Camp tidbits

[Mongo3451]

Waddle was at practice today and echoed some of the expectation of excellence.  He personally saw BJ chew Caleb's ass in front of the starting offense.  He says he hasn't seen that type of command since Lovie.  Of course, he said Lovie had his own way with established vets like Olin and Url to keep everyone in line.  He also commented on the leadership of Grady Jarrett, saying he did burpees when other players were being punished.  Love it!

[AZ54]

21 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

Waddle was at practice today and echoed some of the expectation of excellence.  He personally saw BJ chew Caleb's ass in front of the starting offense.  He says he hasn't seen that type of command since Lovie.  Of course, he said Lovie had his own way with established vets like Olin and Url to keep everyone in line.  He also commented on the leadership of Grady Jarrett, saying he did burpees when other players were being punished.  Love it!

Good.   Tear them down and build them back up.   Those of us who went through basic military training know what that feels like.  Although the pay was quite a bit different.    

[Mongo3451]

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

Good.   Tear them down and build them back up.   Those of us who went through basic military training know what that feels like.  Although the pay was quite a bit different.    

💯  It's coaching 101.  Nobody is bigger than the mission.  BJ wants excellence on execution.  

[Mongo3451]

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

Good.   Tear them down and build them back up.   Those of us who went through basic military training know what that feels like.  Although the pay was quite a bit different.    

 

[BearFan PHX]

2 hours ago, AZ54 said:

Good.   Tear them down and build them back up.   Those of us who went through basic military training know what that feels like.  Although the pay was quite a bit different.    

and no one held out for a better contract LOL

Everything I wanted from Vrabel I'm seeing with Bj and DA. And there is a lot that Vrabel cant do that these guys can too.

Cant wait to see it on grass.

[Stinger226]

9 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

and no one held out for a better contract LOL

Everything I wanted from Vrabel I'm seeing with Bj and DA. And there is a lot that Vrabel cant do that these guys can too.

Cant wait to see it on grass.

I also wanted Vrabel, and I think he will do just fine, but not the offensive mind of BJ and the agressiveness of DA. Poles hit HRs on these hires. Of course no games played yet but but being accountable in the first practice is proof they aint playing around. The sooner players know its not the softcore Flus, the sooner the build up starts. Humans are creatures of habit and they have new habits to learn.

[Stinger226]

Morning news

Colston on the field

Burden at camp but not on the field

Shemar Turner twisted his angle, to the locker room.

Zak Fraizer missing due to personal reasons.

JJ is in the building rehabing the hamstring injury

[BearFan PHX]

Love to hear this from Johnson. He's going to completely change the approach week to week to exploit matchups and style differences. Some years the Patriots were Randy Moss for an 80 year TD, some years they were a grind it out possession team. And week to week the Patriot defensive front could change, youd show up expecting to play a 3-4 team and they come out in a 4 man front etc. Great.
 

 

[DABEARSDABOMB]

Every aspect of Johnson screams they found their coach. Right now my biggest question is whether Caleb is hungry and willing to put in work it takes to be great. Last year and in college - he didn’t have a standard set that required work. Riley’s system is notorious for being easy and he never has made his QBs work a ton (had a lot of success though) and Flus and Waldron set weak standards. 
 

Really curious to see how Caleb responds to being truly coached hard for first time. I hope he has and is willing to work his tail off. 

[BearFan PHX]

18 minutes ago, DABEARSDABOMB said:

Every aspect of Johnson screams they found their coach. Right now my biggest question is whether Caleb is hungry and willing to put in work it takes to be great. Last year and in college - he didn’t have a standard set that required work. Riley’s system is notorious for being easy and he never has made his QBs work a ton (had a lot of success though) and Flus and Waldron set weak standards. 
 

Really curious to see how Caleb responds to being truly coached hard for first time. I hope he has and is willing to work his tail off. 

I agree with all of this. I think Caleb will be all in. I cant predict anything, maybe Johnson will be a flop, but from right here and right now it sure looks like this is a great staff.

And Caleb seems hungry and focused to me. Even before the draft, some of the things he says sound like he is really dialed in.

Statistically, he was pretty good last season. His 3,500 yards was the fifth best season for a bears QB ever. 20 TDs is pretty good, and 6 INTs is stellar. And this is as a rookie with nothing around him.

Now he was also sacked like hell. He needs to grow int he system and timing and rhythm. He couldnt ask for a better OL, WR group or head coach to teach him.

It sure looks like the table is set. I hope it's what it looks like.

Put it this way: I never believe anything until I see it, but I am not concerned about Caleb at all.

[Stinger226]

4 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

I agree with all of this. I think Caleb will be all in. I cant predict anything, maybe Johnson will be a flop, but from right here and right now it sure looks like this is a great staff.

And Caleb seems hungry and focused to me. Even before the draft, some of the things he says sound like he is really dialed in.

Statistically, he was pretty good last season. His 3,500 yards was the fifth best season for a bears QB ever. 20 TDs is pretty good, and 6 INTs is stellar. And this is as a rookie with nothing around him.

Now he was also sacked like hell. He needs to grow int he system and timing and rhythm. He couldnt ask for a better OL, WR group or head coach to teach him.

It sure looks like the table is set. I hope it's what it looks like.

Put it this way: I never believe anything until I see it, but I am not concerned about Caleb at all.

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.

[Bears4Ever_34]

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.

[BearFan PHX]

41 minutes ago, Bears4Ever_34 said:

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.

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?

[AZ54]

1 hour ago, Bears4Ever_34 said:

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.

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."

[AZ54]

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

[AZ54]

 

[BearFan PHX]

31 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

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

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

[Mongo3451]

30 minutes ago, AZ54 said:

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

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.

[BearFan PHX]

41 minutes ago, Mongo3451 said:

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.

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.

[BearFan PHX]

3 hours ago, Bears4Ever_34 said:

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.

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.

[Bears4Ever_34]

5 hours ago, BearFan PHX said:

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?

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.

[BearFan PHX]

32 minutes ago, Bears4Ever_34 said:

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.

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.

[Bears4Ever_34]

52 minutes ago, BearFan PHX said:

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.

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. 

[AZ54]

1 hour ago, Bears4Ever_34 said:

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.

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.  

[Mongo3451]

1 hour ago, AZ54 said:

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.  

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...