Chicago Bears: Impressions from Khalil Mack’s first practice

Khalil Mack has only been a  member of the Chicago Bears for a few days and he’s already getting fans and players excited.

When you add a defensive player of the year like Khalil Mack to your team and give him a $141 extension it lets everyone know that the rebuild is over. It also amps up the entire team. Chicago Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy said,

"“Everybody on our team is excited that Khalil Mack is a Chicago Bear, trust me.”"

The players get giddy just like us because they know that a player of Mack’s caliber makes their jobs easier and gives them a larger margin of error. For example, Mitch Trubisky doesn’t need to be perfect because the Bears now have a top-five defense.

Nagy was also impressed by Mack’s first day of practice as a Bear. It’s important to get Mack ready in six days, but the team also has to be cautious with him. They don’t want him to go too hard in practice and not be able to play week one. However, the early signs couldn’t be better. Nagy said, ”

"“Our right tackle, his second play, he turned around and gave me (bug) eyes when he rushed him. That’s kind of good to see.”"

That is good to see. Mack’s new teammates being excited to suit up with him is also awesome. Why shouldn’t they be? Leonard Floyd and Akiem Hicks will see single coverage. Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith will have more space to make plays with Mack occupying blockers. The pass rush that the Bears will be able to generate with four guys will allow Prince Amukamara, Bryce Callahan, Kyle Fuller, Eddie Jackson and Adrian Amos to have more opportunities to create turnovers.

If you don’t believe me when I tell you how happy the players are, at practice the song “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison was playing on the loudspeakers. These players want to win and they have to be happy knowing that general manager Ryan Pace is willing to do what it takes to get a great roster. It also sends a message to them that Pace is willing to pay great players, unlike the Oakland Raiders.

We are all stoked to see Mack take the field against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. After all, it’s the Packers 100th home opener and it’s being nationally shown on Sunday Night Football.