During most of early training camp, the Chicago Bears offense looked good. There were occasional mistakes, but they seemed on even footing with the defense with a fair share of wins. That changed on Wednesday. All reports indicate the defense came out with their hair on fire, jumping on every mistake the offense made by forcing turnovers, sacks, and tackles for a loss. The energy was palpable, as was the trash talk. Two guys that weren’t happy about it were quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver Darnell Mooney.
They immediately noticed that something was off with the offense during drills. There wasn’t enough “juice.” Guys weren’t operating with maximum energy. It’s why the defense always seemed a step ahead of them until the end of practice when Fields managed a solid two-minute drill. It wasn’t a pleasant morning of work. Both players didn’t mind saying so after practice. Fields and Mooney took turns saying to the media that the offense needs to come with more energy in these practices if they want to see results.
Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney remember last year.
One of the biggest problems the Bears had in 2022 was getting off to slow starts. They were a distant 18th in the league when it came to first half scoring. This is why they almost always played from behind in the second half. It is hard to win games that way, especially when your offense is built around the run. It isn’t a coincidence that other wide-zone teams like San Francisco (7th) and Miami (6th) ranked high in first half points. They understood their biggest strength came with a lead. The Bears aren’t there yet.
This rough practice was a timely wake-up call the offense needed. They were likely starting to get some undeserved confidence about their progress through the first week of camp. The defense reminded them such respect is earned. Justin Fields and Darnell Mooney understand that lesson well. It is encouraging that they used this opportunity to remind everybody else on the offense of it. Don’t be surprised if that unit comes to the next practice on Friday with bad intentions.
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