Is it time to fret about Caleb Williams and the Bears?

LAKE FOREST, Unwell. – Caleb Williams yelled as he stomped away. Throughout a person interval at a coaching camp final weekend, Williams and the opposite Chicago Bears quarterbacks had been engaged in a rapid-fire throwing competitors, aiming at targets in a internet.

Williams’ accuracy was off, and his emotional response, which was caught on video by followers throughout an open apply, sparked a social media firestorm. Was it a sign of larger issues with a workforce that’s below a microscope with first-year coach Ben Johnson, who is anticipated to develop the previous No. 1 draft choose right into a franchise quarterback whereas guiding the workforce to playoff rivalry?

Or did the frustration merely mirror Williams’ aggressive nature whereas coping with the ups and downs of studying an advanced new offense?

Common supervisor Ryan Poles wasn’t apprehensive.

“I truly assume it is fairly cool,” Poles advised ESPN in regards to the uproar over the video. “I knew there was a nasty apply. I’ve seen clips on Twitter. I did not comprehend it was a nationwide disaster of Caleb struggling.”

Earlier than anybody requires backup Tyson Bagent to take snaps with the primary workforce, think about that the Bears are practising lots of the ideas for the primary time. And there have been vibrant spots, from the accountability and a focus to element that Johnson calls for to the offense’s execution within the two-minute drill. Nonetheless, a fan base that hasn’t celebrated a playoff win for the reason that 2010 season and is searching for its first franchise quarterback in over 80 years would not want a lot to get on edge.

“They’ve put in quite a bit — OTAs, now,” Williams stated. “I take satisfaction in making an attempt to retain all of it, each single element that we’ve. I feel that is the place I have been rising up to now since Ben’s been right here is retaining the entire info, all of it is smart to me and having the ability to go on the market and execute.

“Clearly, there’s going to be errors, however having the ability to perceive that it was a mistake by me or we lined up mistaken — regardless of the case could also be — getting again within the huddle, calling it proper, getting again on the market, doing it, executing, being a player-led workforce [is what’s important].”

Offseason strikes have put the onus on Williams to make that second-year soar. He has a revamped offensive line together with a first-round tight finish in Colston Loveland and second-round large receiver in Luther Burden III. Johnson’s offensive innovation is anticipated to get essentially the most out of Williams.

VIDEO: #Bears QB Caleb Williams throws a mood tantrum after lacking 4 consecutive checkdowns throughout a throwing internet drill. pic.twitter.com/xqnh7NhLqk

— 𝑻𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝑰𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅 🍀 (@TylerTalksBall) August 2, 2025

“I feel as a human being, I need it to occur tremendous quick, and I’d love for it to look actually clear and for [Williams] to appear like a fifth-year vet proper now,” Poles stated. “However I feel, simply being on this lengthy sufficient, what’s actuality, although? It should take time. It is new.

“A brand new protection goes to leap out sooner. It at all times does. We’re additionally taking part in this man scheme that [defensive coordinator] Dennis [Allen] is taking part in is a ache, and he isn’t holding again something. And I feel due to that it’d look uneven at occasions, however that is what you need. You need this time to look, be as exhausting as attainable. After which whenever you get to sport time when the lights come on, you need that to then decelerate.”

What are the reputable causes for concern and optimism because the Bears get able to host the Miami Dolphins for a joint apply and their first preseason sport on Sunday? Listed below are just a few.

Concern: Is the Bears’ offense too difficult?

Backup quarterback Case Keenum has performed for eight groups and quite a few playcallers getting into his twelfth NFL season. He likened Johnson’s scheme to the “best hits” of his profession — an offense that makes use of heavy play-action, shifts, pre-snap movement and a fancy system for calling performs.

“Ben has put numerous stress on us as quarterbacks to deal with playcalls with out wristbands on the market,” Keenum stated. “New playcalls on daily basis. Lengthy ones with double kills and attainable alerts.”

Johnson stated he needs Williams to be “somewhat bit extra structured” in the case of dealing with calls, which are sometimes longer and comprise extra verbiage than he handled final season.

“There’s so many phrases that we’ve in our playbook, and we put so many phrases collectively that typically they form of sound the identical,” Williams stated. “So whenever you hear a play or begin to hear a play it is like, ‘OK, I do know what the play is’ and I do know precisely what we’ve.”

The complicated nature of this offense is not restricted to the quarterback place. Extensive receiver Rome Odunze famous that mastery of the complete scheme may not be sensible early on.

“I do know Ben’s offense is not simply one thing that you’ll fully have a full understanding of in Yr 1,” Odunze stated. “It is one thing that takes somewhat little bit of evolving to get there.”

Optimism: The installs are executed.

