Bears training camp notebook: Offense cleans up penalties on Day 8

It's officially game week for the Chicago Bears, and they returned to the practice field as they prepare to head to Canton for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on Thursday. Monday's session wasn't nearly as rigorous as the last couple of practices, with the players only in shells to start the week.

The Bears practiced for an hour and a half inside the Walter Payton Center due to wet conditions outside. Practice mainly consisted of red zone situations for the first, second, and third-team units in preparation for their matchup with the Houston Texans on Thursday evening.

Monday's practice was closed to the public, but Bears Wire was able to attend with the media. Here are some notes from both the practice, as well as media sessions with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, quarterback Caleb Williams, defensive end Austin Booker, and linebacker Jack Sanborn.

Nate Davis and Kyler Gordon did not practice

Nate Davis missed his first training camp practice of the year on Monday after he only participated in individual drills on Saturday. Guard Ryan Bates took his spot on the offensive line with Coleman Shelton once again playing center. Davis has been the subject of scrutiny among the fans and while offensive coordinator Shane Waldron discussed competition on the line, he reiterated that Davis is still the starter when healthy.

As for Gordon, he missed his fourth practice of camp with a lower leg injury. He's the only starter who has missed extended time up to this point. Undrafted rookie Reddy Steward started in his place at nickel corner after he shined on Saturday.

Other players who were present but did not practice include running backs Ian Wheeler and Travis Homer, defensive end Jacob Martin, and wide receiver Nsimba Webster.

Offense cleaned up the pre-snap penalties

False starts and other pre-snap penalties were the main story during Friday and Saturday's practice. The defensive line was able to get the offense to jump multiple times, and it led to dead plays before they even started. That wasn't the case on Monday. The Bears cleaned up their operation at every level, with the starters committing just one pre-snap penalty during team drills, which was a delay of game. In fact, towards the end of practice, it was the offense who was able to get the defense to bite during the two-minute drill.

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent used a hard count to get defensive tackle Byron Cowart to jump offsides, which would have led to a free play down the field. It's a positive sign after the miscues from Saturday, even if it was a lighter day overall. Waldron echoed those sentiments when he met with the media.

"I think that’s one thing we just mentioned to those guys coming off the practice before the players’ day off," he said. "We had some struggles operationally and then being able to bounce back today and have a clean practice right there and be able to operate at a high level. When we are operating at a high level from an operation standpoint, it’s giving all 11 players the best chance to play fast and play within every concept.”

Tough day for Velus Jones

Velus Jones is fighting for a roster spot going into Year 3, and he didn't do himself any favors on offense or special teams. Jones was ineffective during 7-on-7 drills, missing a jump ball that was catchable even with a defender near him and also dropping an easy score while he was wide open. Unless it was missed, I do not believe Jones caught a pass in any team drill, despite being targeted more than a few times.

Jones' deficiencies on offense are well noted, but it was interesting that he did not receive any reps as a returner on special teams. John Jackson, Dante Pettis, and Fredde Swain were the primary kick returners when practicing the drill. The Bears could be rotating various players in throughout the practices, but given Jones couldn't stand out on offense, it was a tough day for No. 12.

Caleb Williams looks the part at quarterback

This was my first time getting to see Caleb Williams operate as the Bears quarterback, and my first impressions are that he looks the part. He has an arm that can make seemingly every throw, his release looks effortless, and his footwork is on point when going through individual drills.

Seeing as this was a lighter practice, Williams wasn't asked to do too much during 7-on-7s or 11-on-11s, but he had a few impressive throws where his arm strength and accuracy were on full display. During 7-on-7s, Williams pumped left and turned right to fire a dart to DJ Moore in the end zone on an out route. In 11-on-11s, he scrambled right to find Keenan Allen in the back of the end zone with Kevin Byard in coverage. Williams detailed the play after practice.

“We had a quick game for blitz that I went to, and also, just that’s where we’re starting right there in that progression," Williams told the media. "Start there, and then I got back to Keenan. I felt the pocket collapsing, and I felt a big gap open up, and I know Keenan is coming on the back line, and I felt the defense push over, the backer attach. The backer was too low, and I threw it over his head.”

His best play of the day, however, came a few plays later when he lofted a pass to Rome Odunze in the back-left corner of the end zone in near double coverage. Odunze came down with the ball, looked to keep his feet in bounds, and secured the catch when he was knocked to the ground. Williams showed his knack for putting the right amount of touch on the ball depending on the situation.

Williams isn't perfect by any means and he still needs to get better when the pressure is bearing down on him. There were multiple instances where he was flushed from the pocket and needed to run or throw the ball away. In a game situation, some of those plays would have been sacks. He knows those improvements need to come and emphasized the importance of preseason reps to help in that area.

"I would say working on my blitz looks, my blitz and coverage looks and feeling the umbrella of the defense and feeling that out to adjust protection, to adjust whether it’s a run - flip the run, flip the run in to it, flip the protection, get to a quick game, get to a Cover-0 check - however the structure of it works out, just progressing," Williams said when asked about where he wants to improve. "And a lot of that comes with seeing it with reps so that’s also why preseason, those things are so important."

Still, there's a lot to like with the rookie quarterback. It's going to take time, but you can already see flashes of what he's capable of doing to opposing defenses.

Austin Booker likes to be under the radar

Rookie defensive end Austin Booker considers himself to be a sleeper and he likes it that way. "Not many people know about me," he said to the media. Bears fans have worked to get ingratiated with the Kansas standout after he was drafted in the fifth round and he's excited to get to show what he can do when the time comes. He's soaking up knowledge from players like Montez Sweat though and even stealing some of his moves. Booker talked about a play Sweat made earlier in camp where he used his long arm technique and pulled through to get around the edge.

"I just took that right out of his bag," Booker told the media. "So literally anything I see, anything I don’t have in my bag I’m going to take, for sure."

The rookie is learning a lot this camp, including what NFL tackles are like. When I asked Booker which tackle has challenged him the most, he didn't hesitate with his answer.

"Braxton [Jones] is probably the best tackle to me out there," he said while referencing his "strong ass hands." It's going to be interesting to see how Booker acclimates to the NFL level, but given how his collegiate career turned out, he may just show up out of nowhere one game.

Defensive backs making their presence felt

Much of the work during Monday's practice took place in the red zone and while there were a few big plays from the offense, a few defensive backs stood out with their play. Second-year cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was glued to his receivers and had a couple of nice breakups on the day.

The best play, however, came when Greg Stroman Jr. read a screen pass perfectly from Bagent and broke through for a possible interception. Had it been a game, Stroman would have probably been able to secure an interception and take it to the house for a pick six.

This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears training camp notebook: Offense cleans up penalties on Day 8