LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The ugly reality from Thursday’s practice is that Caleb Williams spent most of it looking like a familiar-yet-chilling NFL player: a Bears quarterback.
The spin zone is imagine how good he’ll look in September after facing his own defense all summer.
“We like to think that will be a byproduct of his growth and development, just having to go against some of the exceptional, seasoned players that we have on the line of scrimmage and in our back seven,” defensive coordinator Eric Washington said. “We all have a vested interest in wanting to see that young man grow and become battle-tested and be ready on Day 1. We’re going to give him everything that we have every day.”
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Of course, that strategy hasn’t worked out too well throughout the team’s tortured history, given the generations of great Bears defenses and bad Bears quarterbacks, but we’ll lean on that classic Mike Ditka line: The past is for cowards, losers and sports columnists. OK, I threw in that last part, but still, we should remind ourselves that nothing about what hasn’t worked in the past will determine what happens with this rookie quarterback and this team. Williams’ play in a May practice wasn’t concerning. It’s expected.
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We know the Bears have the core of a formidable defense based on the work they put in last year.
We know it will take time for any rookie quarterback to adjust to the speed and size of any NFL defense, let alone a good one.
We know the Bears are putting in a new offense under coordinator Shane Waldron.
We know we were just watching guys run red zone drills in shorts on a sunny afternoon on the backfields of Halas Hall.
What we didn’t know was how Williams and the offense looked earlier this week, as this was the only day the media could observe practice.
“I ain’t gonna lie, the first day, the offense kind of got after us a little bit,” said new Bears safety Kevin Byard. “He was making some really good throws. We were in the bubble. He was making some good throws and I mean some deep passes. He had a really good day and then today we kind of got after him. So it’s one of those things.”
Caleb Williams rolls to his left and completes the pass to DJ Moore. pic.twitter.com/ZzI4AlFgRV
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) May 23, 2024
When we watched the red zone drills, Williams was constantly under pressure while his receivers (which didn’t include Rome Odunze or Keenan Allen) tried to get open. There were a few just-missed interceptions. Sometimes, Williams couldn’t even get passes off as the secondary used its space advantage in the red zone to shut down receivers. We saw a lot of screen passes, many of which turned into scores. Occasionally, the offense struggled to line up or get a play off.
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And through it all, the defense was whooping it up, as you’d expect. Washington, who is in his second tour of duty with the Bears after coming over from Buffalo, called his players “salty,” which is a lot better than “compliant” or “polite” when you’re talking about a defense. Washington is the new coordinator, but it’s still coach Matt Eberflus’ defense. He will call the plays and set the tone, as he did when he took over the role last year after Alan Williams’ resignation.
“It’s frustrating, but we also know that we’re learning a new system,” receiver DJ Moore said. “They’ve been in that system for what, like three years right now? And then they don’t make it no better that they’re out there having fun with it, and we’re just frustrated because we’re not accomplishing what we want to. But on the flip side, we know that we’re still learning and coming together as an offense.”
The defense’s job is to torment other quarterbacks and it’s going to need to come out fast to help the offense get acclimated. But judging by Byard, at least, the defense knows it has a role to play in getting Williams ready for the NFL. “What does it mean for Caleb” is how we’re viewing everything Bears-related right now and with good reason. Unlike the previous two rookie quarterbacks who have come and gone since 2017, Williams gets to work as the starter all summer, and this is the time to get ready for a long season with real expectations. This is the time to build the foundation.
So with that in mind, the Bears defense is ready to welcome him to the league before the Tennessee Titans do it for real at noon CT on Sept. 8.
“Make it as hard on him as possible,” Byard said. “Going out there showing some swag, talking trash, doing all that stuff because at the end of the day he’s going to have to lead us there. That’s kind of how it’s going to be.
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“I said something to him at the end of practice: Keep going, we’re going to keep making you better. Not necessarily saying that he had a terrible day, but, like, days like this are going to make you better. So that’s our job and like I said, obviously, just the first three days of practice he’s done a lot of positive things. He’s made some really great throws. Just coming in with that swag as a rookie quarterback, he doesn’t seem flustered by anything, so that’s exciting to see.”
(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)
