Chicago Bears Training Camp Notebook Day 5: Caleb Williams and the offense produce mixed results in 7-on-7s and the team periods

LAKE FOREST — The Chicago Bears returned to Halas Hall for Day 5 of training camp after having Wednesday off. No fans were in attendance on Thursday, but that will change for Friday’s practice, which will not only have fans but also pads.

Real football will start and like everyone else, I’m really excited to see everything ramp up during these next practices.

Before Friday’s much-anticipated practice, here are all of my notes from the 7-on-7 and team portions of Thursday’s practice and also my observations and analysis of Caleb Williams‘ day.

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7-on-7s

The Bears started this 7-on-7 period in the red zone.

• Williams started off the session by completing a tight-window throw to Keenan Allen for a short gain on the left side of the field. T.J. Edwards closed in quickly on the throw and tried to dive to breakup the pass, but Williams put enough velocity on the ball and put it right where it needed to be. Allen turned up field and stared to high step into the end zone.
• Williams’ next pass was a throw away after he didn’t find anyone open to his left. The rookie quarterback rolled to his left and eventually threw the ball out of bounds.
• On the third rep, Williams found D’Andre Swift open in the back left corner of the end zone for a touchdown. Swift lined up in the slot next to DJ Moore. Swift ran a corner route and Jaquan Brisker couldn’t cover the ground in time to make a play on the pass.
• Rome Odunze caught a contested low ball against Jaylon Johnson for a short gain on a slant. Johnson had a nice break on the route, but Odunze kept his concentration and was able to haul in the pass.
• Williams attempted to hit Travis Homer on a short pass in the middle of the field on his fourth rep. Josh Blackwell and Jack Sanborn were all over the route and both defenders dove to try and breakup the pass. The ball fell incomplete.
• The best throw and catch of the day came from Williams’ touchdown to Velus Jones Jr. in the back left corner of the end zone. Williams had to put some touch on the pass to get it out of Johnson’s reach. The ball hit Jones as he was approaching the out of bounds line, but the third-year wide receiver got his feet down for the score.

Toe drag swag pic.twitter.com/uqSOzXLYxc

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 25, 2024

During the entire 7-on-7 period, Ryan Poles was to the left of the field goal post, just outside of the back line of the end zone watching his entire portion of practice.

Team Period

To start the 11-on-11s, Braxton Jones did get reps with the starting unit at left tackle. As the practice progressed, he was eventually replaced with Larry Borom. Braxton has been limited for the majority of training camp. Also, Ryan Bates repped with the first-team offense at center. In Tuesday’s practice it was Coleman Shelton with the starters at center.

• The team period started with an incomplete pass. It looked like Gervon Dexter Sr. got in the backfield and created some pressure, forcing Williams to get rid of the football.
• Roschon Johnson ran the to the right on the second play. Running backs coach Chad Morton would run with the running backs if they broke off a run and meet them in the end zone. Morton is easily one of the most energetic coaches on the field.
• For the third rep, Montez Sweat created instant pressure against Darnell Wright off the right edge, which forced Williams to step up in the pocket. Williams tried completing a pass to Keenan Allen, but the ball fell incomplete. Sweat is becoming a problem in these practices. Maybe ones the pads come on things will begin to even out.
• Khalil Herbert ran the ball to the right after the incompletion. There was some good blocks on the play that allowed Herbert to get to the second level.
• The last play in this first session was a completion to Swift in the right flat. Williams rolled out to his right by design and hit his running back.

• The next team setting started with a run by Swift to the right side of the formation.
• Then Roschon Johnson got a carry up the middle and looked like he could’ve broke off an explosive run against the defense.
• Williams got a chance to throw the ball on the third rep, but Sweat got in the backfield and accidentally knocked the ball out of Williams’ hands. DeMarcus Walker pounced on the fumble. Immediately after the play, Sweat put his hands to his chest, signaling that it was his fault.
• Williams did connect with Travis Homer on a short completion to the left side of the field on the following play.
• Tyrique Stevenson lined up in one-on-one coverage against Odunze out wide to the right. The rookie got behind Stevenon on the vertical route, but the second-year cornerback held Odunze. Williams did throw the ball in that direction. Stevenson was flagged for the hold.

