If quarterback Andy Dalton wanted to show the coaches how he would respond to nearly 48 hours of Justin Fields hype, well, Monday’s practice wasn’t exactly his best response.
The Bears returned to training camp at Halas Hall coming off a win in their preseason debut for a shorts-and-shells practice. Early on in team drills, Dalton threw behind the receiver on an out route and cornerback Jaylon Johnson picked it off, returning the interception for a touchdown.
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Later in team drills, Dalton targeted Marquise Goodwin on a deep ball down the middle of the field, and once again Johnson picked it off.
However, it’s not like Fields had a sparkling day, either. One play after Dalton’s first interception, Fields was almost intercepted by cornerback Artie Burns on an out route. Corner Xavier Crawford then broke up his next pass.
Then in seven-on-seven drills, Teez Tabor intercepted a Fields pass. It’s possible that Fields didn’t even see Tabor coming from his safety position.
So what’s next for Justin Fields?
The Bears see real progress but will stick to their patient plan.
Let’s take a look how much Patrick Mahomes played in the preseason in 2017 and some more.
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Dalton did complete a nice deep ball to Damiere Byrd later in the session, while Fields’ best throw came on a similar throwback to the tight end that we saw work for a touchdown on Saturday — and once again, it was to Jesse James.
“Super bright, smart, willing to learn, lots of experience, understands how he fits in this offense,” coach Matt Nagy said of James. “He’s very valuable. He can do a lot of things. We trust him. He creates a lot of depth for us there and he’s been a great addition to the room.”
Dalton remained in sync with Allen Robinson, connecting a few times with the top receiver. Fields did a nice job with a throw to Riley Ridley, keeping it away from the corner, and Ridley made a defender miss with his cut, drawing applause as he ran to the end zone.
It was a good practice for the secondary and the takeaway bucket got a few additions, but as Nagy maintains his focus on the present for each of his quarterbacks, Monday was not an example of their best work in camp. The next test will come Tuesday when the pads come back on.
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Here are the news and notes from the Bears’ 14th practice of training camp …
Injury report
With two off-days sandwiching the preseason game, it was fair to expect some players to return Monday, and the Bears did get three back: safety Tashaun Gipson, Goodwin and Burns.
Burns, a 2016 first-round pick of the Steelers who tore his ACL in camp last year, had an active practice, as he was often around the football. Burns is vying for one of the final cornerback roster spots.
Eddie Goldman practiced for the first time since he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Aug. 3. He was in his normal spot at nose tackle with the starters.
“Eddie’s one of the top nose guards in the league,” Cody Whitehair said. “He’s great with his hands. He’s powerful. All the traits of a great nose tackle, he has. So he definitely helps our defense out, along with all of those guys. (Khyiris) Tonga’s a good nose, too. So those guys are just continuing to make us better up front. We’ve got one of the best front sevens in the league. So going against all those guys, every week, every day, that’s only going to make us better as well.”
Nagy did have three to add to the injury list from Saturday’s game: Defensive back Michael Joseph broke his thumb, while Ryan Nall (chest) and Robert Quinn (ankle) missed practice due to injuries suffered against the Dolphins.
Running back David Montgomery participated in individual drills but remained on the sideline the rest of practice due to soreness, per the team. While Montgomery appeared to leave the field with a limp after his one and only snap on Saturday, he remained on the sideline all game and didn’t have any work done by trainers. We’ll see what Nagy says Tuesday morning.
No other changes to the injury report meant none of the following players returned: Teven Jenkins, Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan and Larry Borom. Germain Ifedi and Tarik Cohen remain on the physically unable to perform list.
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Jenkins has now missed every practice of camp. Nagy said they have not considered putting him on the PUP list and that his status is unchanged.
“Same stuff. It’s a process,” he said. “We all want to make it happen sooner than later. Dre (head athletic trainer Andre Tucker) and our doctors are working with him and just trying to stay as positive as they can with him and (go) really, honestly, day by day.”
Awaiting Jason Peters
Jason Peters, the 39-year-old, nine-time Pro Bowl tackle, officially signed Monday and is expected to be thrown into the mix at left tackle this week.
