Bear Digest

More Caleb Williams interceptions written off as offense's first steps

The Bears offense struggled Friday's third practice much as in their first practice on Tuesday with Caleb Williams plagued by interceptions and incompletions.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams looks to throw during pre-practice drills at Halas Hall training camp.
Caleb Williams looks to throw during pre-practice drills at Halas Hall training camp. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle sought to downplay the extensive problems Caleb Williams and the offense had overall in the first three days trying to move the ball consistently without mistakes.

It wasn't an easy task for him considering how many mistakes were made, especially in the red zone. Doyle's answer was Rome wasn't built in a day.

"Obviously we’re in our third day of install," Doyle said. "This is their first time coming through in the (season) with the red zone stuff. It always gets a little bit tighter down there.

"The biggest thing is you don’t waste any failure on an individual play. We’ve got to go back and we’re going to watch the tape with these guys this afternoon and clean up some of the intricate details of what we’re asking them in the red zone. It does get very precise down there as far as the spacing and the timing of concepts and that takes work."

In Thursday's third practice, Williams was picked off on a throw to DJ Moore in red zone 7-on-7. He couldn't be blamed in full for the interception because the ball came in low but bounced up off Moore's hands and defenders knocked it up into the air, where Jaquan Brisker plucked it and raced all the way back with it.

However, on the very next play Williams couldn't arc a pass high enough to the back of the end zone and a leaping T.J. Edwards intercepted it.

Edwards very nearly intercepted another pass later, diving and coming up inches short.

The way scrimmage was set up was part of a problem. They designed it so Williams was getting a lot of pressure looks from the defense on the edge and the offense needed to respond, in kind. There wasn't much time to get passes out to the flat or to hot receivers.

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

At one point, Williams missed on eight straight throws in 7-on-7, which is extremely unusual and poor.

There is progress with Williams, Doyle insisted.

"The biggest thing is with the presnap process," Doyle said. "Feeding him a play call and getting in the huddle, getting in and out, communicating what he needs to with his teammates, he’s really working at it. That’s the biggest improvement I’ve seen.

"It’s all a progression. We’ve got to continue to get better post-snap and all those things with his vision and where the ball needs to go. But that’s the biggest thing—his ability to communicate to his teammates, his ability to get in and out of the huddle. And I think he’s working at it."

They're very small steps, but it's also very early in camp.

Off Day

Left tackle Braxton Jones hasn't been able to do much yet, although he's been present and accounted for, but he wasn't seen at Thursday's practice. It wasn't a cause for alarm. It was his planned day off as he continues to come back from ankle surgery.

Ozzy Trapilo practiced with starters at left tackle and had a few problems with edge rush pressure. He also committed a critical false start during two-minute drill that helped end a first-team drive.

Guard Joe Thuney says Trapilo is learning quickly despite the mistake.

"Just here and there there are little details of plays, whether it be combinations on runs or how we see blitzes or how we handle the pass game, he does a great job," Thuney said. "He’s got big ears. Not physically or anything, but he listens a lot. He’s been great."

He needs to listen better to the cadence from QBs, obviously.

Clear Winner

There was some clear success in the red zone passing, both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, and that was with QB Tyson Bagent. He threw touchdown passes to wide receiver Samori Toure and to running back Ian Wheeler and later found tight end Joel Wilson for a TD. The problem with Bagent's success was it came against third-string defenders.

It was Case Keenum's day to work with the second team in their backup QB battle.

"Tyson is no-nonsense, he's busineess-like," Doyle said. "Football is really important to him. He's excellent in the position room. Out on the field he's constantly communicating what he sees, and where he needs to go with the football. Coming back, what the problems might be. He sees the game pretty clearly and I think that's because he takes it really seriously and he studies."

High Notes, Lows and the Ground

Gervon Dexter nearly had a sack in two-minute drill and forced a throwaway by Williams to end the series before a field goal try. They also had two pressures from Austin Booker off the edge, including one when Dominique Robinson also applied heat from the other edge.

Tyrique Stevenson had possibly the best pass breakup of camp so far on a throw to the corner of the end zone by Williams to Moore.

"It’s a good play by Rique and some of the timing being a tick, a second off," Moore said. "I think I slipped a little bit. So I was off."

At one point in practice, pressure was so great on backup Case Keenum that he wound up getting knocked to the ground in a crowd after throwing. Hitting the QB isn't allowed in training camp.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.