Bears training camp update: Offense comes out ‘sloppy’ at Family Fest practice

Ben Johnson made a few things clear since he took over as the Bears’ head coach in January. He’s going to emphasize the details in everything the Bears do and hold anyone accountable if they don’t practice those details.

He won’t mince words, either.

Johnson told it how it was Sunday after the offense put together a disjointed performance during Family Fest at Soldier Field in Chicago.

“It was sloppy,” Johnson said. “Sloppier than we were hoping we would be at this point. We had a couple really good practices over the last two and then took us a little while to get going and hear the pads clicking. I thought toward the end we picked it up and it got pretty competitive there.”

The opening drive of the first team offense foreshadowed how the day would unfold. The unit was called for two delay of game penalties while the defense forced quarterback Caleb Williams to scramble twice. It also sacked him once.

Williams and the offense didn’t gain much momentum on its next two sessions. The unit finally scored a touchdown midway through practice when it went against the second team defense.

Although the pre-snap procedure has looked better under Williams since the start of camp, there have still been moments where there’s miscommunication. It’s a trend Johnson will want to nip quickly.

“It’s something we’re going to have to address for sure,” Johnson said. “It showed up more today than it has in practice. This was more like a real game and if it continues like that we’re not going to win many games.”

Johnson and a couple of Bears said part of the early inconsistencies could’ve been blamed on some preseason jitters.

The Bears wanted to treat the practice as a rehearsal for how the team will handle home games. The team stayed at a hotel in downtown Chicago on Saturday night and players got ready for the practice as if it were a game.

“I think all in all, today, some of it was maybe the nervous energy going around,” tight end Cole Kmet said. “I suppose things that we’ve gotta work through and things we have to work through quickly with preseason games coming up and then going into the season.”

Even though Sunday didn’t look the way Johnson wanted for the offense, he didn’t consider it a failure for the group. Johnson reinforced the idea that the team is growing during training camp if it learns from its mistakes and doesn’t make them again.

“I think for a healthy team over the course of camp, you kinda feel the defense win the day one day and then the offense bounces back the next day,” Johnson said. “You kinda have those even battles. That’s what you want from good teams.”

Practice notes

The defense got the best of the offense for most of the day Sunday.

Defensive end Montez Sweat put on a show for the fans at Soldier Field as he had his best performance of camp. Sweat consistently pressured Bears quarterbacks and finished with a couple of plays that would’ve been sacks.

Sweat battled injuries for much of last year, which derailed his first full season with the Bears. Johnson got a chance to watch Sweat as the Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator the past two seasons and was thrilled to have him on his defense now.

“I think he brings his lunch pail to work every day from the springtime to since we started camp,” Johnson said. “He’s not afraid to be a little more vocal and talk some noise, which I appreciate. I love that about him. I’m really happy with where he’s at right now.”

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter made a big play during a drill where the offense started at its own 1-yard line. He burst through the line to force a safety.

“Execution of the play wasn’t what we wanted to be,” Johnson said. “It’s a credit to the defense — they came out and they kicked the offense’s rear in that. So that’s what showed up to me — they wanted it a little bit more."

Defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, safety Jaquan Brisker and cornerback Kyler Gordon each also came up with big plays to stunt drives.

The offense ended practice on a good note. It started a drive at the defense’s 49, trailing by three points with 51 seconds left in the game. Williams completed a couple of big passes to D’Andre Swift and Olamide Zaccheaus to move the ball down the field.

He connected with rookie tight end Colston Loveland for a 7-yard touchdown to end the day.

Kmet caught a wide-open 25-yard touchdown during one 11-on-11 drill where the first team offense went against the second team defense. The Bears continued to test out DJ Moore at the running back spot. He rushed in for a 10-yard touchdown during another 11-on-11 drill.

Undrafted free agent wide receiver JP Richardson had the play of the day when he caught a long pass from Case Keenum for a touchdown.

Second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo continued to receive a majority of the first team snaps at left tackle Sunday. Braxton Jones worked with the first team for a bit while Kiran Amegadjie didn’t take part in practice Sunday.

Injury update

Left guard Jonah Jackson was back at practice for a second straight day and took part in team drills Sunday. Jackson, whom the Bears traded for over the offseason, had missed the previous two practices with a leg injury before returning Saturday in a limited fashion.

Amegadjie missed his second straight practice Sunday. Amegadjie was at Soldier Field watching from the sidelines but wasn’t in uniform. He last practiced Thursday before Friday’s off day.

Wide receiver Miles Boykin (ankle) didn’t participate Sunday after leaving during Saturday’s practice while running back Deion Hankins (concussion) and tight end Jordan Murray (groin) were also out. Offensive linemen Ricky Stromberg and Bill Murray, rookie cornerback Zah Frazier (personal) and rookie defensive tackle Sheman Turner (ankle) continued to miss practice.