Chicago Bears post-practice press conference round up

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their first three-day voluntary OTA (June 1-3), and not only was the media only allowed at Halas Hall on June 2, but that was the only day the team made a few Bears available for post practice press conferences.

The Bears have another voluntary OTA scheduled for June 7-10, and then they’ll have a mandatory minicamp on June 15-17, so we’ll have to see how much access the Bears provide during those. My guess is just one media session per three day practice, but we’ll be sure to milk those for as much info as possible.

I gave a recap of some of what head coach Matt Nagy had to say here, but the biggest takeaway is his confirmation on what we all assumed to be the depth chart at quarterback; Andy Dalton QB1, Justin Fields QB2, and Nick Foles QB3.

“He is doing a great job of making anticipatory throws, throwing the ball early,” Nagy said about Dalton. “If there’s one thing that these wide receivers are going to come out of OTAs from and obviously from training camp, too, they’re going to see that when that ball is supposed to be there, that ball is going to be there, so they better get ready to put their hands up to catch it.”

Matt Nagy’s full press conference can he seen here.

The aforementioned QB1 met the media as well, and Dalton talked about how important it is to build chemistry with his offensive teammates, all of which were at Halas Hall today except Allen Robinson.

When Dalton met the media after he was signed in free agency he talked about the Bears possibly drafting a quarterback and how he’d have no issue with that, so now that it’s a reality he knows part of his responsibility as a veteran is to be a mentor.

“I knew there was a possibility of it, and so when it happened, it is what it is,” Dalton said via his presser. “Justin’s a great guy, getting to know him the last couple weeks and getting to be around him. He’s going to make the quarterback room better.”

Andy Dalton’s full Wednesday presser can be seen here.

Offensive lineman Germain Ifedi looked noticeably slimmer during his press conference and he did say that he made an effort to get his diet in order as he enters his sixth year as a professional. The Bears still list him at 340 pounds, but that no longer seems to be the case.

Ifedi, who is slated to start at right tackle, also said that the entire o-line was at the OTAs due to the importance of them getting to learn to play next to each other. When asked about the rookie tackles the Bears drafted and if he plans to mentor them he said as a veteran “it’s just what you do.” He stressed the importance on getting all the young players to be the best they can be.

Germain Ifedi’s full press conference can be seen right here.

Starting tailback David Montgomery said he intends to be more of a leader as he enters his third year with the Bears and he did have an aura of confidence about him at the press conference.

“Just be more vocal. Be able to stand behind what I say and allow my words to carry a lot of strength when I speak,” Montgomery said about what he’s looking to do this season. “You can’t be a half-assed leader, you have to be a full on leader. You have to let the guys know you’re here for the greater good of the team at all times.”

Montgomery said he wasn’t happy with his play a year ago and vows to have an even better 2021.

You can check out David Montgomery’s media session here.