Bears' offense struggles in first padded practice, but rookie safety Jaquan Brisker continues to impress
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Bears put on the pads for the first time in training camp on Tuesday, as head coach Matt Eberflus begins ramping up preparations for his first season.
But, at least according to third-year cornerback Jaylon Johnson, it wasn't huge step up in physicality.
"I feel like we've been physical without pads," he said. "For me, on the perimeter, it didn't feel too different; but I know the dogs on the inside, I know they felt a big intensity jump, and then I felt it from the outside in from them. I mean, the front seven really brought the energy, for sure."
The first-team offense struggled after making a few nice plays earlier, including quarterback Justin Fields finding tight end Ryan Griffin for a touchdown during a red zone period.
In a pair of 2-minute drills to close out practice, the offense had back-to-back 3-and-outs. It's still early in camp, but overall it was a rough day for the offense, including multiple false start penalties.
Rookie offensive lineman Braxton said some of those are mishaps that they have to clean up, but as backup quarterback Trevor Siemian put it, there's also probably a lot of overreacting to practice reps.
Jones continues get a lot of reps at first team left tackle, as newly signed Riley Reiff is easing his way in. It's a big opportunity for any rookie, especially a fifth rounder, but Jones seems to be handling it well.
"Just because I'm running with the one's doesn't mean anything changes. You know, it might change up who's in front of me, or whatever. That doesn't matter. For me, it's still the same. I go full speed. I'm trying to work on my tight hands. I'm trying to get better every day. So it's not really a change, anything. It's obviously a bigger role, in sense of the ones, but for me, it's just the same things. I'm still focused on the same things," Jones said.
On the defensive side, pass rushers Al-Qadin Muhammad and Mario Edwards were both in the backfield on multiple occasions, disrupting, and causing some of those offensive struggles.
Also, rookie safety Jaquan Brisker continues to look like he belongs. His best play of the day was a great pass breakup on the goal line for a pass intended for much bigger tight end Cole Kmet.