There will be plenty of new beginnings surrounding the Chicago Bears when they start the regular season against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field on Monday, Sept. 8.
The game will not only mark the opening of a new season in front of a national audience on Monday Night Football. It’ll also be the start of Ben Johnson’s tenure as the Bears head coach as well as the debut of his offense and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense.
But amidst the uncertainty on their own sideline to start the year, the Bears will also have to prepare for the unknown on the Vikings’. They’ll need to get ready for the unknown of first-time starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy.
“It’s a little bit different,” Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds told reporters virtually Monday. “The first game, the first couple games, going against new quarterbacks, you’re going to come across new things, so you have to trust your technique, trust your fundamentals and trust what you as a defense, scheme-wise.”
Although Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell hasn’t officially announced that McCarthy would start the regular-season opener against the Bears, all signs are pointing in that direction. The La Grange Park, Illinois, native and Nazareth Academy alumnus earned most of the first-team snaps during training camp and the team named him a captain last week.
McCarthy will likely play in his first NFL game after a year of setbacks. He entered last year’s training camp as a backup to Sam Darnold and figured to challenge for the starting job as the season progressed after Minnesota selected him No. 10 overall in last year’s draft. But McCarthy missed his entire rookie season after he tore his right meniscus during the preseason.
Edmunds admitted it can be tough to prepare for a quarterback who has little to no NFL film. O’Connell only started McCarthy in Minnesota’s first preseason game against the Houston Texans. McCarthy played one drive that led to a field goal where he completed four of his seven pass attempts for 30 yards.
There’s not much to look back on either in terms of NFL tape from last year. He also only played in one preseason game last year against the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Bears didn’t start preparing for the Vikings until Monday, according to Edmunds. But Edmunds did spend some time looking at some preseason tape to pick up any tendencies he could notice about McCarthy and McConnell’s offense.
“We just need to take little things that we pick up here and there and things that may have carried over, whether it’s preseason, whether it’s last year,” Edmunds said. “They still have some of the same guys so even if you’re studying guys versus tendencies and what they like to do. Obviously going into a new year playing against new people, it’s not going to be the same. Obviously studying Darnold is not going to be the same as studying [McCarthy].”
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Watching for those offensive tendencies will be important given that McCarthy also won’t be the lone uncertainty offensively for the Vikings.
Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has dealt with a hamstring injury for much of camp and could be limited to start the year. Wide receiver Jordan Addison will miss the first three games because of a suspension, Jalen Nailor has been week-to-week with a hand injury while Rondale Moore suffered a season-ending knee injury. The Vikings brought back Adam Thielen in a trade last week to boost the wide receiver room.
Because all of that, Edmunds said the Bears wants to attack McCarthy right from the start of Monday’s game. But he also knows they can’t just focus on McCarthy.
“I think more so the focus is more so just making sure that we execute well as a defense,” Edmunds said. “Understanding everything that’s at stake, just as far as you know, first game, going against a new quarterback that hasn’t played yet. It’s just a lot of different things. But at end of the day, it’s not more so focusing on [McCarthy], it’s more so focusing on us and making sure that we execute and doing the things that we know how to do.”
The season-opener will be a good opportunity for the Bears defense to show what it can do in Allen’s system. Many different Bears’ defenders, including Edmunds, have looked sharp in camp during joint practices against the Miami Dolphins and the Buffalo Bills along with their three preseason games.
“It’s a little bit different. The first game, the first couple games, going against new quarterbacks, you’re going to come across new things, so you have to trust your technique, trust your fundamentals and trust what you as a defense, scheme-wise.”
— Tremaine Edmunds, Chicago Bears linebacker
Chicago’s defense had a tough end to last year after former head coach Matt Eberflus was fired during the season. Monday’s opener against McCarthy will give the Bears a chance to prove what they can be in front of a national audience.
“You want the whole world to see all the hard work you put into it, individually and as a team,” Edmunds said. “We’ve been working hard to display our talents, and what other way would you want to have it? Opening up the season on Monday night in front of the whole world against a divisional opponent, I mean this is what you work your tail off for, to be in these moments, to be in these games.”