks headed for disaster but manages to make a big play. As for Johnson’s lofty goal of a 70% completion percentage for Williams? I don’t think that’s going to happen. 4,000 yards? It’s possible, but I’d still bet the under. This is going to be a roller coaster of a first season for the Ben and Caleb show, so fasten your seat belts, and don’t eat too much before you get on.

Backup QB Tyson Bagent signed a two-year, $10 million contract extension earlier this month. The raw emotion he showed as he talked about his family’s humble beginnings was just great to see. His tireless work ethic has been there from Day 1, and he is an easy guy to root for.

There’s RB D’Andre Swift, and… cue the John Travolta looking around an empty room GIF. Impressive rookie RB Kyle Monangai was on track to be Swift’s backup, but he has been out with a soft tissue injury since the joint practice against Buffalo. RB Roschon Johnson missed most of camp with a foot injury and still isn’t back. GM Ryan Poles was optimistic about both potentially being available for Week 1, but time will tell. At this rate, Matt Forte may have to come out of retirement.

WR DJ Moore and WR Rome Odunze are still the top two on the depth chart, but WR Olamide Zaccheaus may have been the offensive star of camp. He and Williams have already developed a nice rapport, and I think he’s going to be a big enough part of the offense that he’ll be a fantasy factor some weeks. Odunze had a pretty good camp and showed some improved chemistry with Caleb, but you still expect more from him at times, especially on contested catches you think he should win on but doesn’t. Rookie WR Luther Burden III got a late start to camp due to injury but got up to speed quickly and was impressive with his quickness and run-after-catch ability. Just due to sheer numbers though (being fourth on the depth chart), it’s hard to see him being a big fantasy factor, but it’s possible as the season goes on. WR Devin Duvernay looks like he’ll be the punt returner. Undrafted rookie WR Jahdae Walker caught the winning TD pass from Bagent in the final seconds against KC and made the team.

TE Cole Kmet and rookie TE Colston Loveland both had solid camps. Loveland’s size-speed combo has me very excited about his prospects for the season. Do I think he’ll be Brock Bowers right away? No, and he’ll have competition for targets from not only Kmet, but the plethora of quality receivers this team suddenly has. However, I think he’ll be heavily involved in the offense from the start (especially in 12 personnel), and I don’t think it’ll take long for him to overtake Kmet in target share.

The left tackle battle ended with a whimper, as incumbent LT Braxton Jones (who was always the favorite), looks to have won the job (by default, essentially). He wasn’t great in camp/preseason, but neither were his competitors.

The thought of Micah Parsons in a Packers uniform is obviously a very unpleasant one. As far as whether the Bears should’ve tried to trade for him, this team is not one player away from being a Super Bowl contender. Far from it. I don’t think the Cheeseheads are either, but that’s their decision, and I hope it backfires on them in time. They essentially traded inside pressure for outside pressure. We’ll see if it works out for them.

As for the Bears’ defense, this unit looked good against Caleb and the offense during camp, and it looked good in the joint practices against Buffalo and KC. But the starters really only played one series against the Bills, and in more extended action against the Chiefs, they were overmatched. CB Jaylon Johnson (calf) is in a race against the clock to be ready for Week 1 after missing all of camp. CB Kyler Gordon has been nicked up lately. S Jaquan Brisker had a great camp but left the final camp practice with some sort of injury. DE Austin Booker, who had a great preseason with four sacks, unfortunately suffered a knee injury against Buffalo and will be out for a few weeks.

Without much depth at edge, this defense will be relying heavily on a bounceback year for DE Montez Sweat and a solid year for free agent signing DE Dayo Odeyingbo. Inside, a healthy DT Andrew Billings and free agent signing DT Grady Jarrett will help, but this defense has to be better against the run to have any chance of success this season. I am looking forward to seeing how aggressive new DC Dennis Allen is. He should easily be the best DC this team has had since Vic Fangio.

End.