The Bears conducted a practice in shells that was open to the public Monday at Halas Hall. Here's what transpired:
Nickel back Kyler Gordon was the star of the day with two interceptions, one of which he snared after the ball was deflected high in the air at the line of scrimmage.
The effort came two days after the third-year pro made multiple impact plays in the Bears' 27-3 preseason win over the Bengals at Soldier Field.
It was Gordon's first game action after returning to practice from an injury.
"He was all over the field making plays, whether it was blitzing, whether it was pass coverage, his run fits," said linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. "It's almost like he's been out there with us the whole time. He didn't miss one beat. Still playing fast. Still making the plays that we know he knows how to make. I was excited to see him back out there having fun."
On one first quarter drive, Gordon dropped Cincinnati receiver Kwamie Lassiter II for a three-yard loss on a swing pass and then sacked quarterback Logan Woodside with a big hit on a perfectly timed blitz.
The offensive highlights in Monday's practice included a pair of touchdown passes from Caleb Williams to Keenan Allen and a TD toss from Brett Rypien to Tyler Scott in the left corner of the end zone.
Williams excelling on and off script
Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was impressed with Williams' ability to make both on-schedule and off-schedule throws against the Bengals.
The rookie quarterback completed 6 of 13 passes for 75 yards, highlighted by a spectacular improvisational 45-yarder to rookie receiver Rome Odunze.
"He's shown that he can play in rhythm, find those throws," Waldron said. "And then what's pretty cool to watch is when the play breaks down, it almost seems like it's in slow motion for him and he can find a different rush lane, being smart with the ball, breaking contain and creating some explosives down the field.
"For us with him, it's about finding the balance of those two things, and I think he's doing a good job of progressing with that and feeling out what are those windows. What are the windows that are too tight to fight it in, or what are the windows that are legit completions before getting into potential scramble modes?"
The ability to see plays develop in slow motion is a rare trait, especially for a rookie quarterback.
"I think it goes back to, for Caleb in particular, just his spatial awareness and his ability to see the full picture," Waldron said. "[He] knows where everyone is, and that's where I see it with him … Being able to get to different windows or different rush lanes that he finds, he's got that natural ability."
A group effort
Williams' most impressive throw versus Cincinnati came when he spun away from pressure in the pocket, rolled to his left and lofted a perfect pass deep down the sideline to Odunze, who caught the ball in stride.
Waldron credited Williams, Odunze for "his instant reaction when he feels the play going off schedule," receivers coach Chris Beatty for teaching his players "some of the scramble response rules and where to get to," and others.
"It starts with that hustle and that effort any time a play breaks down," Waldron said. "And then for the line up front as well, understanding those would be the tempting times to maybe grab the defensive lineman or hold right there, but they did a great job staying clean hands, clean feet.
"That throw he's making, rolling to his left, I'd love to say that we drilled that forever and magically we made that happen, but man, he's got that ability and to me that's where he finds that balance of when's the right time. That was obviously a great time to create something off schedule right there when he didn't feel his initial reads in rhythm. And then he's also clean with the ball to get it through the line of scrimmage and find Rome down the field."
Another long pass Williams threw resulted in a 43-yard pass interference penalty on the Bengals early in the second quarter. Scott drew the flag after beating man coverage on a deep post pattern.
"That one started up front," Waldron said. "The protection on that for a play-action fake right there, the O-line with the feel of run, the two tight ends ended up on the double team on the back side defensive end right there, and then Rome running his crosser to eat up the safety driving so that Tyler could work that one-on-one matchup before the overlap corner played over the top.
"Just good execution all the way around. Obviously would love to get the completion out of it for Tyler because he did a good job winning initially on the route and then got grabbed at the top of the route. But Caleb saw it cleanly, clean feet, so just a good shot of all 11 guys being in sync on an offensive snap."
Bagent shines in relief
Replacing Williams to start the second half, backup quarterback Tyson Bagent delivered another impressive performance, completing 7 of 8 passes for 87 yards with a 151.6 passer rating.
"I love Tyson's poise," Waldron said. "He played with that calm, cool and collected demeanor at the line of scrimmage, was able to get right through a progression to a second or third read, or No. 1's there and he played in great rhythm right there. So he just showed that poise, poise in the running game, the ownership of the offense, so it was great to see. And talk about a guy that hard work pays off. No one's going to out-work him, so it's great to see that out on the field."
Back in action
Waldron was happy to see rookie offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie practice for the first time, albeit on a limited basis, after being activated off the non-football injury (NFI) list Sunday. The third-round pick from Yale has been recovering from a quad injury that required surgery last October.
Waldron praised offensive line coach Chris Morgan and assistant line coach Jason Houghtaling with preparing Amegadjie while he was unable to practice.
"I've talked to Kiran a lot and he does a great job of taking a mental rep every time he hears the play," Waldron said. "Looking forward to him. Smart guy. Smart, tough and reliable that can start off with a good base already … From a mental standpoint, he stayed so locked in every opportunity he's had, so now it's just about going out there and doing it."
