Chicago Bears training camp: Success in situational football balances uneven Friday

Hope springs eternal for Chicago Bears fans at training camp

Chicago Bears fans are flocking to training camp en masse to get a first look at this year's team helmed by Ben Johnson.

The Chicago Bears welcomed back fans to training camp for the first time this summer. The spectators were treated to an up-and-down day.

The Bears' offense didn't show signs of turning a corner. But, they did string together success later in practice.

"We're trying to master these things," Bears' offensive coordinator Declan Doylce said. "The first time you guys did anything, you're not quite a master at it yet. It takes a little bit of work and progression to get there."

More offensive struggles:

As has been the case, the offense's struggles continued Friday. This time it was a mixed bag of reasons why.

There were some execution issues on the offense's part. There were also some turnovers and good plays by the defense.

The first 11-on-11 rep of the day featured the pass rush getting home and forcing a throwaway. The best-executed rep of the early periods was the third rep, where Williams took the snap, got solid protection, went through his progressions and hit Olamide Zaccheus. That was the good news; the bad news was there were more struggles than wins.

In the 7-on-7 drill in the red zone, Williams was picked off on consecutive passes. The first pass was a great play by the defense, as Terell Smith perfectly timed undercutting a pass to DJ Moore. Smith was able to tip the pass in the air, and Jaquan Brisker intercepted it.

Could the pass have been better? Perhaps. Sometimes, it's better to tip your cap to a great play by a good player on a defense that's not missing a step under defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.

"There's not one thing that looks the same," Moore said of the defense. "I’m glad we don’t have to go against it on Sundays."

Setting up pressure on Williams is also part of the plan. Doyle said that's intentional as they try and throw as much at Williams as they can.

"That's trying to get our defensive pressures in against some of this stuff we're going to do offensively," Doyle said. "We have contingency plans for what they are going bring at us, and so the quarterback operating, getting the offense on the same page as far as checking plays, checking protections, things like that, but that's all a part of the scripted practice."

However, on the very next throw, Williams tried to get a pass over the head of TJ Edwards. The throw wasn't high enough and Edwards picked it off. It was a bad decision to test Edwards when he has made plenty of plays like that in the past while in coverage.

But, it's all about finding ways to learn from the struggles now.

"The biggest thing is there's a problem if you repeat mistakes," Doyle said. "The next time we run that play, if we make the same mistake, that's an issue."

Situational Success:

It wasn't all bad for the offense on Friday. It certainly wasn't as bad as Thursday.

The breakdowns in the first 11-on-11 period, the 7-on-7 red zone period and the two turnovers were left behind as the Bears moved into situational drills.

They had an 11-on-11 period where they ran red-zone plays, trying to score. The Bears and Williams fared much better.

Williams threw two touchdowns – one to Rome Odunze and the other to Olamide Zaccheus – and rebounded from a near-interception on the first pass. Williams looked for Moore on a short throw, but Moore said he slipped and Tyrique Stevenson nearly came away with the football.

Williams got back on the board with his two touchdown throws, and later moved into a two-minute drill. The situation was: the offense was up multiple scores, 1:37 was left on the clock, there were two timeouts and the ball started at the 37-yard line.

The Bears navigated into field goal range on a seven-play drive. It took four to get into field goal range.

The offense stalled as Ozzy Trapilo had a false start which put the offense back, and William's next pass to Devin Duvernay was incomplete to set up third and long. That's when Williams got back and hit Zaccheus to regain some yardage and make it an easier field goal.

The key in that situation is to just take care of the football. With the offense up multiple scores, the pressure would be on the defense to stop the bleeding from becoming worse. 

Williams did exactly that. It wasn't the entire unit clicking at a high level. It was still stringing together success.

Doyle, who has been a part of this staff since its inception, said he wasn't concerned. He understands what needs to happen.

"I think that our guys are getting better," Doyle said. "That's the biggest thing – that they're coming to work every day and they're willing to put the necessary work in to improve."