Breaking down the Bears’ Tuesday training camp practice:
Loveland dominates
Tight end Colston Loveland has looked un-guardable for most of training camp, and that’s not simply because the Bears’ defense has been hit with injuries. At 6-foot-6, 241 pounds with great speed, defensive play callers are going to have trouble figuring out their personnel against him.
While it was another up-and-down day for quarterback Caleb Williams, he found Loveland in the back, right corner of the end zone from the 6-yard line. Cornerback Jaylon Johnson and linebacker Jon Rhattigan were trailing in coverage, and Johnson seemed to throw his hands up as if to say there was nothing he could do.
Loveland has emerged as the Bears’ biggest weapon, and he’s going to be especially valuable in tight spaces like the red zone.
Hit and miss
Williams continued his recent trend of some misfires, some great throws and an overall OK day — neither great nor terrible.
He hit wide receiver Khalif Raymond quite a bit, mostly underneath but also a beautiful lob to him on the right sideline for a 28-yard gain during a two-minute drill. However, Williams also overthrew Scotty Miller deep for a would-be touchdown during seven-on-seven work and threw a little behind Rome Odunze in the end zone and left the ball where defensive back William Wright could deflect it.
Getting rough
The most intense part of practice was a one-on-one special teams blocking drill in which the entire team circled around to watch. The highlights were wide receiver Jahdae Walker destroying rookie cornerback Malik Muhammad and defensive lineman Jeremiah Martin manhandling rookie tight end Sam Roush.
Big auditions
The Bears mixed up their first- and second-string defensive players, ostensibly to give some backups a chance to prove themselves with the starters and vie for spots. Most notably, rookie defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg, a sixth-round pick, got a shot with the first team.
