Red alert? QB Caleb Williams struggles inside the 20; Bears vow not to ‘waste any failure’

Every day during training camp, Bears coaches walk into the quarterbacks’ meeting room to drop off a sheet that lists their stats from practice that day.

The list Friday must have landed with a thud.

Quarterback Caleb Williams continued to struggle during the Bears’ third camp practice, particularly in the red zone. One five-play stretch in the red zone during seven-on-seven drills produced, in order, a dropped pass by wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, an incomplete pass to tight end Cole Kmet, an incompletion to wide receiver Rome Odunze and two interceptions. The first was a pass tipped by cornerback Terell Smith and caught by safety Jaquan Brisker; the second was a pass picked off by linebacker T.J. Edwards.

In the red zone — be it in seven-on-seven or 11-on-11 drills — Williams’ first completion came on his 10th pass.

After yet another practice in which Williams struggled, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle was asked what was cause for genuine concern and what qualified as growing pains.

‘‘I think that’s a great question,’’ he said.

And a relevant one. It’s early in camp, given that the Bears don’t open the season for another 6½ weeks, but Bears fans have seen this before — and did again Friday, the first day Halas Hall was open to the ticketed public. When Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields struggled during the summer, coaches tried to chalk it up to the trope that the defense was expected to be better at this time of year.

First-year coach Ben Johnson, however, knows the offense doesn’t have any time to waste. He said exactly that when players reported this week.

‘‘I just hope we can, in six weeks, get enough reps to feel good going into Week 1,’’ he said then. ‘‘That’s the challenge. This is a race now. Everything’s a race.’’

Williams hasn’t exactly zoomed ahead of the pack. In each of the first three practices, the Bears’ defense was superior.

‘‘The biggest thing is, you don’t waste any failure on an individual play,’’ Doyle said after practice. ‘‘We’ve got to go back, and we’re going to watch the tape with these guys [Friday] afternoon and clean up some of the intricate details of what we’re asking of them in the red zone.’’

One man’s failure is another man’s teaching moment. Doyle admitted he would be ‘‘feeling a little different’’ if the Bears struggle that way during an in-season practice, rather than after installing plays in mid-July.

‘‘I think the biggest thing is that we come in ready to practice,’’ he said. ‘‘Our guys are really focused. They’re all really eager to work. That’s the biggest thing. We’re trying to be positive with our players.’’

There wasn’t a lot to be optimistic about in the red zone Friday. The Bears have seen more improvement in what Williams does before the snap — calling a play in the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage and communicating audibles with his teammates — than they have with the ball in his hand.

Strangely enough, Williams was one of the NFL’s best red-zone quarterbacks — at least in terms of efficiency — last season. The Bears scored touchdowns on 62.1% of their trips to the red zone last season, the seventh-best mark in the NFL. Getting there, however, was the problem: Only four teams scored fewer points than the Bears.

‘‘Touchdowns are at a premium,’’ said guard Joe Thuney, who won two Super Bowls apiece with the Patriots and Chiefs. ‘‘There’s so much parity in this league. All the teams are so competitive, and any time you can get seven instead of three, it’s great.’’

The Bears want Williams to complete 70% of his passes in games and practices. That has yet to happen.

Plays inside the 20-yard line are typically a good test of offensive efficiency, even when no one’s keeping score. Cramped quarters means Williams’ passes must be quick, accurate and on time.

‘‘If you’re on time when it’s a zone defense . . . the ball will get to you,’’ wide receiver DJ Moore said. ‘‘If it’s man, you’ve got man [audibles]. We’ve got that.’’

On Friday, the Bears didn’t have much of anything.

‘‘It’s going to take about the six weeks — or sooner,’’ Moore said.

It had better be sooner.

‘‘The biggest thing is, there is a problem if you repeat mistakes,’’ Doyle said. ‘‘The next time we run that play, if we make the same mistake, that’s an issue.’’

Everyone will be watching.

NOTE: Following two days of ramping up during practice after having offseason ankle surgery, left tackle Braxton Jones had a scheduled rest day. Rookies Luther Burden III (hamstring), Shemar Turner (ankle) and Zah Frazier (personal) remained out.