The Bears are in the midst of a critical stretch, with a week-and-a-half left before 53-man roster cuts. Two joint practices are in the books. With one preseason game down, another is coming Sunday night versus the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field.

The starters will play that contest, though it’s uncertain exactly how long. Then there’s a preseason finale later this week that first-teamers and key reserves are expected to skip.

That’ll bring us ever closer to the Aug. 27 roster cut, before which tough decisions must be made.

Head coach Ben Johnson recognizes the importance of this series of evaluation points as he starts to form a team he’ll take into Week 1 versus Minnesota.

Plenty of questions remain, as evidenced by the volume of Bair Mail submissions this week. Let’s get to them on a rare down day on the Bears camp calendar:

James Hedlund from Lake Geneva, Wisc.

Do you think that the defense will hold up better than last year? And what would it take for bears to be a top ten unit?

Bair: I do, and I think a lot of that will come from the defensive coordinator. Dennis Allen had had a profound impact on this Bears team, as a strategist, culture builder and confidant for Johnson, a first-time head coach.

This Bears defense is proving super physical, intense and relentless in their pursuit of turnovers. Allen told me he wants to uphold the Bears’ history of excellent defense.

He plans to do that by being aggressive. He’s throwing tons at the Bears offense this camp, a sign that the Bears won’t be afraid to bring pressure from everywhere.

“As far as his style of play, he’s aggressive,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “That’s something that I see now, as far as that’s going to set us up good, being able to challenge when we need to challenge, being able to get off the field when we need to get off the field.”

David Bryant from Fort Worth, Tex.

Why is it that backs like Roschon Johnson are always overlooked by the bears? Swift is not an every-down back. Neither is the rookie why are they talked about more and when they do talk about Roschon it’s trade talks. He’s a big back with speed. They’re going to get rid of him and he will shine somewhere else.

Bair: The Roschon Johnson conundrum is an interesting one. The Bears traded up to get Johnson out of Texas, but he was relegated to short-yardage situations in 2024. He hoped to get more and varied opportunities under head coach Ben Johnson, but those must be earned.

He hasn’t been able to do that over the past week-plus while sidelined with a foot injury of unknown severity. We don’t know exactly how this staff feels about him as a runner, but his size is unique among his position group and could offer a change of pace. I would still rate him as the No. 2 overall running back until actions show otherwise, but all this time missed is allowing Kyle Monangai to instill confidence, though his pass protection needs some real work.

Raymond Hawn from Laughlin, Nev.

How much two TE sets are we likely to get?

Bair: Quite a bit of it, Raymond. If we use Ben Johnson’s history from his time as offensive coordinator in Detroit as a guide, that becomes clear. The Lions ran 12 personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs, 2 WRs) 32.2% of the time in 2024, per SumerSports, that was third-most in the league.

The Lions threw out of 12 personnel 41.39% of the time, which ranked in the middle of the pack.

Ben Johnson has the talent to do most anything out of that package, with Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland capable of lining up in-line, out wide and in the slot. Kmet said he thinks he and Loveland can be the best 12-personnel tight ends in the league. If that’s the case, we’ll see that personnel package a ton in both rushing and passing situations.

Louis from Newport News, Vir.

How are the linebackers looking?

Bair: So good that I put five of them on my latest 53-man roster projection. Edmunds and T.J. Edwards have been every-down fixtures you’d expect from them. Noah Sewell has leveled up and is the frontrunner to be the team’s strongside linebacker.

Fourth-rounder Ruben Hyppolite II’s speed shows up in practice and Amen Ogbongbemiga is a good backup and core special teams player.

That’s the overall outlook. My prediction: Edmunds is in line for a huge year. Coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense fits the veteran perfectly, and he has had an excellent camp with multiple turnovers created and solid coverage in the middle of the field. Allen also likes to blitz interior linebackers, and Edmunds could be a factor there as well.  

Submit your questions below for inclusion in next week’s Bears mailbag!!