LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has passed every early checkpoint in the Bears' meticulous development plan.
Williams struggled during parts of training camp but showed an ability to learn from his mistakes, adjust, and improve quickly. The summer was filled with highs and lows for Williams. That's life as a rookie quarterback in the NFL, and that roller coaster will continue throughout the grueling 17-game season ahead.
With training camp wrapping up, Williams is about to get his first taste of in-season life as an NFL quarterback. The Bears have been preparing Williams for the rhythm of a lengthy NFL season, from game-planning through post-week cleanup.
But they are eager to see how Williams will respond to and handle the fast-and-furious life of an NFL quarterback once the train leaves the station.
“After the first game," head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday when asked what aspect he was most interested in seeing Williams navigate. "So after the first game, because the first game is abnormal because, you’ve got a lot of time to prepare. So, it’s not really a normal NFL week. But after that first game, being able to reset, right? Whatever happened, look at the performance and go ahead and self-reflect. Meet with me, meet with [offensive coordinator Shane Waldron]. What can I improve on? What did I do well?
"Then able to reset and go to the next week. That’s the biggest part that you have to do in the NFL. It happens fast. You don’t have time to, you know, you’ve got time to reflect a little bit but then you’ve got to move onto the next week, go onto Tuesday and then through that normal week which will be the second week. I’m excited about that.”
The Bears and Williams will spend the next week-and-a-half preparing for their season-opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8.
No matter what happens during Williams' official Soldier Field debut, the rookie quarterback must show he can quickly digest, process, and flush it before moving on to game prep for the Houston Texans in Week 2.
The Bears know there will be bumps in the road for Williams this fall. The rookie wall hits everyone, and it'll be up to Williams to figure out how to break through it whenever it arrives.
"It’s like, in a sense, there’s not much you can do other than be there for him, and it’s something he just has to work through, and you have to work through as a rookie," tight end Cole Kmet said. "And it’s hard. It’s hard. You hope that that’s delayed as much as possible. And look, I’m sure he’ll tell you he’ll never hit the rookie wall, but I’m sure he’ll look back on his rookie season and be like, OK, that’s where I started feeling it a little bit.
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"The main thing is for us to be there for him. And there are things as an individual and as a player that you also just have to work through yourself, but the big thing is just leaning on his teammates."
CHICAGO BEARS
Williams has been as advertised throughout the offseason and training camp. The arm talent is evident, and his magnetic aura has helped bond together a locker room that believes big things are on the horizon.
The Bears have surrounded Williams with the best supporting cast a No. 1 overall pick has been given in the modern era. That should help steady him through the twists and turns that come in Year 1 as an NFL quarterback.
"I want him to lean on the talent around him, and then when the time is right – and that’s an instinctual thing, and I think that plays right into him – that’s when you do the special and balancing that," general manager Ryan Poles said Wednesday of expectations for Williams. "And sometimes it’s gonna get out of whack one way or the other, but always come back to that. It’s kind of like that neutral place where he’s at his best, and I think he has that just from studying him and watching years of tape on him. He has that ability, so I think that’s kind of the big thing. Lean on the guys around him, be instinctual, let those wow plays happen at the right time."
The Bears have spent the last eight months preparing Williams and the new-look roster for the moment that is fast approaching.
Over the last eight months, Poles have overhauled the Bears roster, secured blue-chip talent, added depth, and drafted a franchise quarterback in Williams.
The energy around Halas Hall has been electric since before Williams officially became the new face of the franchise. That surge of enthusiasm and attention has increased as Williams has flashed during training camp and the preseason.
But while the offseason jubilation has warmed Halas Hall, the reality of the NFL world is arriving, which means it's time for Williams and Poles' grand reconstruction plan to be put to the test.
"I can’t ever let my mind go too far down that road," Poles said when asked if he was having fun watching Williams be what he had imagined. "It’s always about improving, but it’s good to see – any time you draft a player because of what you saw in college, and you see some of those things transfer over to the pro game, that gets you excited. If it’s the other way, it scares the crap out of you. It’s like: Where did that guy go? And we haven't had that with really any of our draft picks. Everybody has been as advertised, or if not better."
Williams will begin to climb the NFL mountain this week. A laundry list of tests awaits.
The Bears are eager to see how their rookie signal-caller overcomes them.
