The clock was ticking, and the Bears needed yards.
Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams looked down the middle of the field in the last seconds of a two-minute drill during practice Sunday. In the scenario, the offense was knotted in a scoreless tie toward the end of the first half.
Williams aimed for wide receiver DJ Moore, who was sliding toward the ground. The sidearm pass was picked off by cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who dove and crashed to the ground.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was fine with all of it. The scenario mandated Williams to gamble to get his team within field-goal range.
“He’s taking a good shot right there and trying to get the offset throw, and it didn’t quite work out,” Waldron said. “The defense made a good play.”
The Bears won’t practice in pads until Saturday. Their defenders are never allowed to touch the quarterback. Those factors mean this practice isn’t a true reflection of what Williams will face in games.
Waldron knows what he wants to see from his quarterback on the back fields at Halas Hall, though. He saw it Sunday.
“Realistic decision-making,” he said, “knowing that it’s an unrealistic time of year.”
That applies to practices, sure, but also the hype surrounding the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. Williams’ ups and downs will be tracked day by day, but conclusions about his future can’t be drawn until the regular season starts.
Waldron has been impressed by Williams through two days of training camp, saying that he returned to Halas Hall “a step ahead of where he left.” Coach Matt Eberflus challenged the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and his teammates to “level up” during their summer break, and Williams did.
“[It] shows that he did a great job during his time away from the building, owning the offense, understanding different calls and [being] able to come out here these first two practices and operate at a much higher level than what we left it,” Waldron said. “We know it’s not where the final product is, but every day we see these incremental improvements leading up to that first game. That’s our main goal on offense.”
Williams will play in preseason games, but perhaps for as few as 45 snaps. The Bears have seven weeks of practice to try to determine what each play means. Through two practices, the Bears’ defense has taken pride when they stop Williams, including after Stevenson’s interception. But the defensive players are quick to say the offense has an advantage during practices.
“Even in practice, quarterbacks are a lot more comfortable because the first thing they talk about in the meeting room is, ‘Don’t touch the quarterback,’ ’’ cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “Their steps, their drops, going through the progression is a lot more smooth in practice than it is in a game.
“I feel like in a game, you can really see the flaws of a quarterback vs. more so in practice.”
In two practices, though, the Bears can see improvement. This early in the preseason, they say that’s the most important thing.
“He has a better grasp of it, just from the outside looking in,” running back D’Andre Swift said. “But he has a real quick mindset. Making smarter plays, I’d say. Quicker plays. You can just tell he’s in a better space. That comes along with time. Getting a better understanding of the offense. He had time off, so he had more time to study the offense. So you can tell he’s made strides since he’s been back [from the break]. . . .
“I know he’s got a lot on his plate, a lot being thrown at him every day. But he’s doing a great job commanding the offense since we got back.”