Bears Shut It Down by Looking Ahead

Training camp beckons in late July as Justin Fields and the Bears completed minicamp and offseason work Thursday talking extensively about their passing connections.
In this story:

The Bears finished up their minicamp and offseason work Thursday, also known as men in shorts and helmets, before migrating away from Halas Hall for six weeks until training camp begins on a date to be named in a day or so.

Justin Fields will be going to France with Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and Green Bay Packers QB Jordan Love to put on a football clinic and he'll spend the bulk of his remaining offseason physically preparing for training camp. 

The work within the offense is done for now, but the heavy emphasis of offseason in the passing game will continue even away from Halas Hall, and then again when they get back.

"Probably mid-July I'm going to get the receivers, tight ends, running backs down to Florida, throw with them for a few days just right before we come back," Fields said. "Really, just to get back on the same page, throwing routes with them, and just getting that chemistry up, on the field, off the field and stuff like that.

"I think that's one part as a team that we’ve grown is our chemistry off the field too. Yeah, I'm excited."

Still to be determined is how strong of a rapport in the passing game he established with Chase Claypool, who worked only one week in the offseason before an injury. Darnell Mooney doesn't appear to be a problem, even though he missed all offseason work rehabbing after ankle surgery.

"So, I feel like when Chase was practicing with us, we did get that down a little bit," Fields said. "I think he grew tremendously from last year until now. So, I think we got a base in.

"With Mooney, I feel like I'm already connected with Mooney, so that's fine. But it's just going to be great having those guys back on the field and having them healthy for training camp, instead of having them come out for three or four practices, risking further injury. The biggest thing with that was just health."

So the Bears didn't risk Claypool aggravating whatever injury he has, one the team hasn't described beyond soft tissue. They kept him under wraps.

The connection with DJ Moore seems to be very much in order already, as the two hooked up on passes at various points throughout most practices.

A big emphasis was letting Fields throw it deep and take chances in OTAs and minicamp, with Moore on the end of most of it.

"Especially with DJ, you know, his first year here, just taking shots, just taking chance, it doesn't matter if it's complete or incomplete now, of course," Fields said. "(I was) just trying to get on the same page. Talk, communicate with him and hopefully we're seeing the same thing when it comes to where the leverage of the corner is and just different details and stuff like that."

Fields had to admit his connection with Moore happened at a rapid pace.

"I mean it did come on quickly," he said. "I didn't really expect anything because it's different for each guy but I feel like with DJ his body language is pretty easy to read.

"Really, early on we communicated on how we want each route ran and stuff like that. Of course he has a lot of experience. He's been in the league for a good period of time now. He's played a lot of football so he knows different coverages really well. That's one thing that I was kind of impressed about, like, with the offense coming in and just understanding, seeing coverages really well on short routes and stuff like that, he's been great. And you know, the chemistry has really picked up."

The second year in the offense could be a huge benefit for Fields when he gets back for practices in late July.

In the meantime, coach Matt Eberflus wants to see him simply working on his own at everything he already has addressed.

"Much of the same, much of the same," Fields said. "Just keep in creasing the footwork, his platform, the timing. His release. The reads.

"You know that's going to be a little bit hard to do during the summertime because he;s not going to have a full group of there, per se. but yeah, just that."

The next time Fields does this at Halas Hall, the tone will be quite different.

It will be the real thing, training camp.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven


Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.