LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Bears at last. Training camp began on Saturday It was a short practice featuring only one period of 7-on-7 and two stanzas of 11-on-11.
As has been the case for most of the offseason, the Bears’ first-team defense had the advantage against quarterback Caleb Williams and an offense that is still in its infancy.
The Bears began the first period “moving the ball” 11-on-11 from their own 25-yard line, needing a first down to win the drill.
Williams completed a pass out of the backfield to running back D’Andre Swift for a four-yard gain. The offense struggled to break up the pack before second down, forcing head coach Matt Eberflus to call a timeout. That was the offense’s only operational issue of the day.
On second and six from the 21, Williams passed to tight end Cole Kmet for a two-yard gain, but the drive stalled. On third and four, Williams threw a swing pass to running back Roshon Johnson to the left for no gain.
Williams went all out on fourth down, attempting a touchdown on a post route with DJ Moore, but the pass was intercepted by safety Elijah Hicks.
The first-team offense ran a follow-up play after losing the drill, but a screen pass from Williams to Swift was quickly spotted by defensive end Jacob Martin.
The Bears closed out the first day of camp with a two-minute drill with the offense trailing by four points with 1 minute, 10 seconds left and the ball at the opponent’s 40-yard line.
Williams opened the drill with a slick sidearm pass to Keenan Allen for a five-yard gain.
The following play was the most notable one on the light opening training camp day at Halas Hall.
On second down, Williams dropped back and looked to his right to throw a pass, but defensive tackle Jahvon Dexter tipped it up in the air. Williams reacted quickly, catching the ball and running through for a short gain.
“Isn’t it amazing?” Eberflus said after practice. “He’s got great quickness. You could see it. He’s got great quickness. He’s obviously a good athlete.”
With under a minute left, the Bears offense needed to get into gear on third down, but a pass from Williams to Tyler Scott down the right sideline was incomplete due to a miscommunication that saw Scott move up the field when Williams thought he was sitting on the sideline.
Williams’ fourth-down pass to tight end Steven Carlson also fell incomplete along the right sideline, ending the drill.
Despite the defensive win, the Bears were happy with how things were on Day 1 of their 50-day march to Week 1.
“I thought it was solid,” wide receiver Keenan Allen said. “I thought it was a great start for us. I thought it was a great start for us, really all day today. We looked really solid. Like I said, no repetitions, everybody was on the same page.”
Here are some other notes from day one of camp:
— Williams completed 3 of 4 attempts in the only 7-on-7 drill, including short, decisive passes to Moore and Verath Jones Jr.
— Safety JaQuan Brisker made his best play of the day when he intercepted a pass from Williams to Scott on a 7-on-7 situation. Williams tried to find Scott on a corner route, but Brisker read the play, lunged at the ball and smashed it away.
— Left tackle Braxton Jones and linebacker TJ Edwards will both be limited at the start of camp.
— With Jones out, Larry Borom practiced with the first team at left tackle. Ryan Bates participated in most of the first-team drills at center, and Doug Kramer took part in a few first-team drills. Kramer only played a few snaps while backup center Coleman Shelton practiced with the second-team offensive line on a separate field.
— Rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze missed Saturday’s game for personal reasons and is expected to return Sunday.
— Tight end Gerald Everett and rookie offensive tackle Kiran Amegazie did not participate after being placed on the non-football related injury list after the start of camp.
The Bears were aware of Everett’s issues but did not believe they were serious.
“That’s something we knew from training,” Eberflus said when asked about Everett after practice. “That’s something we knew from training. We’ll see how it goes. Things change day to day, so we’ll see how it goes. It’s not a big deal, so that’s where it is.”
— The Bears will not host Family Fest at Soldier Field this season due to a scheduling conflict with concerts.
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