The Chicago Bears have been looking for a franchise quarterback since the end of World War II.
They appear to have found one in Caleb Williams.
Williams, the No. 1 pick of this year’s draft, enters what is both a fantastic and tough situation.
On one hand, he’s stepping into an offense coached by a veteran coordinator in Shane Waldron, while being surrounded by weapons including receivers DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift. On the other, Williams is expected to be the long-awaited savior for Chicago’s top team, playing in the nation’s third-largest market. Translation? Patience won’t be in mass supply.
But so far, the tests have been passed.
In the Bears’ first preseason game, they visited the Buffalo Bills and gave Williams two drives to start the game. The former USC star did well, completing 4-of-7 passes for 95 yards, leading Chicago to a pair of scoring jaunts.
“His demeanor on the sideline, his demeanor in the huddle was a little different,” tight end Cole Kmet said about Williams in last weekend’s preseason game compared to practice. “Gameday juices. You could feel his confidence in the huddle in terms of saying the play call and at the line of scrimmage. His cadence was great on gameday. All those things seemed to click. You could see him figuring out things from play to play. … His confidence is unwavering, and that’s really cool to see with a couple of drives.”
When asked if that’s not a shared experience from previous quarterbacks Kmet has played with, the answer was revealing.
“Yeah, he’s different. He’s different. For sure.”
On Thursday in the driving rain at Halas Hall, Williams was presented with a comparatively unique challenge against the Cincinnati Bengals during their joint practice. Facing a three-down front with Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo rolling through pressure looks and personnel packages, Williams threw an interception before bouncing back to largely win the team reps against the Bengals’ first-team defense.
Despite nasty weather, Williams was firing on-target with velocity, hitting Allen on an out route with perfect placement toward the sideline. He also hit in-breakers, including a tight slant to Odunze and another down the hash marks.
All told, Williams wasn’t perfect. He held the ball at times. He misfired occasionally. But the tools are evident and the desire to stay aggressive remained, arguably the two best markers that suggest Williams will finally be the answer Chicago has been seeking.
“It was really good because Cincinnati offers a different structure, a different set of circumstances or looks that you get from different teams across the league. You’re going to face that week in and week out. It was very beneficial to play a Buffalo team that is very similar to us in terms of defensively, so it wasn’t that big of a stretch for him to learn those rules and where things are in terms of the passing game.”
Come Saturday’s preseason game against Cincinnati, Williams will get some reps with the starters, although Eberflus declined to say roughly how many. Regardless, he’ll get more work in, presumably with Allen, Moore and Odunze.
“We’ve come a long way,” Kmet said. “I kind of started going back to OTAs in April. Obviously with Caleb coming in, new to under center stuff, new to the huddle, new to the cadence, those were all new and I think we grew past that in OTAs.
“Coming into camp we’ve had our ups and downs but I think we’ve been going upwards along the way. It’s not a total straight line up but I think we’ve gradually been doing better and better each day. We have a couple weeks until game one. I think we’re in a good spot right now but we have a chance to really take this thing to the next level in the next few weeks and be where we really want to be come Week 1.”
Williams and the Bears have three weeks to prepare for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field.
That day, all eyes will be on Williams, most of them waiting for him to show he’s the franchise.
Best thing I saw: Khalil Herbert showing the total package
Herbert might be a bit forgotten nationally, but the Bears are well aware of his talents. He gave a glimpse of them against the Bengals early in a team period, taking a stretch play off the left side for a 60-yard touchdown, showcasing a good blend of patience and explosion.
With Swift signing a three-year, $24 million deal, Herbert is fighting to be the second back in the rotation. If that’s the case, Chicago should be thrilled with its depth chart given Herbert ran for 611 yards on 4.6 yards per carry last season.
Best thing I heard: Kevin Byard with a great line
“Yeah, it was cool, it was like a Remember The Titans-type practice.”
Veteran safety Kevin Byard putting a good spin on a wet day. Also, who doesn’t love a reference to one of the great football movies ever made? Good stuff.
Veteran who impressed: Jaylon Johnson, CB
Jaylon Johnson got a four-year, $76 million deal this offseason. The Bears might have gotten off cheap.
In team periods, Johnson matched up multiple times in man coverage against Bengals star receiver Tee Higgins. And while Higgins was plagued by drops throughout the soggy afternoon, Johnson was all over him in their matchups.
On two occasions, one a deep in and another a fade, Johnson played quarterback Joe Burrow’s passes beautifully, breaking them up before unleashing a celebration.
“I’ve played with a lot of good corners over the years,” safety Kevin Byard said. “Malcolm Butler being one, Logan Ryan, but Jaylon is definitely up there with the best ones I’ve played with. He’s a true shutdown corner, a guy that when it’s a lot of different coverages … if I see [Johnson] on a guy I can leave him alone and talk to the other safety on the other side of the field like ‘hey, we can push the coverage,’ because I know he’s not giving up anything.”
With Johnson, Chicago has a distinct advantage schematically most weeks.
Rookie who impressed: Rome Odunze, WR
We led with Williams, so let’s go to Chicago’s other first-round pick.
Odunze certainly looks the part at 6'3" and 215 pounds, and he handled business against the Bengals’ secondary. The Washington product consistently worked open both on quick-release and downfield routes, at one point beating Cincinnati corner Dax Hill on a slant that would have gone for huge yardage in a game setting.
In Chicago, Odunze will likely be the third target in the passing game while he learns the offense, taking a smaller target share than veterans Moore and Allen. But when he reaches his ceiling, look out.
Song of the Day: “Legend” by Drake
Williams is primed to become a legend. This is the start of that journey. Enough said.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bears Camp Report: Caleb Williams and Co. Shine Against Bengals in Joint Practice.
