Chicago Bears: 3 Storylines to follow in 2019 training camp

How much does the offense improve?

Another thing we need to see is how the Chicago Bears offense develops in its second year. The unit took a big step going from the bottom of the rankings to getting ranked ninth in scoring. That offense ranked 21st in yards. That means that the offense could have scored even more points if it was more efficient.

Most of the offensive players returned for the 2019 season. They have a better grasp of the offense and they’ll be more comfortable with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. They have a better idea where they should be and what head coach Matt Nagy wants in his system.

Of course, the most important matter in the offense is Trubisky. If he shows strong handling of the offense, there could be a great many points put up on the scoreboard.

The Bears spent last offseason revamping the receiving corps. They brought in new wide receivers and tight ends to give Trubisky more weapons in the passing game. This offseason, however, the team overhauled the running game.

General manager Ryan Pace traded away the popular Jordan Howard. He acquired Mike Davis through free agency, then drafted David Montgomery and Kerrith Whyte. Additionally, they picked up wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson in free agency as well. He’ll see some time in the backfield as well. All the players in the backfield not only help the running game but also catch well.

With Montgomery and Davis together, the number of touches might not be too different. That means both should be fresh at the end of the season.

While the Bears overhauled the running game, they also tweaked the receivers unit. They drafted Riley Ridley and picked up Emanuel Hall (undrafted rookie) and Marvin Hall (free agency). Ridley could be another one of the steals in the draft that Pace continues to accumulate.

Trubisky now has a plethora of weapons both on the ground and in the air. Having receivers all over the field he could target makes the offense a dangerous one. That opens up space for the running backs as well. Defenses cannot try to stack the box like they did before.

The team raves about how much better Trubisky handles the offense. Offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich spoke about how much better his quarterback is this year than he was last season, per the Chicago Tribune:

"It is literally night and day in all the right ways. Our standard for him is extremely high. But just as far as the operation of not only what he’s supposed to do, what the defense is doing, manipulating protections, just the air about him, it’s way different. And everybody’s noted that, observed that in various ways."

Now that he understands the system better, Trubisky can move on to diagnosing defenses. Last season he was trying to get the play right, figuring out where the receiver should be. He knows all that now. If he takes that next step, the Chicago Bears could end up having an offense almost as great as its defense.