Bears Training Camp Notes: Caleb Williams Leads Successful Two-Minute Drill originally appeared in NBC Sports Chicago
LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The third day of Bears training camp saw quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense check off a much-needed box at the end of practice.
In each of the first two practices of camp, Williams and the first-team offense came up empty in the day’s two-minute situational drill.
But things were different Monday at Halas Hall.
Williams and the Bears’ offense began the game-ending breakdown by three with 1:30 left, the ball at their own 20 and two timeouts.
Williams opened the practice with a dart to wide receiver Rome Odunze for a gain of about 20. Not wanting to waste time, Williams quickly got the offense on the line, organized the offense and threw a pass to Keenan Allen for a gain of 15.
Just like that, the Bears offense found itself on the brink of field goal range.
Williams had running back Roschon Johnson open on defense on first down, but he kicked wide of the target. His second-down throw to Allen was also wide and incomplete, setting up a critical third down. Williams hit Johnson out of bounds for a gain of 7, and coach Matt Eberflus called a timeout.
Still out of Cairo Santos’ reach, the Bears were forced to try on fourth down with less than 30 seconds left.
Fourth down was easy work for the offense as DJ Moore quickly got open on a crossover and Williams put the ball on the money for a gain of about 15 to set up the Saints’ game-winning field goal.
The successful two-minute exercise was an important initial box to check. However, the main storyline of the early part of camp continues to be Williams’ operation in an offense that had minimal pre-snap issues.
“I see that the operation is improving every day,” said Eberflus after training. “The pre-snap penalties are down, getting in and out of the huddle is good. That’s just because we’re learning the system, learning how to do it and learning how to break the huddle, get to the line of scrimmage and operate our moves and changes and make our decisions, I think it has been very good.
“And Caleb is the culmination of that. He’s going to keep getting better at it, making progress every day.”
The Bears struggled with pre-snap penalties during the offseason program, but Williams’ confidence and knowledge of the playbook reduced those issues. The cadence issues that arose in June have also begun to disappear.
“It’s all settled. It’s settled now,” left guard Teven Jenkins said. “We’re doing really well on this and we hope to continue and grow from this.”
Here are more notes from Day 3 of training camp:
– Aside from the successful two-minute drill, it was an uneven day for the offense at 11-on-11 work.
The highlight of the day was Williams hitting Odunze for what could have been a 35-yard touchdown. Safety Kevin Byard was in the box and appeared to slow down when the pass arrived. Williams also showed off his anticipation and arm talent when he hit a perfect pass to Moore on a corner in one period. Williams modified his arm angle to create the window to pass and make the money.
He has a long way to go, but the rare talent that makes many believe he will be an elite NFL quarterback continues to percolate.
–On the negative side, the Bears defense completely dominated an 11-on-11 section, hounding Williams with nonstop pressure.
Williams was “sacked” on the first play of the period, but the Bears played and his pass to Moore was dropped. The pocket quickly collapsed on second down and Williams picked off a pass to Johnson. Montez Sweat beat right tackle Darnell Wright off the line for a quick sack on the third play. Williams finished the practice with a throw under pressure and an incomplete pass to Tyler Scott that was high.
– The center rotation continued on Monday, with Ryan Bates receiving first-team reps and Coleman Shelton returning to the second team. That should come back on Tuesday.
Eberflus gave no indication of when he thought the central battle would end.
“I think you just let it go,” said Eberflus. “Let it go through the process. I told the guys today. You are part of the team or make your position on the pads. It’s hard to evaluate guys when we’re here and we’re not wearing pads. … Let’s let that happen.
– Left tackle Braxton Jones was limited to start camp, but saw his first 11-on-11 action of camp on Monday. Jones played left tackle for the team’s first period before giving way to Larry Borom for the rest of the team’s sets.
– Linebacker TJ Edwards also saw his first 11-on-11 reps of camp. He was also limited to begin with.
Tight end Gerald Everett practiced for the first time on Monday after being activated from the non-football injury list on Sunday.
– Linebacker Noah Sewell and wide receiver Nsimba Webster did not participate for the second consecutive practice. They are considered everyday.
