Chicago Bears’ early offensive struggles in camp are nothing to worry about
By Ryan Heckman
Over the first week and a half of Chicago Bears training camp, many of the narratives have remained the same.
If you’ve been a Bears fan for a while now, you’ve come to expect this kind of news. The offense sputtered. The defense won the day.
It’s all part of being a Bears fan, by now. Yet, as fans, we continue to hope for more. We continue to plead for this team to find its identity on offense and improve just a little bit, even.
The start of 2022 training camp has seen the offense struggle at times, with second-year quarterback Justin Fields adjusting to a new offense and waiting for his starting offensive line to come into the picture. So far, we’ve seen reports like this from Adam Jahns and the rest of Bears media.
Not a good showing for Justin Fields during 7-on-7s in the red zone and goal-to-go.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 2, 2022
Although the Chicago Bears offense has had some low moments in training camp, there is no reason to panic.
Bears fans, like any fans, tend to overreact to training camp reports. After all, it’s been months since we’ve seen football in any capacity. But, when these types of reports come out, let’s just put it all into perspective.
A few years ago, Patrick Mahomes was throwing interceptions left and right in training camp. He went on to light it up that season and become an elite quarterback in a matter of just one season.
Just a year ago, Ja’Marr Chase was the butt of several jokes because he couldn’t even catch a football. He began training camp just about as bad as he possibly could have. Chase went on to set the NFL world on fire and ended with over 1,400 yards and 13 touchdowns en route to a Super Bowl appearance.
A lot of focus on the 2-minute struggles for the #Bears offense (and rightfully so). It's been bad the last two days.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) August 2, 2022
That said, I thought the offense looked really good in the live goal-line period today. 1s and 2s consistently scored. A lot of good play designs.
Things aren’t going to click right away, but there have still been some very positive signs from the offense. Fields and the offense scored a lot in goal line drills on Tuesday. Fields has also made some incredible downfield throws to guys like Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney and Velus Jones Jr.
The depth at running back looks better than ever, too, between David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert and rookie Trestan Ebner.
There will be growing pains. That’s a given. But, for fans to overreact to negative camp reports would be silly at this point. Camp is all about making mistakes now so that you can avoid them later. It’s about growing, learning and figuring out what works for this team and what doesn’t.
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There are a lot of new faces, amongst new schemes and a new coaching staff. This is what training camp is all about. Let these guys grow, and remember not to overreact.