CARMICHAEL, Calif. — The Bears were on the road Monday for one of two practices in the Sacramento area. Cal is spending a couple days away from campus to wrap up training camp in the heat. The temperature wasn't too hot Monday afternoon, but it was still a departure from the sometimes chilly morning practices in Berkeley. It seems like the players appreciated the change of scenery, and the Bears were able to get in some more work on Day 16 of camp.
We were the only media outlet represented for Monday's practice, which was closed to the public, so here are some exclusive notes from the first day of the final week of camp for Justin Wilcox's team.
Practice 16 notes and observations
- The Bears have set up their operations in the Sacramento area for a couple days, and the change of scenery brought some positive news on the injury front as there was a noticeable difference in the amount of players working off to the side with the training staff. Receiver Mikey Matthews was able to get into the mix a little bit on Monday as he went through individual drills with the offense. It is the most he has done in camp, and is a positive sign as he works to get back on the field. Defensive back Craig Woodson was suited up and went through some work with the defense before finishing practice off to the side. It is a small thing, but it was the most he has done since early in camp.
Inside linebacker Cade Uluave and wide receiver Tobias Merriweather were both scratches from Saturday's scrimmage, but both were back on the field in a full capacity on Monday. Neither absence was believed to be injury related but the staff has been giving a few of the top players time off in camp.
Defensive lineman Ricky Correia was also back on the field working during the team periods after missing some time earlier in camp.
- Now, onto practice and what I saw on the field Monday. If there was any hope that the reps would be different for the quarterbacks after Saturday's scrimmage, well, that didn't change on Day 16. Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers were again mostly evenly split in their opportunities to run the offense. Mendoza opened up the first team period running the first team offense while Rogers did the the same in the second team period.
The only slight change was how much CJ Harris was able to get on the field. I didn't track the reps but it felt like it was the least he (and the rest of the third unit) has been on the field in quite some time, which makes sense for where the Bears are in camp.
At this point the staff is going to have to split hairs to make a decision on the quarterback position, and Monday it was Mendoza who was able to break through and get the offense in the end zone. He threw both touchdown passes on the day in the team periods. He connected with tight end Nate Rutchena while working with the second unit on a pass that went for around 25 yards.
Mendoza followed that up with a 13-yard touchdown to Jordan King on the right side of the end zone on a nice looking play that featured an impressive grab from King who was going up against Collin Gamble in coverage. Both touchdowns came with Mendoza working with the second unit against the second defense.
Much like has been the case throughout camp, there has been some bad with the good for the quarterbacks, and for Mendoza that was an interception while working against Marcus Harris.
Mendoza looked for Merriweather down the field on the play and Harris flew in to make the play. It was the second time in the sequence that Harris had been around the ball with Mendoza looking for Merriweather. The first probably should have been an interception as well but was dropped by Harris.
Rogers didn't guide the offense into the end zone, but he hit on some big plays throughout practice. He hit Merriweather early in the second team period on a 25-yard play and had another couple passes that went for around 15 yards.
Harris had some of the biggest passes of the day once again during his opportunity to get in the team periods. He hit Jaiven Plummer for a play that resulted in a gain of over 30 yards and he ended the final team period with a pass to Rutchena that went for close to 40 yards.
- The ground game was working again for the offense, and it led to a highlight run for Jaydn Ott on Day 16. The star running back broke free for an easy (by his standards) 30-yard score to the right side. It didn't take much for Ott to get going downhill on the play, and it was an easy scamper into the end zone from there.
Jaivian Thomas also had a nice run as he got his opportunity to work with the second unit on a 15-yard play.
- Defensively, there was a good amount of pressure being applied once again by Peter Sirmon's group, and it led to a couple uneasy moments for the quarterbacks. Teddye Buchanan had an interception in the 7-on-7 period to go along with the pick from Harris against Mendoza during the first team period.
- Outside linebacker Cheikh Fall continues to be a revelation in camp and he continued his strong stretch with an impressive tackle for loss against Kadarius Calloway during the first team period. He followed that up with a quarterback hurry that moved the pocket while working against the second unit offensive line.
- Fellow outside linebacker Xavier Carlton has been stellar since returning to the field after missing some practice time. He shined in the scrimmage and came up with a nice stop of Calloway late in the second team period.
Post-practice interviews
Practice 16 clips
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