“We’re looking forward to it,” Nagy said. “I know he is, too. And again, we’ll have to get him going, see where he’s at and everything, but it was good to talk to him.”
Peters’ most important task is fortifying the left side of the line and giving the Bears as much as he can until Jenkins is ready, or until they’re comfortable with Elijah Wilkinson or Borom.
The secondary benefit of having Peters in the building is he can help teach the younger O-linemen.
“I’ll try to take in everything I can from him and just learn,” center Sam Mustipher said. “He’s 39 years old. He’s probably taken a million pass sets in his career. To understand the knowledge that he has for the game, the knowledge he has for training and the preparation it takes to play that long at that high of a level, I’ll probably be in his back pocket. I’ll probably be asking him more questions than he wants me to ask. But I just want to learn from him and understand, ‘What do you do that sets you apart from everybody else?’”
O-line review
The position group garnering the most concern is the banged-up offensive line, particularly the tackle position. Nagy and Juan Castillo probably would’ve preferred more than 52 plays of tape to watch, but that’s how many snaps they could review of right tackle Lachavious Simmons.
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Wilkinson played 40 at left tackle, while guard Arlington Hambright played 35 snaps.
Overall, Nagy was pleased with how the group performed.
“That was probably one of the biggest things we talked about as a staff was just you didn’t really see a whole lot of touches or hits on those quarterbacks,” Nagy said. “I mean, not really. That there is really good. (The Dolphins) were doing some games up front, not a lot but some games, and we passed it off pretty well. I didn’t feel a lot of penetration back into the quarterback’s throws.”
Miami’s defense finished the game with zero QB hits and zero sacks.
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Strong start for rookie RB
Khalil Herbert was the third back on the field Saturday behind Montgomery and Damien Williams and ahead of Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce. He carried the ball six times for 38 yards and caught three passes for 11 yards, impressing his head coach in the process.
“He’s really caught my attention,” Nagy said. “I think he’s somebody that, again, you talk about the word trust, he hasn’t made many mistakes as a rookie. He’s very, very smooth. When he gets the football, you can see the burst that he has. He’s always going to go forward with yards. I really like where he’s at right now. I think that running back room, in general, is playing their tails off and (running backs) Coach (Michael) Pitre is doing a great job working with those guys.”
That’s high praise at a time of year when the head coach tries not to single out anyone too much.
“Surprisingly, I wasn’t really nervous,” Herbert said of his NFL debut. “I kind of felt like this was where I was supposed to be. But it was a blessing to go out there and get the win. Everybody played really well. Got some stuff to fix, but ultimately got the win, so it was good.”
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A sixth-round pick, Herbert seems to be in line to be the top reserve at running back, but to cement that status, he’ll need to prove his value on special teams — and his abilities in that area were a major reason the Bears drafted him.
Herbert had the first kickoff return Saturday and played nine snaps on special teams. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor has Herbert working all facets of special teams.
“He has me in a bunch of different spots,” Herbert said. “He wants me to learn all parts of different special teams so I’m able to go wherever he needs me to go.”
Mustipher as a leader
We’ll leave you with this quote from the Bears’ starting center, which is an example of why so many have gravitated toward him since he took over the job last season.
Mustipher was asked which offensive lineman is the one who brings the “nasty” to the group.
“Right now as a unit, we’re all trying to be that guy,” he said. “That’s the ideal situation, where we’re all that guy. I think you saw glimpses of it this weekend. Everybody being around the ball, everybody finishing on their man. We all want to be that guy. We don’t want to pick out one guy. If that’s the standard, then everybody should be at that standard. That’s the ideal goal for offensive lines.
“We don’t want to (say), ‘Oh, that’s our bell cow. We want to lean on this guy.’ No. Everybody be that guy. Everybody be the guy that down in, down out, I’m going to be able to depend on you, know where you’re gonna be at. I know you’re gonna be finishing your man, blocking to the whistle. I know you’re gonna be over there picking up our ball carriers, our running backs and protecting our quarterbacks with your life.”
(Photo of Khalil Herbert: Eileen T. Meslar / USA Today)
