Camp Report: How the Chicago Bears offense proved it's coming along, even during a day of struggles

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - So much has been made of the Chicago Bears' offensive struggles in training camp, and for good reason.

On Tuesday, the struggles continued, but there were some positives that began to emerge and interweave with the struggles.

Now, we're seeing the connections come to life.

Here's our latest camp report from Halas Hall.

The offensive struggles continue 

The Bears' defense is good. We cannot stress this enough. As as Bears head coach Matt Eberflus wants to avoid anointing them as good or a top-10 unit in the league, the connectivity and success they have proves they're going to be regarded as a top unit.

That said, the Bears' offense doesn't do itself any favors.

The first-team unit got flagged for delay of game and false start, and there was some miscommunication between Williams and Keenan Allen on a route where Allen moved inside and Williams threw it to the sidelines.

Jaylon Johnson had a solid pass break up. Jaquan Brisker intercepted Williams on a throw to Cole Kmet that was high, late and over the middle, the three things a quarterback never wants to see on his throws.

Part of it is the improvements that are continuing with the defense. Namely, three-technique defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. got a mention by name from Eberflus.

"He’s improving," Eberflus said. "You can see it on one-on-one pass rush. He came back in really good shape."

With the emergence of Dexter, as well as nose tackle Andrew Billings, the defensive line's interior is making life an issue for the Bears' offense. When Eberflus was in Indianapolis, he said having a productive defensive interior was an invaluable factor.

"It changed everything," Eberflus said. "The closest way to the quarterback is that D-tackle position."

That success is noted. So is the offensive success.

What to make of the two-minute drill success

The success the Bears' defense had over the offense was apparent on Tuesday as it had been for the first week of camp.

There wasn't much sustained offensive success.

But, the two-minute drill was different. In fact, it only took the Bears' first-team offense three plays to score. It was a textbook two-minute drill where everything looked to come together.

1st and 10: Williams' pass right to Allen, 16-yard gain, first down

1st and 10: Williams' short pass to D'Andre Swift, 16-yard gain, first down

1st and 10: Williams' pass deep left to Rome Odunze, 20-yards, touchdown.

It was near perfect and exactly how a two-minute drill should go.

The first pass to Allen got Williams going, and established the rhythm. The second pass to Swift just took what was open and let a talented player make a play. The third play showed off the Williams-Odunze chemistry.

Odunze beat Tarvarius Moore, and Williams hit Odunze in the end zone before Kevin Byard could make up ground and break up the pass.

Williams also hit Odonze in the end zone to simulate a two-point conversion, where Williams basically threw it high in the back right corner of the end zone and trusted Odunze to go up and make a play.

Odunze made the play.

They weren't the only successes on the day, either. DJ Moore had a play in the 7-on-7 period where he torched Tyrique Stevenson and Williams hit him in stride for a touchdown.

It was an example of everything starting to come together, which has been the case for a while.

Even if the results weren't always visible, the players knew behind the scenes things were fine.

"It has been a lot smoother than a lot of people think," Herbert told me on Saturday. "The guys we got upstairs and the guys in this room, being able to adapt and adjust and learn really quickly. I feel like guys have done a great job of just being able to learn the concept, learn the plays, snap counts, cadence and all that stuff."

This, Herbert said, has been a process since the roster started to come together after the draft and in the offseason programs.

"We really needed OTAs just to be able to get all that in sync, so we could come out here and play fast," Herbert said.

Tuesday's Standouts

Collin Johnson

It seems every day, Johnson is doing something to catch our eye. On Tuesday, Johnson made catches in different plays.

He caught and navigated a screen pass well and even had a contested catch over the middle where he had to go up and catch the ball and sacrifice his body going to the ground hard. Johnson plays tough and hard, and he's establishing himself in a receiver room that's talented, experienced and, now, crowded.

Bill Murray

Not to be confused with the Chicago-legend actor and "Ghostbusters" star, Murray was one of the first players who Eberflus has named dropped unprompted.

When asked about the offensive line combinations, Eberflus mentioned the second-year player out of William & Mary by name.

"Bill Murray’s had a really good camp so far," Eberflus said. "We’ll never put a ceiling on any player."

Tuesday's injury report

Bears defensive back Kyler Gordon did not practice again, neither did Nate Davis again. Davis is still considered day-to-day after suffering a strain. 

Ian Wheeler and Jacob Martin also didn't practice. However, Nisimba Webster was back practicing.