Before the Bears started Tuesday’s practice at Halas Hall, head coach Ben Johnson addressed the media.
The routine of how the day-to-day operations go at Halas Hall. What has also been routine for the Bears’ offense has been presnap penalties. Something that often occurs when a team is still learning a new offense.
Johnson was asked before Tuesday’s practice if he was concerned about those issues continuing to occur.
“I am disappointed that they've lingered on for as long as they have,” Johnson said. “That's something that we've addressed, we've talked about. Do I think it's going to be a recurring theme over the course of the season? No, I don't. We have a plan in place for how we can help eliminate these things and we'll go with that going forward.”
Same old, same old with pre-snap penalties hurting the Bears
Maybe the plan takes time to implement because those pre-snap penalties were back in Tuesday’s practice. Darnell Wright committed a false start penalty early in practice during the team period, and Johnson sent a message by taking out the Bears’ starting right tackle for a few reps and replacing him with second-round draft pick Ozzy Trapilo.
Not long after Wright was taken out, Caleb Williams threw an interception in the middle of the field. The ball sailed high, and Jaquan Brisker came away with the turnover.
Someone on the defense said, “Get that **** right offense.”
Later in the practice, Wright was flagged for another false start. There was also a snap when Williams had to rush and signal Luther Burden III to hurry up his motion. And a snap where there was clear misalignment with the pass catchers that forced a rehuddle.
The offense is still a work in progress, and presnap penalties are just one of the many details Johnson is trying to clean up as the unit prepares for its Week 1 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
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Johnson feels strongly that his plan will eliminate pre-snap penalties going forward, but that needs to be seen and replicated consistently to validate the unit’s progress. If that can’t happen, well, Williams and the offense will experience plenty of growing pains this upcoming season.