Tyler Scott's Early Impact Hard to Ignore

One of the more entertaining aspects of non-padded football practices is one-on-one receiver against cornerback battles.

The defensive back has to protect the entire field from the point of the pass against one receiver and it's often an impossible task.

At Thursday's second Bears practice of training camp, rookie receiver Tyler Scott made beating the defense look easy as he left cornerback Michael Ojemudia four strides behind in burning up the sidelines for a deep ball from Justin Fields. Scott made two strong catches downfield in the practice as he continued to impress like he did in OTAs. 

Except now he's doing it while veteran Dante Pettis is sidelined on the non-football injury list, rather than Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, like during off-season work.

"Yeah, I haven't put my mind to where he can go but I am excited about where he can go," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said of Scott, a fourth-round pick from Cincinnati. "I think that he has come in with the right mentality. He's a tough dude that works really hard and when you have talent and you have those two things, really good things are going to happen.

"So, I think he's a guy who's putting that on display. It's super early, like we just said, and we haven't asked him to do too much. We're trying to keep it in his wheelhouse but he's attacking it every day the right way."

The wheelhouse for a receiver from Cincinnati is the concern. It's a different ballgame in a pro offense and Getsy pointed out one way it's much different than how Scott is used to playing.

It's going to require the Bears to scale back if they allow a rookie to play a lot.

"Well, when you come from a college scheme that doesn't do very much, don't move very much, we move a ton," Getsy said.

The motions help get a receiver free in the NFL or tip off to the quarterback what defense the opponent is using.

Scott has much to learn but his talent has been obvious to this point and he keeps working with the return group, as well.

Caught and Not Caught

Wide receiver Chase Claypool dropped a short throw down near the turf during 7-on-7, then came back to haul in a throw 20 yards downfield in a crowd as he went to the turf during full-squad scrimmage.

"Yeah, any time a guy can let the last play go and move forward, whether it's a good play or a bad play, move forward and make the next play that's a really important skill to have," Getsy said. "And that was great to see him finish that play and I think he's had a nice start to camp so far will just continue to build since the time he's been here."

Backfield in Motion

The Bears tested their running backs in the passing game. This is an area of question since neither Khalil Herbert nor D'Onta Foreman have been used in passing attacks to the extent David Montgomery was in the past.

Herbert caught a screen in a crowd from Justin Fields, a difficult one considering the throw was lobbed up a bit too much and in the middle of several players. D'Onta Foreman was split out wide in the formation, which can't be something he has done much in the past considering the 6-foot-1, 236-pound tailback has been targeted on 31 times in six seasons. The throw at the line of scrimmage went for only a few yards.

Bears backs are going to need to catch the ball and line up everywhere.

"Versatility is what this league is about," Getsy said. "Guys that can do a bunch of different things. That makes it harder on the defense.

"If a guy is stuck doing one thing all the time, that's really hard to get the advantage on the defense. That's critical for what we want to keep getting better at and what we want to accomplish through camp."

It can affect play-calling if Getsy can't depend on a back to be part of a particular paly.

"Really just being able to put us anywhere on the field and be comfortable calling plays and allowing us to go out there, run routes, be in space and put us in different positions," Herbert said, summing up the goal. "I really think that’s what it comes down to."

Their best chance for an all-around back might be Roschon Johnson, but as a rookie he still has much to learn. On Thursday, he wasn't on the field for one play when he was supposed to be and they had to stop the play for him. It was an embarrassing moment.

The best back in the passing game were two you'd expect. Trestan Ebner turned a short toss flaring out into a huge gain down the sidelines, and Travis Homer broke off a big gain from the numbers cutting outside on another short throw. Ebner was known for his all-around play in college while Homer was often in the third-down back role in Seattle before this season.

The other concern the Bears have with backs is the blocking. They can't really do much to prove themselves here. However, the Bears clarified that the pads will come on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Earlier Matt Eberflus said it would be next Wednesday.

"It’s a mentality but then you've got to put yourself in the right position, technique-wise, knowing who you got," Herbert said. "I feel like all of that encompasses it–knowing where you've got to be and putting yourself in the right position and once you get there, just going and doing it."

Strongside in Waiting

Bears linebacker Jack Sanborn continues to "ramp up," as coach Matt Eberflus likes to call it.

Sanborn didn't practice all off-season while rehabbing from an ankle injury and is only doing individual drills in practice for the time being, while Noah Sewell continues to work in the strongise linebacker spot. Sewell has been exclusively doing this since the second week of OTAs.

Sanborn is stepping into a position he hasn't played yet, as he was middle linebacker last year. So he'll be starting off way behind when he's on the field for scrimmaging.

"I feel confident that I know what I’m doing out there," Sanborn said. "I know what to do. I know the assignments and everything. I think it’s just the fact of actually going out there and just doing reps of it and actually doing it on the field.

"It’s just a new position, so you’ve got to get comfortable with it. I feel confident that it won’t be that hard, it won’t be too long of a process."

They were without one other player at the position as Dylan Cole left the field to go inside Halas Hall with a trainer after he went through stretching with trainers on the sidelines early in practice. There was no word on the extent of the injury but the Bears usually won't volunteer that information until the regular season or during and after preseason games.