What the Bears Want to See Caleb Williams Accomplish During ‘Unrealistic’ Camp Time

What the Bears Want to See Caleb Williams Accomplish During ‘Unrealistic’ Camp Time originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Caleb Williams’ growth during the Bears’ summer break was clear to his coaches and teammates during the first two days of training camp.

O Rookie quarterback “leveled up” your understanding of the manual and is more confident in operating the attack. With five days left before using the pads, the Bears are hoping Williams can take another step forward before his velocity picks up.

“Realistic decision-making, knowing it’s an unrealistic time of year without pads and some of the things we ask our guys to protect themselves in these different team environments,” offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said after Sunday’s practice. “There are certain times where you know we’re going at a moderate pace here, so it’s not going to work realistically for this part of the piece, but you have to keep going and get a real rep at full speed.

“The more times he can adjust and adapt to the different tempos that occur at this time of year for the different practices and still get the full game so that he has that live representation so that when we do, we put the pads on and we get come game time, he started racking up as many physical and mental reps at full speed as possible.”

That quick decision-making was evident during the first two days of training camp, connecting numerous times with running backs D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson. Williams showed a quick release in the screen game to both running backs and wide receivers.

“I think his ability to change his arm angle, release the ball quickly, adjust to different pitches, whether it’s bubbles, slants, quick play, that whole area of ​​the field,” Waldron said of Williams’ quick game ability. . . “It’s something that he demonstrated a high level of skill at in college and something that has been a part of every offense that you’ve been a part of and as we get past that, we’ll learn the strengths and weaknesses of our different players and build the system around our players and what they can do.”

Waldron, coach Matt Eberflus, Swift and wide receiver Keenan Allen praised Williams for his growth over the summer.

The Bears’ offense had just two operational issues during the first two days of camp. That’s a credit to Williams’ work learning the ins and outs of Waldron’s scheme so he could arrive at camp confident and ready to hit the ground running.

“He called plays a lot better than he did in OTAs,” Allen said of Williams on Saturday. “He felt confident in his plays and knowing what he was doing. There was no shyness on his part today.”

“He understands it better,” Swift said. “Just looking from the outside. But he’s got a really quick mentality. Making smarter plays, I would say. Quicker plays. You can tell he’s in a better position.”

The Bears’ detailed plan to develop Williams has yet to hit any snags. Confident and “in a better space,” Williams began running in training camp. He was accurate and balanced while displaying a variety of arm angles.

Both he and the Bears know the real work is just beginning. So far, the Bears’ detailed development plan has not yet encountered any obstacles.

There is no reason to believe this “unrealistic” stretch will pose a problem for a quarterback focused on exceeding unrealistic expectations.