Bears training camp observations: Caleb Williams, offense still looking for answers in pass game

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears have 32 days until their season-opener against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field.

That gives them one month to find continuity on the offensive line and get rookie quarterback Caleb Williams comfortable to make a clean takeoff.

That's both a lot of time and no time at all for a Bears' offense that continues to struggle during team drills in practice.

Wednesday's padded affair at Halas Hall might have been the low point of training camp for Williams and the first-team offense.

Facing a Bears defense without defensive end Montez Sweat, defensive tackle Andrew Billings, cornerback Kyler Gordon, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and safety Jaquan Brisker, the Bears' offense barely moved the ball in multiple team periods.

Williams and the offense spun their wheels all day as a defensive line without Sweat and Billings got constant pressure against an offensive line that started the day without right guard Nate Davis and lost right tackle Darnell Wright on the first snap of team drills.

The offense finished the day with a thud during a two-minute drill that never got off the ground.

Williams and Co. started on their own 45-yard line with 1:10 left and the game tied at zero.

Defensive tackle Gervon Dexter blew through the line on the first play, but Williams evaded the pressure and scrambled out of the pocket to the right for a gain of 3 yards.

The Bears' defense dialed up a blitz on second down that derailed the drill for the offense.

Safety Kevin Byard came unblocked up the middle, and Williams immediately flung the ball deep downfield and out of bounds. Since Williams never had the opportunity to move outside the tackle box and there was no eligible receiver in the area, Williams was flagged for intentional grounding to set up third-and-16.

At the moment, the Bears' offense doesn't have a play for third-and-16, and defensive end DeMarcus Walker quickly ripped past the line and sacked Williams to end the drill.

Walker screamed and slammed his helmet down after the sack.

"Who the f--k ya'll f----ing with?!" Walker yelled after ending the first-team offense's day.

On the day, Williams completed just two passes during 11-on-11 work. The Bears' offense had some decent gains in the ground game [take that with a grain of salt in camp], but the passing attack is rickety, disjointed, and has been unable to get the downfield attack going.

Williams took a few shots downfield Wednesday, but all were thrown into tight coverage and fell incomplete.

Despite the passing games struggles over the last handful of practices, the Bears are confident that Williams will be ready to go in 32 days. The growth is there, and everything will start to click soon.

"I think for us when we watch him and watch him go through his reads and his progressions right there, I think going to where the ball should go is happening way more times that not," offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said after practice. "And some of the things that haven't worked out have been from just a near miss here or an angle that, you know, wasn't feeling it the right way there. Okay, got it. On to the next one. But he has been doing a good job reading with his feet, sticking within progression, recognizing coverage structures. So seeing all those things is what really gives you the confidence moving forward.”

"He makes 2-3 throws every day that's better than most rookie quarterbacks you've been around," passing game coordinator Thomas Brown said. "Being able to understand how to operate the offense, play on time, but also not take away from his athletic ability to move outside the pocket's gonna be a big thing. He's done a really good job so far."

A lot of the issues in the passing game stem from the shoddy protection in front of Williams. With Davis injured and Wright in and out of the lineup, the Bears have experimented with different combinations, which has led to poor pass protection from everyone on the unit.

The Bears don't see the lack of offensive line continuity as an issue on Aug. 7. They believe the "competition" is beneficial to improving depth, and the high-level "communication" allows them to continue to operate the offense at a high level without a number of starters.

That's partially true and a bit of posturing from Waldron, head coach Matt Eberflus, and offensive line coach Chris Morgan, all of whom would love to have a set unit in front of Williams as soon as possible.

The Bears have a month to find a healthy offensive line and get the passing game on track. Williams continues to showcase progress, but the Bears need to start seeing consistent growth in team drills after they wrap up this phase of the install.

There's still time to get things right, but that can evaporate fast in August.

Here are more notes from Wednesday's padded practice:

-- Wright got his right leg rolled up on during the first snap of team drills. He tried to gut through it but left practice a few plays later.

-- Billings did individual work before finishing his day in the rehab center.

-- Cornerback Terell Smith injured his arm/wrist while diving to break up a pass to DJ Moore. He did not return to practice.

-- Gordon, Brisker, Stevenson, Roschon Johnson, Ian Wheeler, Noah Sewell, Sweat, Davis, Collin Johnson, Bill Murray, Jacob Martin, Patrick Scales, Keith Randolph Jr., and Theo Benedet did not participate in practice.

-- The Bears' offensive line only had one false start Wednesday. But they gave up a handful of sacks and countless pressures as Eberflus and defensive coordinator Eric Washington continue to throw everything at Williams. Walker, Dexter, and Jack Sanborn all had "sacks.

-- Byard picked off Williams in 7-on-7 drills when the quarterback underthrew tight end Cole Kmet after rolling out to extend the play.

-- Running back D'Andre Swift picked up a nice gain on a slip screen. Travis Homer broke an explosive run.

-- The Bears will practice Thursday before announcing whether or not Williams and the starters will play in Saturday's preseason game against the Bills in Buffalo.

Click here to follow the Under Center Podcast.