The Bears offense has largely struggled over the first week of training camp. There’s no other way to put it. There have been flashes of brilliance from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams, or the occasional effective 7-on-7 period, but overall the unit has not been able to get into a rhythm.
At times, nose tackle Andrew Billings gives the offensive line trouble with his loud “move!” calls. By my unofficial count, there were five false starts on Saturday. At times, Williams misses a receiver as he continues to develop chemistry with the pass catchers and continues to learn what he can and can’t get away with in the NFL. Sometimes the extremely talented defense just makes a play.
Whatever the reason, the result has been the same: sloppy play.
“The focus needs to be better,” said head coach Matt Eberflus. “Really have to wire in and focus on the offensive side.”
An outside observer might be tempted to say, “Here we go again,” when watching the offense falter and the defense make stop after stop, but the Bears are opting to look at the struggles through an optimistic lens.
“This is what training camp is about,” Eberflus said. “This is about building up the callus. You have to go through hard. There is no trick.”
“If we were perfect we wouldn’t be out here practicing,” said Tyler Scott. “We’re always optimistic in everything we do. Just part of the process.”
Chicago Bears
Eberflus and Scott are right. It’s July 27 and the defense was expected to be ahead of the offense. After all, the D returned nine of 11 starters and is playing in the same scheme that they did last year. The offense on the other hand has to learn Shane Waldron’s system and is almost unrecognizable from a personnel standpoint. Caleb Williams, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, D’Andre Swift, and whoever wins the center job will all be new starters this year.
Other problems persist, like offensive line depth. In particular, Ja’Tyre Carter and Larry Borom have struggled as backup tackles. Jacob Martin and Austin Booker have looked like burgeoning superstars blowing past them on the edge.
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Again, it’s still July and there’s still time for improvements– or for the team to bring in extra help– but improvements will need to be made if this team wants to realize its full potential. The team knows that, too. And of course is choosing to have an optimistic outlook about it all.
“It's got to be all three phases hitting on all cylinders and we're just not there yet,” said Eberflus. “Of course it's early in training camp and I don't expect us to be. But I do expect us to grow and learn from this and get better. For the day off, as we watch this tape the rest of the day and the guys have the day off tomorrow, they come back swinging. It's always about the response.”
We’ll see how the team responds when they return on Monday.
