Chicago Bears fans have been here before, at the corner of Hope and Concern. It's a crowded intersection with traffic heavy in both directions.
On one hand, the Bears have legitimate reasons for optimism, thanks to the arrival of coach Ben Johnson, the potential growth of quarterback Caleb Williams and the edge of their established defense.
Playoff visions? Possible. Potentially realistic if Williams develops quickly and the team can stay healthy while catching a big break or two.
But ...
The Bears still play in an ultra-tough division, surrounded by three NFC North rivals that combined for 40 victories last season. Plus, after last season's 4-2 start turned into a 5-12 nosedive, caution is still recommended in the expectation-setting process.
To be blunt, the Bears' climb toward playoff contention remains steep, and their Week 1 opener -- on "Monday Night Football" against the Minnesota Vikings -- isn't exactly an ease-in game.
Now, after an intense Johnson-led training camp filled with both flashes and fizzles, there are plenty of significant developments from Halas Hall worth assessing. Here's a sampling of five key observations.
"The Book of Ben" is written in Sharpie, a football manual with high and unwavering standards written by a first-time head coach who believes first and foremost in fastidiousness.
Johnson is nothing if not straightforward. He is demanding. Direct. Detailed. He expects his team to respond as they come together in a quest to become more physical, aggressive and explosive.
Over the past six weeks, Johnson's intensity has been evident, centered on his belief that championship football requires heightened attention to detail on every minute assignment across all three phases.
With elevated credibility from his success as offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions, who averaged a league-high 33.2 points per game last season and an NFC-best 409.5 yards, his push for concentration and crisp execution has mostly been well-received.
Johnson, at least initially, has been able to push players while connecting in a way that registers as productive, not abrasive. At least not yet.
"When a coach's intentions are player-first, you can push in that way," tight end Cole Kmet said. "Now, the whole locker room is responding. Because you can feel him putting us first. He's always explaining why he's doing things. And by keeping the player first ... that allows the harsh criticism to be taken by guys and accepted."
Perhaps most impressive, Johnson's fiery manner has resonated not just with the offense but also with a receptive group of defensive players, who have quickly come to appreciate their coach's persistence in establishing an aggressive mindset.
"You see it every day. You feel it in the meetings," 10th-year safety Kevin Byard said. "Most offensive coaches can be reserved, calm, don't really connect well with a defensive mentality. But Ben, while he has a great offensive mind, goes about it with a very aggressive, defensive nature. He has a yoked mentality. He thinks like a defensive player who really knows offense."
It isn't something Johnson wants to necessarily celebrate, but it's something general manager Ryan Poles noticed from his quarterback in training camp.
"He has command of the huddle and the operation," Poles said. "That's not the bar. Last year is not the bar. But the amount of growth that ... when I go back and I see the operation from last year to this year, that's my point. I don't even know if Ben really understands how huge a jump that has been.
"In his eyes, it's still not to his standard, which is the way we want it to be."
Training camp wasn't smooth for the No. 1 pick. Part of that was by design, as Johnson wanted Williams drinking from a firehose, and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen would throw everything at him. Part of that was Williams still learning the scheme, learning the new footwork, and still growing in the NFL game.
We saw delay-of-game flags, false starts and interceptions. We also saw impressive two-minute drills and a drive against the Bills that seemed to temper the doubts. Williams spent more time under center in camp than he has in his football career. The play-action passing game will be a big part of the offense. Johnson wants the ball out quickly to the skill players in space.
What it looks like Monday night should be quite different than what it will look like in Week 18. Johnson talked about how it took time in Detroit with quarterback Jared Goff. Training camp was a reminder that it will take time in Chicago, too.
After a training camp competition that lasted more than a month and featured four primary participants, the Bears' starting left tackle for the season opener will be ... Braxton Jones?
Yes, that question mark provides appropriate punctuation because of the Bears' hesitance to crown Jones as the victor in their left tackle battle, even as they prepare to turn Jones loose for his 41st career start.
The Bears' hope that one player in their tackle group would seize the starting job during camp flopped.
Second-round pick Ozzy Trapilo, who started at right tackle over his final two seasons at Boston College, never became comfortable or confident enough on the left side during the spring or summer, with Poles taking note of a confidence dip in Trapilo that leaked into his technique. For now, the rookie is working as the backup right tackle with swing potential.
