In his first season with the Chicago Bears, quarterback Caleb Williams couldn’t often be described as ‘comfortable.’ Williams was under fire on a consistent basis, getting sacked a league-high 68 times. An inept coaching staff did him no favors. ‘Uncomfortable’ became the status quo, and as a result, the Bears offense faltered and failed to meet expectations.
Strangely, the times when Caleb looked like he was most in his element was when, either by design or by breakdown, he could play freely. When the former Heisman Trophy winner could play with tempo and not be burdened by the task of being something he’s not — a conventional pocket passer — his best traits often tended to shine.
This is exactly what was on display during Chicago’s fourth day of training camp, when Ben Johnson and Declan Doyle worked with the team on 3rd down and two-minute offense installs. After a frustrating few sessions to open training camp, the Bears offense won the day on Saturday, and both Johnson and Doyle were pleased with what they saw from QB1.
“He’s always been very comfortable as a shotgun quarterback going back to college. And even last year, he’s very comfortable in a two-minute setting. He’s very comfortable with tempo-type plays,” Johnson said on July 26, per Chris Kwiecinski of FOX 32 Chicago. “At some point, this thing will start slowing down and he’s going to be able to catch up and his physical ability will take over from there.”
Doyle seemed to agree that Williams had made important strides since the new coaching staff arrived this spring.
“(Pre-snap command) is the biggest improvement I’ve seen,” Doyle added, according to Kyron Samuels of Sports Illustrated. “It’s all a progression. We’ve got to continue to get better post-snap and all those things with his vision and where the ball needs to go.”
Caleb Williams Stays in Growth Mindset
Although this isn’t Caleb Williams’ first NFL training camp, it might as well be. A new coaching staff, a new offense, and a renewed set of high expectations must have the 2024 1st overall pick feeling like a rookie again.
Fortunately, there’s no chance this Bears coaching staff will botch Williams’ development as badly as the last one. But patience must be preached as Williams and the rest of the Bears offense continue to work on ‘unlocking’ everything that Johnson and Doyle are installing.
“There’s so much more in the offense to be able to unlock it,” Williams said. “Obviously, we’re getting to the point where, like you said, we’re self correcting and doing all these things. At some before the season, I think we’ll keep progressing obviously and hopefully there’s a next step.”
The next step for Caleb Williams could involve doing more of what he did on the final rep of the day during Saturday’s practice. To cap off a two-minute drill, in which Bears insider Adam Hoge noted Williams was perfect, the 23-year-old quarterback connected with fellow 2024 1st round pick Rome Odunze on a short fade to get Chicago in the end zone against Dennis Allen’s first-team defense.
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