The Bears conducted their 12th training camp practice Thursday at Halas Hall, working out in shells in a session that was open to fans. Here's what transpired:
Safety Jaquan Brisker generated the top defensive highlight by leaping high to intercept a pass deep down the middle of the field on a trick play.
Whether it's making plays on the ball or firing up his teammates before a drill, Brisker has made his presence known throughout training camp after missing the final 12 games last season due to a concussion.
"He plays with a lot of energy," said defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. "He's a physical player. He showed great range today. There's a lot of good things that he does. One of the things that we talked about in the offseason is just being available and he's been available throughout training camp. He's continued to get better, and if we can keep him healthy then I expect him to be a good player for us."
All about accountability
Allen believes that defensive players have shown that they're buying into what he's selling by displaying physicality and effort since the start of training camp.
"That's been great," he said. "And then you really just look at the professionalism of how these guys prepare each and every day, the attentiveness in the meetings. I can't think of any instances where we've had anybody not doing what they're supposed to do. That's all about accountability and our guys are doing a good job of that right now."
Follow the leader
Allen lauded 11th-year defensive tackle Grady Jarrett as someone who every player on the roster, regardless of position, should emulate.
"He's a great leader," Allen said. "He's an outstanding professional. He's a great example for all of the young guys. I don't care whether you're on offense, defense, defensive line, DBs, whatever the case may be, there's a certain way that pros conduct their business, and he does it as well as anybody.
"His practice habits are outstanding. His meeting habits are outstanding. He's one of the most attentive in all of the meetings. He's hanging on every single word, and that's how you become a guy that can play at a very high level for double-digit years in our league. I'm really pleased with where he's at. I'm glad we have him and excited for what I think he can do for us."
Jarrett signed with the Bears this year after spending his first 10 NFL seasons with the Falcons from 2015-24. During that entire time, Allen faced Jarrett twice a year while serving as a defensive assistant and head coach of the Saints.
"I like him better on our team," Allen said.
Keep chugging along
Caleb Williams is pleased with the strides the offense has made in training camp and knows that there's still a long way to go.
"Where we're at, we're growing and we're still progressing," said the second-year quarterback. "I definitely feel good about where we're at, and that doesn't mean that we're going to be in the situation where we're like, 'We're good.'
"It's always a constant growth mindset. But what practice is this, 12? We're in a good spot and we still have some time to go before we hit that 26.2 [miles] at the end of the marathon. The hardest part is at the end, so we have to keep going, keep grinding, keep getting after it and keep chugging along in this marathon."
New faces
The Bears will welcome the Dolphins to Halas Hall Friday for a joint practice in advance of their preseason game Sunday at Soldier Field.
"It will be good for us see something different; some new formations, some new motion shifts, all those kinds of things," Allen said.
Asked what he hopes to accomplish in the joint practice, the Bears defensive coordinator said: "Guys going out and competing. I know there will be some mistakes made, but really at the end of the day we have to play our rules because there's not a lot of game-planning that goes into this.
"We have certain rules that we use, whether it be from an alignment standpoint, front mechanics or coverage mechanics. We've got to be able to use our rules and play whatever looks we get from the offense. When you get into training camp and you've been going for however many days this has been and you see the same things over and over and over, you can begin to anticipate what you're going to see. Now you're really just playing your rules and having to make sure you get your eyes in the right spot and then react accordingly."
Jarrett is also looking forward to Friday's visit from the Dolphins.
"What I like about joint practices is having the opportunity to compete against somebody else," he said. "As you can see, when we get a real chippy practice like we had the other day, we can be tired of seeing each other for a while, so you get to beat up on somebody else and just see where you stand."
