LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Quarterback Caleb Williams’ confidence has hit a new high in the Chicago Bears offense while the number of interceptions he is throwing in practice is declining.
Williams has practiced for a week in new coach Ben Johnson’s offense and after struggling initially with turnovers, the second-year quarterback seems to have stabilized within the attack.
“I think as of right now I think I’m rolling,” Williams said. “I’m pretty smooth with it as of right now.”
It’s not perfect, as the offense continued Wednesday at practice to have difficulty getting into the end zone from within the red zone. Still, it does look more consistent and Williams is finding more of his playmakers on time.
“It comes down to just a little bit more studying, it comes down to a little bit more practicing, a lot more reps and things like that over time,” Williams said. “So I think that’s where it is. I think that’s where it is right now. We’re going to keep progressing, and I’m going to keep progressing and getting after it.”
Initially, Williams' troubles were in simple things such as pre-snap procedure or even getting the snap from center. The snaps were understandable because the Bears took most of their snaps in shotgun formation under former coach Matt Eberflus and his two offensive coordinators last season. Now Williams is under center extensively for the first time in his career going back through college.
“I think right now I’m doing well with the process, whether that’s before the snap, whether it’s after the snap whether it’s footwork, all these different things,” Williams said. “Protecting the football these last couple of practices has been key and important.
“It’s important in any season, in any moment.”
Johnson confirms Williams’ advancement, even if he is hollering at times and actually pulled the offense back off the field on Day 1.
“I see growth. He is so much more comfortable right now,” Johnson said of Williams. “Even (Monday), the walkthrough ... just in terms of moving around. We go from gun, to under (center), to the tight ends are moving, the receivers are moving, we’re adding a few more every single day.
“His process, and I told him this on the player day off, his process is really clean right now. I’m talking about how he’s preparing. I’m really pleased with it. He’s doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing and we’re starting to see the dividends being paid from it.”
It helps having all of his playmakers available.
Throughout OTAs and even the start of training camp, they were getting little participation from rookie first-round tight end Colston Loveland because of his postseason shoulder surgery. Second-round wide receiver Luther Burden III did not practice from early May through the first week of training camp because of a soft tissue injury.
Both are back and catching passes now during practice. Loveland has formed a quick connection.
“He’s been great,” Williams. “He’s a smart cat. We’ve hung out a few times. Actually, him and a couple other teammates, we went down to the city on our off day and had dinner.
“We’re hanging out, building that bond, building that trust. On the field-wise, he’s smart, he knows what he’s doing, he’s a young cat so there are going to be a few mistakes, maybe hand placement. But when the ball goes up, I got all faith in him.”
Burden had a rocky start. He got pulled off the field once for lining up wrong, the product of so much time away from practices.
“It shows up already,” Johnson said. “We were in the walkthrough yesterday afternoon and the misalignments, we had to re-huddle. We had to start it all over again. He’s a little bit behind right now.”
Burden made up for it on Wednesday with a catch in traffic and a touchdown in red zone work.
Johnson didn’t lay all of the earlier problems on Williams or receivers. Their rebuilt offensive line has had to work to keep up with coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense.
“We need to do a better job giving our quarterbacks a clean pocket,” Johnson said. “We’re having to work the scramble drill a little bit more than we would like.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Gene Chamberlain, The Associated Press
