Camp Report: Putting the Chicago Bears' offensive concerns and questions in perspective

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - It was a fun day at Halas Hall. A group of HBO Max series actors took the field.

We mean, of course, the "Hard Knocks" stars, which are the Chicago Bears.

The series that takes a look at the Bears' training camp debuted Tuesday night, giving viewers a look behind the scenes at the Bears. What plenty took away was it's not easy to be a rookie quarterback in the NFL.

Through the first three weeks of Chicago Bears training camp, the emphasis has, and will continue to be, on Caleb Williams and his development.

It's time to put those struggles, concerns and questions into perspective.

How did the Bears look on Wednesday?

First off, the defense won the day. Again.

If it seems like the Bears defense has consistently won the day, that's because they have. There are only a handful of moments that stand out from the Bears' offense taking control.

The defense won the 7-on-7, 11-on-11 and two-minute drills. 

Caleb Williams did not look great, throwing into double coverage multiple times and getting intercepted by Kevin Byard. Williams also missed open throws to Rome Odunze and DJ Moore.

The Bears' defense engulfed the offense in the two-minute drill to end the day. The drill put the Bears' offense at its own 45-yard line with 1:10 on the clock and one timeout in their pocket.

Williams scrambled for three yards on first down, and threw the ball away on second down but was flagged for intentional grounding because he didn't leave the pocket. On third and 16, Williams was sacked by DeMarcus Walker.

Back to the drawing board for the Bears' offense.

Is what we see consistently concerning?

Bears quarterback coach Kerry Joseph put it pretty well.

When the Bears' first-team offense struggles, Joseph talked about going back to the huddle with Williams. There are times when the duo just tip their cap.

"It's funny because he'll walk back and say, ‘man, that defense pretty darn good,'" Joseph said. "I said, ’yeah, they are.' And it just happens that way."

The Bears' defense is good. Here's an example of how good the unit is.

Montez Sweat, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker sat out of practice on Wednesday. Andrew Billings participated early, but didn't participate in the 11-on-11 or two-minute drills. The defense did not miss a beat.

Notably, the Bears' pass rush was what won consistently. Walker, Daniel Hardy and Gervon Dexter Sr. all looked very good. As did Khalid Kareem, who rushed the passer pretty well with the second-team defense and seems to be carving out a roster spot with the reserves.

There are times when the offense missteps. That's fair with a rookie quarterback, especially against his first NFL defense. What Williams is doing well is remembering he's a master scrambler who can make off-balance throws better than most of the league.

"Sometimes he'll miss a read and he'll try to go to the next one and he realizes it's not there and he uses his ability to get out, and he knows he has that ability," Joseph said. "It just depends on the play. Depends on if the defense covers it well."

The defense, it turns out, usually does cover it well.

What is the Bears' offense doing well?

This might seem superficial, but the Bears are following the process the coaching staff has laid out in front of the players.

Bears' offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said offensive communication is one of the areas he feels most confident heading into Saturday's game against the Bills.

Specifically, Waldron likes the communication between the players and coaches.

It might not seem like something most fans can get excited about, but the Bears are on the same page. They understand what they need to do in order to improve, and that's impressive to the coaching staff.

With Williams specifically, Joseph is seeing different parts of the way Williams needs to process the game start to click. Plus, the physical tools he has are translating well.

"Today, his operation in the run game was great, so just taking those strides in the run game of being able to go through the operation process, whether we're trying to get to one run to another," Joseph said. "I think for him now, his pass game, he's doing tremendous in that. His timing, his rhythm, you can see how quick he can get the ball out. I mean, that's just superb."

The bottom line

Chicago Bears fans don't have to worry yet.

It's still the preseason. Training camp is still going.

The Bears bottomed out plenty of times on offense during the regular season in the past two years. This is not that. There's more installation to come and there's more time to get it all down.

This has been stressed before, and it's worth mentioning again, the coaching staff is not concerned.

There's no reason anyone else should have any elevated concern.

"You can't skip a step in this process," Joseph said. "I think he's taking every step necessary throughout this process, and we're right there with him and the guys in the room or the teammates around him are encouraging him, pushing him also. So, I mean, I just think it's just one day at a time."

Wednesday's injury report

Stevenson, Brisker, Gordon and Sweat all sat out, while Billings was limited. What was notable was Nate Davis sitting out again.

Running back Roschon Johnson and guard Bill Murray also didn't participate in practice.

Darnell Wright left practice in the 11-on-11 drills and did not return. He was replaced by Larry Borom at right tackle.