Kiran Amegadjie, himself a Day 2 draft pick in 2024, is giving things a try at guard, and Theo Benedet, a surprise late entry into the left tackle picture, is still significantly green after joining the Bears as an undrafted rookie out of the University of British Columbia in 2024.
That leaves Jones, who's still seeking consistency plus mental stability as he works back from the fractured ankle that ended his 2024 season last December. The injury and subsequent surgery sent Jones into a mentally grueling process of recovery, rehabilitation and re-emergence. As he enters the final year of his rookie contract, his drive to regain top form comes with a push to increase his physical and mental strength.
In a joint practice against the Miami Dolphins last month, Jones was on point with his technique and tenacity.
"I saw a player we could win with," offensive line coach Dan Roushar said.
Two days later, in the preseason game with Miami, Jones seemed more sloppy and out of sorts. Said Roushar: "I told him, 'You reverted back to whatever this is for you, and that's not acceptable.'"
Throughout camp, Poles saw Jones playing with too much caution and not enough urgency. The push to reverse that continues. "It's just playing with, how I describe it, conviction and freedom."
Spring practices are "voluntary," and defensive end Montez Sweat could have worked out on his own -- in fact, he did the previous spring.
He made it a point to be with the team this year, though.
"Coming off a disappointing year," he said in late May, "I thought it was important to be here."
He reiterated that at the start of camp, adding, "I feel like it was important for a new scheme, especially with a complex scheme like this, just to come in, learn the defense."
Sweat didn't miss a day of training camp. No injuries, no personal days. He's motivated after only 5.5 sacks last season, and that's been apparent. You could feel his presence throughout the summer practices as Sweat frequently got into the backfield for tackles for loss and sacks.
"I think this was the best training camp Montez Sweat's had," Poles said. "He's in really good shape, ready to go."
Johnson knows what it's like to prepare to face Sweat, calling him a player "you have to account for." Teams that did that last year were successful. No one is more aware of that than Sweat himself.
"He was very disappointed with how the season went last year, as a lot of the guys in the locker room were both individually and as a team, and felt such a way, so compelled, that he was here throughout the springtime, which is not something that he's done in the past," Johnson said early in camp. "He's committed to this team. He's committed to getting better. And so I've been very pleased with what I've seen from him so far."
In his first nine games as a Bear, Sweat had six sacks and 14 QB hits. The "Tez Effect" was a thing in the second half of 2023. He has done what he needed to in the spring and summer to put himself in position to bring that back, and without a ton behind him at defensive end, his sack production is critical.
As Johnson works to get Williams rolling, it's also easy to see the coach's wheels turning on how to best use all the dynamic playmakers the offense has.
Specifically in the receiving corps, Johnson seems to have an embarrassment of riches. The training camp experimentation with DJ Moore lining up in the backfield as a running back -- taking carries and occasionally catching passes -- isn't some willy-nilly trial. The Bears seem convinced they can unlock a new level of danger in Moore with an expanded role.
Johnson has described Rome Odunze as prototypical for the "X" receiver spot, an outside-the-numbers threat who should thrive in one-on-one situations. Big things seem possible in Year 2 for Odunze, a big-play receiver who was drafted No. 9 in 2024.
Seventh-year veteran Olamide Zachheaus may have been the revelation of August, earning the trust of both Johnson and Williams with his intelligence, unselfishness, quickness and route precision.
Zaccheaus arrived in March with a reputation as a willing and tenacious blocker, but he also has the kind of run-after-catch ability that really makes Johnson's offense hum. That was evidenced by his 36-yard touchdown catch against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason, with 28 of those yards coming after he caught the ball in space. Five nights later in Kansas City, Zaccheaus caught another Williams pass 12 yards beyond the line of scrimmage and turned it into a 25-yard gain.
All that was consistent with the practice field production Zaccheaus showed throughout camp.
"He is quarterback-friendly because he knows where he is supposed to be and the quarterback trusts that he is going to be in the spot he is supposed to be," receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said. "Quarterbacks don't have any issue with him. They can really depend on that guy. That's why you see him showing up over and over again with the ball in his hands."