What to make of Bears’ struggles on offense in first padded practice

The Chicago Bears held their first padded practice of training camp on Tuesday, and to the dismay of fans expecting a breakout season on offense, quarterback Justin Fields and his teammates struggled.

Beat reporters who attended Tuesday’s practice made it clear: Fields, and the offense, wasn’t good.

Here’s an ode to a late-90s Bears team:

Today’s #Bears practice rekindled a training camp lament from 1998: “How can the offense look so bad without the defense looking good?” Tough first day in pads for Justin Fields & Co. pic.twitter.com/VIgpOCMLvo

— Mark Potash (@MarkPotash) August 2, 2022

Yucky, while not a term often used in football, was described the offensive line play:

He threw down the seam to Cole Kmet but it hit a defender in the back. Protection was yucky for most of the drill too. https://t.co/3fAXJtuchR

— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) August 2, 2022

Finally, some perspective:

The Bears wrapped up their first practice in full pads this morning. The bad news is the offense remains quite the work in progress. The good news is it’s August 2.

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) August 2, 2022

Still, it was nearly unanimous: the Chicago Bears’ offense was a train wreck Tuesday:

Not a great day for the offense as a whole. Fields wasn’t consistent during 7 on 7 in the red zone when the team was practicing goal to go situations. Over threw a wide open N’Keal Harry in corner of EZ.

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) August 2, 2022

Don’t overreact to first padded practice of Bears training camp

It’s important to keep a few things in mind before reading too much into these reports.

First, Tuesday was the first time Chicago Bears players have been in pads since last season. That matters. Players are rusty, and it’s usually the case that defense is ahead of offense this time of year.

Second, Fields and the rest of the offense are learning a new playbook. They’re being coached by a completely new coaching staff. Essentially, they’re learning while doing. And whenever that’s the case, mistakes happen.

Third, the offense is a collection of several new players. Darnell Mooney is the only wide receiver Fields is familiar with. The offensive line will feature as many as four new starters. It takes time to build chemistry, and that’s what we’re seeing play out in real time.

In the words of a much-hated rival quarterback, Bears writers (and some fans) have to R-E-L-A-X. It’s August 2. We’re still more than 10 days away from the Chicago Bears’ first preseason games. We’re nearly six weeks away from the season opener. In the meantime, the Bears will gel. The offense will find its rhythm. And the results on the field will be better than they were Tuesday.

At least, they better be.