Bears camp report: Defining ‘championship standard’; Caleb Williams struggles
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Bears track everything that happens in practice.
The eye (OK, camera) in the sky don’t lie. Neither do the wearable monitors tracking physical activity and a player’s reaction to it. Team period results (11-on-11 and 7-on-7) also are documented and delivered to players and position groups.
Everyone has benchmarks the team is looking for them to hit. Quarterback Caleb Williams is the easiest example, considering he and head coach Ben Johnson made his 70 percent completion rate goal public.
It’s early in camp, with focus on the second round of install periods, so proceedings won’t be sparkly clean on the field or on the practice recaps.
“We track all of it,” Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said Friday at Halas Hall. “The biggest thing is, you track it and you give it to (Williams). ‘Hey, we’re below our standard right now.’ That information is really helpful, because obviously it’s one thing to say that. It’s another thing to walk into the quarterback meeting and hand them a sheet that says, ‘Hey, you’re above or below championship standards.’
“It’s something we’ll track throughout camp. Obviously, that’s our benchmark, our goal. That’s the biggest thing — we have to track all of it and make sure our players are aware of what we’re going to ask them to do.”
The ‘championship standard’
Doyle used that phrase a few times during his Friday press conference.
It’s something the Bears preach in training camp — maybe farther back than that — of how they want to conduct their business. Anything less won’t be tolerated.
That’s why you see moments such as Johnson pulling his first-team offense after it struggled to line up right a few times in a row. It’s why you hear veteran tight end Cole Kmet say performance is more detail-oriented that results-based. It all adds up to a standard that the coaching staff upholds every day, all the time.
“We all are responsible to hold the line for the championship standard,” Doyle said. “So, obviously, at times I’m in front of the room and am the vocal piece on that. Especially when Ben’s out of the room, that’s got to be my role. But, really, as a coaching staff, across the board, we’re all responsible to hold our guys accountable for the standard we’re going to standard we’re going to ask for.
“The action you walk by is the action you accept, and that becomes the new standard. We’re not going to walk by anything. We’re going to be intentional about making sure that we’re correcting our guys.”
Rough red-zone for top offense
The Bears are working through an install period of camp, and Friday’s session was packed with red-zone activity.
The first-team defense won most reps. Williams threw two consecutive interceptions during a 7-on-7 period, when Jaquan Brisker and T.J. Edwards caught tipped passes out of the air. Williams struggled in that session and an 11-on-11 red-zone segment, though he finished strong with back-to-back touchdown passes to Rome Odunze and Olamide Zaccheaus.
This training camp remains in its infancy, and mistakes are to be expected. That’s why there’s no real concern about hiccups you’re reading about in camp reports and on social media.
“I wouldn’t say that right now,” Doyle said. “I think that our guys are getting better. They’re working at it. And that’s the biggest thing — they’re coming to work every day, and they’re willing to put the necessary work in to improve. This whole thing is a process and, for the next six weeks, we’re going to get a ton of reps on all of these plays. We’re going to try to master these things.”
It’s also important to note that we often don’t know the objective of each period. As Doyle volunteered Friday, some segments were designed to see how the offense would react to defensive pressure.
Adverse situations can produce lackluster results, so all that must be taken into context. The overarching theme, though, is that the offense remains in a learning and development phase across the board, with plenty of improvement to be made.
There’s another factor here: Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen isn’t pulling punches. His unit is getting after it, with varied looks and attacks.
“It’s not one thing that looks the same on that defense,” wide receiver DJ Moore said. “Everything is different every play. It’s good for us, but I’m glad we don’t have to go against it on Sundays.”
Injury update
Left tackle Braxton Jones was given a scheduled off day as part of his ramp-up period, which looks to be appropriately conservative as the veteran works back from ankle surgery.
Wide receiver Luther Burden (soft tissue), cornerback Zah Frazier (personal) and defensive lineman Shemar Turner (ankle) remain out.
Regarding Burden, Moore said the rookie has been attentive in meetings but had some recommendations for how to be ready when healthy.
“I want to say probably just staying in his book,” the veteran receiver said. “Watch film, see the timing aspect and how everybody else is moving out there and try to replicate that when he’s out there.”
Rookie tight end Colston Loveland continues to do a bit more each day, but he still hasn’t been part of team drills, as he returns from shoulder surgery.
Practice notes
Undrafted rookie receiver JP Richardson continues to stand out in training camp and the offseason program work that came before it. He made a spectacular, one-handed, spinning grab Wednesday, and had more big moments Friday.
“I think JP is a guy who has come in here and been intentional about learning the playbook,” Doyle said. “The first thing is always, ‘Do you know what to do?’ At that point, you unlock your ability to show off your ability. He has done a really good job of coming in and learning it. He’s an athletic guy and has a little bit of twitch to him in the route tree. Obviously, through the first three days, it has been fun to see.” …
Linebacker Noah Sewell worked as the first-team strongside linebacker in the base defense — a rare first-team position that’s up for grabs. Receiver Miles Boykin had a look with the first team at times, as did left guard Bill Murray and right guard Ryan Bates. …
Quarterback Tyson Bagent had a strong showing with the third unit, connecting with Joel Wilson and Ian Wheeler on well-timed red-zone TD passes.