• The third 11-on-11 period started like the second with a run by Swift.
• On the second rep, Sweat again created pressure, which forced Williams to escape the pocket and throw the ball out of bounds.
• Williams connected with Allen near the left sideline for an impressive throw and catch. Only thing is, the defense could’ve argued that Williams might’ve been sacked on the play. On the other hand, the rookie quarterback hung in the pocket despite feeling pressure all around him and maybe would’ve stayed on his feet if it was an actual game. Who knows? Williams eventually escaped to his left and threw a jump pass to Allen, who dragged his feet to stay in bounds.

Just beautiful 🥹 pic.twitter.com/DtMZJmayN0

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) July 25, 2024

• Larry Borom started the next play with a false start.
• Williams then hit DJ Moore for a short completion on the right side of the field.
• Herbert ran the ball to the left on the next play.
• The final rep of this 11-on-11 session ended with an incomplete pass that was intended for Gerald Everett on a slant route. The ball was knocked down at the line of scrimmage, and it looked like Dexter got his hand up to bat down the pass.

Situational Team Period

This two-minute drill put the Bears offense in a end-of-half situation with 50 seconds on the clock at the 50-yard line with one timeout.

• The drive started with an incomplete pass to Odunze on a vertical route down the right sideline. Stevenson played great coverage on the rookie for this rep and didn’t have to resort to holding like he did earlier in the practice.
• Williams couldn’t connect with Swift on a throw to the right flat. Williams’ throw was too close to the sideline and Swift couldn’t bring in the pass before going out of bounds.
• The next play was another incomplete pass, but this time to Moore near the left side of the field.
• The Bears defense forced a three-and-out, and Odunze went back the primary punt returner. Corliss Waitman was the punter on the play and he pinned the Bears offense inside the 10-yard line.

• The first-team offense got another attempt to score in the two-minute drill. The first play was a short completion to Odunze in the right flat. Brisker was in coverage, but the play took 20 seconds off the clock.
• Then Williams misfired to Odunze on a slant route. The ball was behind the rookie wide receiver.
• On third-and-5 with 28 seconds on the clock, the offense committed a false start.
• Now at third-and-10, Williams rolled out to his left and waited for someone to come back to the football. Nobody did and Williams tried to hit Moore along the left sideline. Kevin Byard ended up jumping the route and intercepting the pass, but he was well out of bounds by the time he caught the ball.

Caleb Williams Observations

As a whole, the offense didn’t find much success during the team periods of practice. Still, I thought Williams had a good day overall.

In 7-on-7s, there were some tight-window throws in the low red zone. Those are the exact type of passes that are needed to score touchdowns in this league. Williams’ touchdown to Velus Jones Jr. was just one example of how the rookie quarterback will utilize different throws to attack a defense. Jaylon Johnson played in underneath coverage, but the throw beat the defense, which was impressive to see.

His off-platform pass to Allen is a reminder of the things Williams can do with the football. Even before the pass, I thought Williams had a legit shot of staying upright in the pocket because of his ability to maneuver in a congested area. Given what Williams did at USC, you can’t call a play over with Williams at quarterback. He makes things happen when they seem unlikely.

There were some passes that appeared to be late like the one to Swift as Williams was running right, and also the attempt to Homer in 7-on-7s that fell incomplete. Also, even though Williams wasn’t expecting Sweat to knock out the ball while he was in the pocket, ball security is always key.

For the fans that will be in attendance at Halas Hall starting on Friday, I have a feeling they’re going to like what they see from the No. 1 overall pick.

Other Snippets

• In obvious passing down situations, here is one of the lineups that has been reoccuring for the defensive line: Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter Sr., DeMarcus Walker and Jacob Martin.
• Rome Odunze lined up twice as the primary punt returner in 11-on-11s. There have been plenty of players back there getting reps as the punt return man, but Odunze got both reps during the team period.
• On a Tory Taylor punt, Homer broke free and easily could’ve blocked the punt if it was a real game situation.