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The Chicago Bears were back at training camp today in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and after a couple straight days of rain, it was a nice and sunny day on the practice fields of Olivet Nazarene University.
The offense was missing wide out Allen Robinson, who had a scheduled rest day, and offensive lineman Kyle Long had a second consecutive day off too.
These veteran rest days are an important part of the recovery process for players coming off of offseason surgery. All teams do it, so there’s really nothing to get overly concerned about. It gives the player some extra time to heal, plus it gives the coaching staff a chance to see a different player in the lineup.
Also missing practice still are Danny Trevathan and Sherrick McManis, and a few reports had Aaron Lynch and Kevin Tolliver out as well.
The Bears announced that they waived rookie UDFA Jeremi Hall, so stay tuned for the eventual corresponding roster move.
Also, no Roquan Smith as his hold out drags on another day.
Robert Zeglinski, who hasn’t missed a second of camp, tells me today was the best the Bears’ offense has looked so far. “They finally showed a measure of consistency and got a leg up on the defense,” Zeglinski relayed from Bourbonnais. “(Mitchell) Trubisky was much more comfortable and composed, and aside from some flash plays by (Prince) Amukamara, Trubisky and the offense was on.”
Make sure out check out Robert’s camp notebook at the Rock River Times.
That offense featured multiple looks and personal groupings, and a lot of shotgun and RPOs again today, plus some trickeration made an appearance.
Mitch-Turbo-Rik Rik-Mitch #BearDown pic.twitter.com/7zE3vrg6EQ
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
FYI, if you aren’t following Greg Braggs Jr. on Twitter, you’re doing Twitter wrong.
That’s a little jet sweep to Taylor Gabriel, then a give to Tarik Cohen on the reverse, but he steps up and throws to Trubisky.
Here’s a fake end around to Cohen, with Chase Daniel trying to go down the seam to tailback Taquan Mizzell.
Little trickeration. Tough drop by Mizzel. Cohen giving some encouragement. pic.twitter.com/NEvvjQXL5Z
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
All this talk of reverses, end arounds and jet sweeps has me in the mood to share this article I wrote years ago.
Football 101: What’s the difference between a Jet Sweep, an End Around and a Reverse?
Bears’ fans, we’re going to see a lot of this stuff so brush up so you can impress all your friends.
Now on to a few Tweets from today’s practice...
Mike Furrey pretty animated going through initial Bears WR drills. Emphasizing physicality.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
First highlight from today’s #Bears practice: Prince Amukamara jumping a short Mitch Trubisky pass for an INT. Nice play.
— Adam Hoge (@AdamHoge) July 23, 2018
#Bears RB Tarik Cohen caught a pass and took it 80 yards today at training camp, then danced in the end zone. No media photos allowed, so .. pic.twitter.com/Gv3XTorp5h
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) July 23, 2018
Trubisky hangs in the pocket off a good speed rush from Floyd and finds Shaheen all alone.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Kylie Fitts beats Adam Shaheen pretty soundly in a blocking drill.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Finally a sunny day in Bourbonnais for #Bears camp. In team drills, Mitch Trubisky just lofted a dime over the middle/coverage to Dion Sims. Perfect touch.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) July 23, 2018
There’s a reason Benny Cunningham is on this roster: solid and reliable receiver.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Cody Whitehair getting shown the ropes by @olin_kreutz.#BearDown pic.twitter.com/EyzcJutt5I
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
Jordan Howard absolutely stones Nick Kwiatkoski on a bull rush, to the cheer of his teammates.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Floyd is having a day on the edge. Only quick releases from Trubisky save him.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Howard with the run on the option! pic.twitter.com/FnDaqvDadv
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
Nice deep ball from Trubisky to Sims over the top of Amos and Callahan.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Tough catch by @JHowardx24! pic.twitter.com/grnnHG5PPW
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
Most exciting part of camp today finished with these badass drills!
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
The team was fired up!#BearDown #Chicago #Bears pic.twitter.com/OIuX3kSJoi
Two young Bears fans will not forget the most dire of crimes. pic.twitter.com/oMG7blCjtd
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Never seen this before.. All the players on one side of the fence but @The_Dream99 with the people!
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr) July 23, 2018
Much respect!#BearDown pic.twitter.com/fmzMR3zuaX
Taylor Gabriel once again confirmed to me that not one of his teammates is faster than him (hence the nickname TURBO). He also told me he believes this #Bears offense can be a top 10, possible even top 5. & if the D performs the way it did last season, #Bears are playoff bound.
— Shae Peppler (@shaepeppler) July 23, 2018
“I’m everywhere in this offense,” Gabriel describing his role with the team. “I’m at running back, I’m going deep, I’m getting screens, and I need to be available.”
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
I tweeted out my thoughts on this earlier, but I wanted to share it here as well.
Taylor Gabriel may be listed as a WR on the Bears roster, but remember he was signed to play the Zebra position, which is where the explosive Tyreek Hill plays with the #Chiefs. Matt Nagy will move his Zebra all over the formation, and FYI, Tarik Cohen will get Zebra reps too.
“When you have a speed guy, you have to trust that he’ll be in the right position,” Gabriel continued on the double coverage throws.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
Nagy praising Amukamara’s jumped route pick. How smart and he is and knowing the situation.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
“I don’t believe in putting guys in a box,” Nagy said of how he challenges players like Jordan Howard in catching passes. “We have to test them and see what they can do.”
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018
“That bond they have going on in that room, I just step back and smile,” Nagy stressing how big the QB room with Chase Daniel and Trubisky have meshed.
— Robert Żeglinski (@RobertZeglinski) July 23, 2018