LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Day 3 of Bears training camp saw quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense check a much-needed box at the end of practice.
In each of the first two practices of camp, Williams and the first-team offense came up empty in the day's two-minute situational drill.
But things were different Monday at Halas Hall.
Williams and the Bears' offense started the end-of-game drill down by three with 1:30 left, the ball on their own 20, and two timeouts.
Williams opened the drill with a dart to wide receiver Rome Odunze for a gain of around 20. Not wanting to burn a timeout, Williams quickly got the offense to the line, organized the offense, and ripped a pass to Keenan Allen for a gain of 15.
Just like that, the Bears' offense found itself on the cusp of field goal range.
Williams had running back Roschon Johnson open out of the backfield on first down but threw wide of the mark. His second-down throw for Allen was also wide and incomplete, setting up a critical third down. Williams hit Johnson out of the backfield for a gain of 7, and head coach Matt Eberflus called a timeout.
Still just outside of Cairo Santos' range, the Bears were forced to go for it on fourth down with under 30 seconds remaining.
The fourth down play was easy work for the offense as DJ Moore quickly got open on a crossing route, and Williams put the ball on the money for a gain of around 15 to set up Santos' game-winning field goal.
The successful two-minute drill was an important early box to check. However, the main storyline of the early part of camp continues to be Williams' operation of an offense that has had minimal pre-snap issues.
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"I can see that operation getting better every single day," Eberflus said after practice. "The pre-snap penalties are down, getting in and out of the huddle is good. That’s just because we’re learning the system, learning how to do it and we’re learning how to break the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage and operate our motions and shifts and make our calls. I think that’s really been good.
"And Caleb is the apex of that. He’s just going to keep getting better at it, keep progressing every single day."
The Bears struggled with pre-snap penalties during the offseason program, but Williams' confidence and knowledge in the playbook have curtailed those issues. The cadence problems that popped up in June have also started to disappear.
"It’s all ironed out. It’s ironed out right now," left guard Teven Jenkins said. "We’re doing really good on it and hopefully we keep on continuing and growing off that."
CHICAGO BEARS
Here are more notes from Day 3 of training camp:
-- Outside of the successful two-minute drill, it was an uneven day for the offense in 11-on-11 work.
The highlight of the day was Williams hitting Odunze for what could have been a 35-yard touchdown. Safety Kevin Byard was in the area and appeared to slow up as the pass arrived. Williams also showcased his anticipation and arm talent when he lasered a perfect pass to Moore on a corner route in one period. Williams modified his arm angle to create the window to get the pass off and put it on the money.
In another display of touch, feel, and talent, Williams felt the pocket collapsing around him, quickly climbed it and delivered a strike to Moore about 25 yards downfield.
He has a long way to go, but the rare talent that has many believing he will be an elite NFL quarterback continues to seep through.
--On the negative side, the Bears' defense completely dominated one 11-on-11 section by hounding Williams with non-stop pressure.
Williams was "sacked" on the first play of the period, but the Bears played through, and his pass to Moore was dropped. The pocket collapsed quickly on second down, and Williams dirted a pass to Johnson. Montez Sweat beat right tackle Darnell Wright off the line for a quick "sack" on the third play. Williams finished the drill with a throwaway under pressure and an incomplete pass to Tyler Scott that was high.
-- The center rotation continued Monday with Ryan Bates getting first-team reps and Coleman Shelton returning to the second-team. That should flip back Tuesday.
Eberflus didn't give any indication as to when he thought the center battle would end.
"I think you just let it go through, Eberflus said. "Let it go through the process. I told the guys today. You make the team or you make your position in pads. It’s hard to evaluate guys when we’re out here and not in pads. ... We're going to let that play out."
-- Left tackle Braxton Jones has been limited to start camp but saw his first 11-on-11 action of camp Monday. Jones was in at left tackle in the first team period before giving way to Larry Borom for the remainder of the team sets.
-- Linebacker T.J. Edwards also saw his first 11-on-11 reps of camp. He has also been limited to start.
-- Tight end Gerald Everett practiced for the first time Monday after being activated off the non-football injury list Sunday.
-- Linebacker Noah Sewell and wide receiver Nsimba Webster did not participate for the second consecutive practice. They are considered day-to-day.