Earlier than practices started on July 23, Johnson went again and evaluated how he put in his offense and structured practices when he first started calling performs as Detroit’s offensive coordinator in 2022.

“It acquired considerably extra complicated and layered as we went,” Johnson stated. “We’re not beginning the place [the Lions’] offense began in ’22. We’re extra complicated.

“I do not count on them to have it mastered, and but they’re trusting, they’re actually leaping within the deep finish right here and trusting the very fact we have a plan in place. We all know what that is gonna appear like Week 1. We’ll get the items aligned accurately.”

Johnson has given gamers a style of that complexity. In the course of the annual Household Fest apply at Soldier Area, Williams hit tight finish Cole Kmet on a 25-yard misdirection landing.

The offense can be getting used to accounting for extra motion earlier than the snap. Final season, the Lions ranked fifth in pre-snap movement utilization (70%), a major uptick for a Bears offense that used movement 55% of the time (nineteenth) in 2024.

The largest change for Williams is the quantity of labor he is doing below heart. As a rookie, Williams took 84 snaps below heart and 575 out of the shotgun.

The change has include coaches altering his footwork and educating him to maintain his eyes on the protection longer. Williams famous the nuances he has realized in regards to the protection figuring out formations in another way below heart than if he had been within the shotgun.

“What I’ve seen from him pre-snap has actually progressed into post-snap play being higher as properly, too,” Keenum stated of Williams. “Extra command of the offense, command of his mechanics, command of the ball placement. Elite ball placement. Nice accuracy with some pressure behind it.”

Concern: Is Williams processing quick sufficient?

Throughout a apply on July 31, Johnson was calling in a play to Williams through walkie talkie, and it quickly turned obvious Williams’ headset had malfunctioned. He could not hear his coach.

Once more, Williams confirmed his frustration by motioning to the sideline that he could not hear.

That offered a educating second as Johnson instructed the 23-year-old to have a number of performs dedicated to reminiscence to organize for the chance of his headset going out throughout a sport.

“Whenever you get put in that scenario for the primary time, you begin to panic somewhat bit,” Johnson stated. “I do not know if he skilled that or not, however the message is we do not panic, we simply discover options, and I feel going ahead, he’ll have options that he’ll get to instantly and we’ll be simply wonderful.

“We do not wish to burn timeouts in that scenario.”

There have additionally been a number of cases of pre-snap errors throughout the first three weeks of camp. Johnson famous repeated errors throughout the quarterback-center change, and three delay-of-game penalties highlighted a apply the coach categorised as “sloppy” on Aug. 3.

Receiving the playcall, delivering the data to the huddle after which getting the workforce to the road of scrimmage early within the play clock has been a purpose for Williams to permit himself extra time previous to the snap to see what the protection is doing.

“It provides the middle, it provides me, it provides the deal with, it provides the large receiver [a chance] to see the strategy of the DB,” Williams stated. “It provides the O-lineman [a chance] to see are we going to have the ability to double-team this ‘backer, are we going to push it, are we going to do that and that.

“It permits me to have the ability to grasp what they’re about to do.”

Optimism: Williams is bettering inside offensive construction

Throughout a purple zone blitz interval on Aug. 2, Williams confirmed off his greatest attribute when he evaded the push and located Kmet for a landing within the again nook of the tip zone.

Rome down there someplace pic.twitter.com/GWRPiqwupH

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 6, 2025

“One of the best factor he does is the unscripted stuff, the two-minute stuff the place he is in a position to exit and actually play and present the competitiveness that makes him who he’s,” offensive coordinator Declan Doyle stated.

However even Williams is aware of the important thing to his success this season is taking part in higher throughout the construction of the offense, or as he put it, “not being that younger cat and desirous to go and get that large play, that large scramble play” too typically.

That is been the main target in workforce drills, and through Tuesday’s session, Williams ended apply by stepping right into a throw and giving Odunze an opportunity down the left sideline.

The outcome was a 40-yard landing and certainly one of Williams’ longest completions of the summer time. It is moments like that when the previous Heisman Trophy winner has proven Bears’ brass that he can undergo his progressions and make the fitting selections.

“He is getting higher at it,” Poles stated. “It will begin with the easy, clearly as you go and also you grow old, abruptly you’ll be able to progress from one aspect of the sector to the opposite — quick. Similar to after we had been in [Kansas City], [Chiefs quarterback] Pat [Mahomes] did not know coverages, numerous the large performs had been when he simply made issues occur.

“And yearly you simply maintain getting higher and higher at figuring out what groups are doing to you, after which abruptly there’s appears to be like that they are hiding from you after which abruptly snap goes after which they’re switching into one thing. As soon as your Rolodex grows, you’ll be able to react to these issues and truly begin to manipulate them as you grow old. It is simply a part of the quarterback place within the development course of.”