Column: For Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears offense, a shaky practice offers a timely lesson. ‘We need to have juice.’

WARNING: The following material might prove jarring to sensitive Chicago Bears fans. We will offer everyone a moment to disengage if so desired.

For those who wish to continue, for those capable of handling a reality-check recap of an early-August football practice, well? Well, Wednesday morning was ugly for the Bears offense.

U-G-L-Y.

Mental mistakes. Sloppy execution. Worst of all, a lack of fire.

“We came out a little flat,” quarterback Justin Fields said.

That was at the start of an up-tempo padded practice at Halas Hall. And by the end of a workout that was the longest and most intense of training camp so far, the Bears offense was still lacking proper energy.

“The defense came out and they competed well,” Fields said. “They definitely won the day.”

Consider that the starting quarterback’s concession speech for Wednesday and one he delivered just a few minutes after gathering the offense for a pep talk.

The message: That can’t happen again. It just can’t. Every receiver, every lineman, every back and tight end has to find a way to focus, to execute better, to raise the verve and enthusiasm of the group.

“Every little win we have on the field, we need to have energy about it,” Fields said. “Because that energy is contagious. That’s one thing our defense does well. Every little thing they do well, the DBs are always hyping it up. They’re always (flexing and shouting). And that gets the whole defense going.

“I told the offense today we need to have that same juice.”

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Add that to the priority list for a Bears offense also trying to fine-tune its timing and rhythm in the passing game, stabilize a new-look line and create an identity that utilizes the best attributes of its playmakers. Now, Fields and the offense also have to get back into the kitchen and start squeezing more juice.

Said receiver Darnell Mooney: “It starts, one, with the quarterback. He has to come into the huddle, bring confidence in the huddle and understand he is our leader and our guy. We go as far as he goes. And he has to come in with that juice.”

To be clear, Mooney wasn’t taking a shot at his quarterback and close friend. More so, he was offering a constructive reminder.

“Sometimes he’s just so locked in and so dialed into what he’s doing, it has to click in, like, ‘Hey, I have to get my guys jumping.’ ” Mooney added. “That’s why sometimes I’ll come up to him and just hit him in the back of the head or jump right up at him. I’m trying to get him, like, not so locked in. Just so he understands, ‘Hey, we’re looking at you to see how far we can go.’ … It is what it is. This is his team.”

The NFL knows this is Fields’ team, and some outside expectations have skyrocketed to eye-popping levels. ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky, for example, said this week that he expects Fields to play at “an MVP level.” Coincidentally, Fields’ current MVP odds are at 16:1, and PointsBet reported he has received more MVP wagers than any other player and more than twice as many as Patrick Mahomes.

Those astounding projections won’t likely register with Fields, who has a well-grounded perspective and understands the grind he must invest in daily just to turn himself into a successful starter for an improving team.

At Halas Hall, Fields has impressed coaches and teammates with his continued growth and dedicated approach. The Bears see a player making steady strides even as many in the outside world wait breathlessly for him to become one of the game’s preeminent stars overnight.

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Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said Wednesday that Fields has been impressive with his ability to stay focused and humble and locked in on each moment. Getsy also praised Fields for his ability to learn from mistakes and has appreciated the way a feisty Bears defense has been straining the young quarterback with different looks during camp.

“I love what our defense is doing,” Getsy said. “They’re challenging him like crazy. It’s been a lot of fun this camp to see him have to go through this in this early phase. He’s playing the game out there. He’s not just going through the motions.”

Still, Wednesday’s punch-in-the-mouth practice was a reminder for the offense to remain locked in on what Fields called “the controllables.” Pre-snap communication. Route precision. Awareness of what the defense is showing.

“It’s just making the easy plays easy,” Fields said. “We definitely had a couple drops out there. I missed a couple throws. So it’s just making those easy plays easier and not really making them harder than they have to be.”

During one seven-on-seven period, Fields was picked off on consecutive passes, the first when tight end Robert Tonyan juggled the ball and it squirted into the arms of rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson. On the next snap, Fields fired high on a pass over the middle, and the ball tipped off Chase Claypool’s left hand and right to safety Jaquan Brisker. The next two reps were incompletions.

A bit later during an 11-on-11 drill, Fields and the first-unit offense tried three possessions against the second-team defense and failed to pick up a first down. Things became so bumpy and the players appeared so listless that Getsy found himself unnerved.

“(Expletive),” he said, “I probably got more emotional than anybody else today.”

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After a pair of three-and-outs, Getsy sensed his guys dragging. He hated the body language.

“You have this natural reaction to feel sorry for yourself,” Getsy said. “I just sensed the guys weren’t running back to the huddle the way they always do. That’s where someone had to step up.”

Getsy spoke up loudly. He challenged his players to show some fight. He wished someone else would have lit a match first.

That’s a valuable lesson, especially if it can be learned and corrected in August rather than September or October. Through all the ups and downs, a consistent tone has to be established.

“To me it doesn’t matter,” Getsy said. “Whatever the circumstance is, we all stick together. We stay together and we find a way to dig out of whatever it is. We’ve got to find a way to keep fighting.”

Sure, this is only training camp and Wednesday was only one rocky outing. We’re still just a couple of days into August, and the Bears have more than a month left to get their work-in-progress offense ready for the season. Every unit in the NFL will have rough days. But the best teams understand how to bounce back.

“It’s really good actually to have days like this,” Fields said. “Just to see how guys respond.”

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Fields, of course, is one of those guys. The most important of those guys. His response in practices Friday and Saturday at Halas Hall will be worth monitoring.

The rise to becoming a star quarterback for a championship-caliber team starts with a micro-focus on all the little things that make an offense hum. That means displaying crisp footwork, having a clear understanding of offensive concepts and the traits of the players running each play and throwing passes on time and on target. Consistently.

From this point forward, it will also mean bringing the requisite juice to everyone in the huddle.

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Bears fans cheer for autographs after practice on July 27, 2023, during training camp at Halas Hall. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)