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that all makes sense, but i also think that BJ is committed to being a heavy play action team, and leaning on the running game - and that means Caleb has to learn to be productive under center?

Yeah, I saw that late last night cycling through my feed. Not surprised. Eberflus tried to do some of that last year in camp, but he wasn't/isn't smart enough to learn anything from it the way I'm certain Ben Johnson can. It sounds like they are trying to drill in the under center aspect of the offense, and he's not reacting to it particularly well, at this point. I'll be curious to see when the season starts if they abandon that idea and keep him primarily in the shotgun while mixing in some tempo to keep him comfortable. Hopefully he starts to take more to the things he's struggling with now, because that will make the entire offense more dynamic, but it also wouldn't surprise me if they started the year off super basic, running variations of the same few plays that the QB likes and expand from there. Peyton Manning made a HOF career out of that.

I think the components are here to get there quicker than he did in Detroit but it is a process. I predict after the bye week, we will be rolling.

...and unlike last year nobody is asking Ben how he can simplify things for Caleb. At least I haven't heard one reporter ask that question. The goal is clear: Become the best offense in the NFL. Ben has the proven plan for that and the players need to get on board.

Yeah, and the Bears first real game is September 8th, 44 days, or 6+ weeks of constant work. Everything up to this point was light work, or on paper. We should have 6 weeks of incremental improvement.

Spot on. With all the noise on bad offense, the only one Im listening to is what BJ says. He said this is normal ramp up to showing signs of life. He's right on track.

For the first time in a long time that I can remember, it seems that the coaches are making it harder on the players than they normally would be at this point in the offseason. Up downs on defense, applying max pressure on offense to start off practice. From previous camps, they were used to easy practices, which led to mixed results on game day. I like this new approach a lot.

You are spot on

I thought this was a pretty good read. I have a lot of faith right now in Ben Johnson. I do hope we see some big days from Caleb though - but this really seems like they are trying to make practice harder for him than the games - which is great - really push him.

We need to remember, BJ said "get comfortable with being uncomfortable". With athletics and military, there is a tear down and build up phase. It's how greatness is built. I live being uncomfortable for once...

If DJ Moore is saying the defense is mixing it up and making him think it's doing far more to Caleb. This is Dennis Allen's approach but it's also not being done without Ben Johnson's approval. My opinion: Johnson isn't taking the easy road to getting Caleb up to speed he wants him to experience it all now in practice so he's ready for game day. You can glean some things from how a coach is challenging a player early on. Of course he's trying to find limits and such but that also means he didn't find the limits way back in minicamp....which is a good sign.

All good. I'm very optimistic about Ben Johnson. I'm still a Caleb fan, but the honeymoon phase is over, at least on my end. No more excuses. He needs to look like a #1 pick, and I think he needs a fast start to the season to maintain any chance of a potential playoff spot.

No worries - hopefully you saw my later apology, because it is more than one interception, and i didnt know that yet! I hate hearing bad stuff too - hopefully Johnson will get them all right. I have optimism for it, and even expectations, but like you, Ive been burned too many times, and I want to see it on the field against real opponents.

It's not one particular play, but a general vibe of how the day has gone. It's always the same story. Slow out of the gate, disjointed, clunky, quarterback struggling to get rid of the ball, taking sacks, etc... The defense has "won" the vast majority of practices since 2018, and before that, 2013—the last truly great Bears offense. It's not a coincidence that those two seasons were also good training camp years for the offense, especially 2013. You're right that it's too early to make any declarations, and there's still ample time to turn things around before week 1. I'm not saying the Bears or Caleb WILL be bad this year, but I am saying that if history is any indicator, if this trend of bad practice performance continues, it will translate into bad regular season performance, and I expected the #1 pick in the draft to be able to adapt more quickly than he has, not just this year, but last.

so just to revisit this I hadnt seen reports from today, so its more than one interception, my apologies. Im not ready to worry yet. I'm gonna give this a little time before I start to judge it. But you (and all of us) are right that until we see it good on the field, everything else is just talk.

exactly! I dont think media WANTS to lie, they just dont know and they have to get clicks and eyeballs. And reporters are not analysts. And so they end up repeating the same one liners over and over. "arms too short" or "paints his fingernails" or whatever.

That's a great find AZ. This is also precisely why PFT sucks. They have no idea what the play call and/or protection was when they write performance.

amazing - thanks for this. The media is a whore.

How the media reports the same plays Zack Pearson & @Zack_Pearson • Follow First two 11 on 11 sequences for first team offense not very good. Montez Sweat was in the backfield twice, once untouched as there was a breakdown on the line. Williams had to throw it away both times. Two completions to Zaccheaus. One PBU by Josh Blackwell on a short, Show more • Last edited 7:26 AM • Jul 25, 2025 0

This is different because they are already having the players on both sides of the ball go through what-if scenarios. Doing that on day 3. During an early 11-on-11 period, DE Montez Sweat got pressure on Caleb Williams on back-to-back plays. That was by design, according to OC Declan Doyle, to see how Williams would handle those situations. Doyle: "That's very intentional. That's trying to get our defensive pressures in against some of the stuff that we're going to do offensively. We have contingency plans for what they are going to bring at us, so the quarterback operating getting the offense on the same page as far as checking plays, checking protections, things like that, but that's all a part of the scripted practice, is trying to get the defense right with their pressure patterns and the way they're going to play coverage on the back end and then it's getting our quarterbacks used to whether we're throwing the ball or up front handling the movement with those run schemes."

because he threw an interception? Last year, with no coaching or OL he only threw 6, in a season that was the 5th best for yards in Bears history. I think that to judge Caleb good or bad right now is premature?

We're 3 days in, or 6 if you count mini-camp, and everything feels exactly the same. The offense is struggling, the quarterback sucks, the defense is dominating, and the excuses are beginning to form. It's all so tiresome. I was optimistic about Caleb when we drafted him, but the rough practices are beginning to pile up for him already. If history is any indicator, we better get ready for another rough offensive season if these reports don't start changing in the near future. Part of me is beginning to wonder what his work ethic is really like. There are rumblings out there that haven't gone away. At this point, I have more confidence in Ben Johnson than I do Caleb Williams.

The running game is in good hands. People overreact to the unknown but its actually not. A leading rusher in the Big Ten 2 yrs in a row is a good resume. https://beargoggleson.com/it-took-one-play-at-bears-training-camp-for-rookie-to-threaten-veterans-jobs

I agree with almost everything you said but to say (this as a rookie with nothing around him) DJ, Rome, Kmet, Swift are looked to be a strength to BJ. I think humans are creatures of habit and Caleb got in bad habits with bad coaching. Wasnt held accountably for his contritubtion to last years failures. One of his strengths is adaptablity but that doesnt come over night. Has to learn being under center most the time, change his mind set to look for the big play instead the check down, to make quicker decisions to what he sees. The only time he showed rythum was when he was in two minute offense when forced to at the end of games. Remember BJ jumped on the chance to come here because of Caleb. Patience is the key to a complete do over with a great to be coach.