Chicago Bears Training Camp Observations: Offense shows improvement on Day 2 of pads

LAKE FOREST — The pads remained on for the Bears in Wednesday’s training camp practice at Halas Hall. After a rough end on Tuesday, the offense showed improvement, especially during team drills.

But more on that in a bit …

Quote of the Day

Today’s quote goes to … David Montgomery.

Question: Have you noticed games where you felt frustrated because you knew you could’ve played better?

Of course. Of course. Any player in the NFL, if you want to be as good as you think you’re capable of being, you’re going to say that to yourself whether you had a good game, great game or a bad game because there’s always something you can improve on. There’s no one who has played a perfect game. I mean, if you find him, let me know so I can shake his hand, but I don’t know anyone who has. I look at every game like that, whether the stats and the production is there, there’s definitely other things I could have improved on. Every opportunity that I get to go out there, that’s the point of the game being the game. You find different ways to play it but you also find other ways where you can improve as well.

Bears RB David Montgomery

Here are Nick’s and Will’s observations in all three phases from the Chicago Bears’ seventh practice of 2022 training camp on Wednesday, August 3.

Offense

• Justin Fields had a noticeably better day during team drills compared to Tuesday. During the two-minute drill (before the half), he was able to orchestrate a field goal drive. He also made impressive throws to multiple receivers throughout practice in different drills. 

• Darnell Mooney made multiple impressive plays throughout practice, but it was during 1-on-1 drills where he shined the most. His route running fooled multiple defensive backs and generated plenty of buzz from fans in the crowd. He caught a touchdown on fourth down after beating Lamar Jackson on a throw from Fields. 

• Mooney also made a play during 11-on-11 when he ran around Eddie Jackson near the line of scrimmage off a quick pass and ended up gaining nearly 30 yards. 

• Equanimous St. Brown had perhaps his best practice today with a couple of standout plays. The most notable was when he hauled in a deep shot from Fields down the left sideline in the window between the corner and safety. This was a very good read and throw from Fields too. Brown also continues to be effective when running slant routes. His 6-foot-5 frame gives Fields a bigger window to throw to, especially on throws that have limited space to work with. Brown did, however, have one fumble after a big hit from Joe Thomas. Still, ESB stood out throughout practice as a bright spot on offense. 

• N’Keal Harry was unable to catch a few passes that he should’ve. But there were some good moments too for the wideout who gained a first down off a running shovel pass from Fields. He moved the chains again by hauling in a fastball from Fields over the middle and hanging on despite Kindle Vildor giving him a shot once the ball arrived. Harry also took a handoff on an end around and Vildor tried to deliver a big hit, but Harry kept his balance and kept moving forward. Harry also drew a pass interference penalty against cornerback Jayson Stanley in 1-on-1s. 

• Cole Kmet had a rough start to practice, but turned things around down the stretch by coming down with two good catches over the middle of the field, including one ball that was tipped right next to him. The tight end was able to keep his concentration and make the catch.

• During 1-on-1s, Dazz Newsome faked out Greg Stroman who ended up falling down. Newsome took advantage by turning upfield and catching a deep pass. 

• Chris Finke beat Kyler Gordon during a 1-on-1 rep with a good move to gain separation. 

• The biggest play of the day was a Trevor Siemian throw to David Moore for a touchdown of roughly 50 yards. Siemian kept the play alive by moving to his left, which allowed Moore to find open grass, and then Siemian connected with his receiver for the score. 

• Khalil Herbert demonstrated good vision on a couple of runs, finding cutback lanes for good chunks on the ground, including a rush over 10 yards.

• Trestan Ebner displayed impressive speed and tough running throughout practice. He caught a pass from Trevor Siemian and was able to run away from the defense for a touchdown. 

• Doug Kramer and Sam Mustipher split first-team reps at center today. Braxon Jones held down the left tackle position again. Ja’Tyre Carter and Michael Schofield rotated at right guard. Larry Borom was at right tackle. 

• Khari Blasingame made a couple of key blocks in pass protection that bought the quarterback enough time to make the throw.

Defense

• Khyiris Tonga looked solid throughout most of practice and stood out during 11-on-11, making multiple plays against the run. On one of the reps, Tonga broke through the line of scrimmage and he would’ve had a tackle for loss. 

• Joe Thomas made multiple noteworthy plays. He had excellent coverage on David Montgomery during 7-on-7, sticking to the back stride-for-stride and got the pass breakup. Later, he delivered perhaps the biggest hit of the day on Equanimeous St. Brown after the receiver made the catch, forcing a fumble that Jaylon Johnson recovered. 

• Kindle Vildor played primarily as the outside corner in today’s practice. Kyler Gordon lined up in the slot. Gordon had a good pass breakup while covering Velus Jones Jr. down the sideline during 11-on-11.

• Dominique Robinson stood out during individual drills at the start of practice. His quickness and athleticism stood out compared to his peers.

• Duke Shelley did not participate in practice. He was seen without his pads and wearing a bucket hat. 

• Tavon Young essentially ran the route for Dante Pettis during one of the reps in 1-on-1s. There was nowhere to go with the football and the play resulted in an incomplete pass. 

• Justin Jones continues to make plays in the backfield. On one of the reps in 11-on-11s, Jones beat the guard on the play and forced Justin Fields out of the pocket. 

• Micah Dew-Treadway batted down a ball at the line of scrimmage. Trevor Siemian was the quarterback on the play.

Special Teams

• Cairo Santos hit both field goal attempts in the final portion of practice during the situational team period.

Quick Training Camp Takeaways

Bears Training Camp Takeaways! @Wi11DeWitt and @NicholasMoreano break down the 2nd padded practice of the year what improvements they saw after yesterday🐻⬇️ #BearsCamp

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— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) August 3, 2022