Caleb Williams, the Chicago Bears quarterback, is now working on mastering the snap count, an area where coach Matt Eberflus hopes to see development during the team’s upcoming full-squad sessions.
The Bears have made numerous major roster signings for the 2024 season, including Keenan Allen, D’Andre Swift, Gerald Everett, Kevin Byard, and Rome Odunze. The most major change was the transfer from Justin Fields to Caleb Williams. Williams, the first overall pick from USC, is now the Bears’ franchise quarterback.
Caleb Williams has much to learn
The Bears are now undergoing required minicamps from June 4-6, which bring the whole squad together at the facility. These practices are critical for rookies, particularly quarterback Caleb Williams, because they provide significant experience and opportunities to understand the system. Eberflus told media about his views following practice, emphasizing on an interception thrown by Williams.
“He took a hitch and the ball should have come out,” Eberflus noted (via Courtney Cronin of ESPN).
“Then he took two hitches and (the ball) was late over the middle. That’s always dangerous when you do that. But that’s the learning experience in the process a young quarterback has to go through,” said the Bears tactician.
On Wednesday, Williams repeated a similar mistake, resulting in another turnover during a 7-on-7 drill with a pass over the middle. Veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds intercepted the pass, showcasing his ability to read the quarterback’s eyes and reacting quickly to pick off the throw intended for receiver Freddie Swain.
The Bears’ coach answered with an appropriate early-June shrug.
“The process and exposure and experimentation of the quarterback. And that ultimately leads to that whole evolution of what he feels he can and cannot do,” the Bears head coach said via ESPN.
Cadence as a weapon for the Chicago Bears
Williams’ adjustment from predominantly playing in the shotgun formation at Oklahoma and USC to taking snaps from under center mirrors the challenges that many rookie quarterbacks face when transitioning from college football to the NFL.
The No. 1 overall pick is currently learning a new scheme, becoming acquainted with his new teammates’ skill sets, and honing his cadence as a tool at the line of scrimmage. On Tuesday, head coach Matt Eberflus underlined that the club must improve in this area. “We still need to work on the cadence, as you saw today,” Eberflus told NBCSportsChicago.com.
“We saw guys jump offsides — I think there were half a dozen of the time — so that’s something that needs to be worked out. That is something that needs to be addressed, and worked on, and improved on here in the next couple of days.”
“We’d like to get that cleaned up. It’s the whole team. The whole offensive unit. We’ve got to get on the same page to make sure we’re [not committing] pre-snap penalties, not getting behind the sticks. You guys saw today that we were first-and-15, second-and-15. It’s hard to operate that way.”
