LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson spent a portion of his media availability Tuesday talking up DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Keenan Allen, the talented trio of receivers the Chicago Bears are trotting out this season.
At one point, Stevenson, who is entering his second season, even let out a deep sigh when asked about the difficulty of covering Allen, a seasoned vet skilled in fooling defensive backs.
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But at the end of his chat with reporters, he was asked what he learned about himself during camp, and Stevenson said, “I’m ‘Him.’ Pretty much.”
That’s “pretty much” been the attitude of the Bears defense since Dick Butkus was patrolling Wrigley Field, and while things are changing at Halas Hall, thanks to Caleb Williams, some things remain the same.
The Bears defense remains “Them.” If you have any faith that the Bears are going to be a playoff-caliber team this season, it’s because of “Them.”
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As for the offense, well, there’s a reason all eyes are on Williams every practice. He’s got the receivers and running backs he needs, though the offensive line is still a question mark.
Williams has impressed in his rookie training camp — all it took was one throw in a preseason game last week to send Chicago into a football tizzy — but he’s also looking harried at times, having to deal with his defense every day. In the third episode of “Hard Knocks,” Williams is going over film from the second preseason game against Buffalo with coach Matt Eberflus, who asks him what he’s learned so far.
“Practice is harder than the game,” Williams said.
GO DEEPERWatching film with Bears coach Matt Eberflus: Inside the mind of a teacherEberflus liked that answer. And on Tuesday, we saw in person, once again, why that is, as hungry defensive linemen sent Williams running this way and that. Virtual reality headsets, meetings and watching film on a tablet will never replace experience as the best teacher.
“Definitely showed him … what an NFL defense looks like,” defensive end Montez Sweat said Tuesday of Williams’ experience at training camp. “I feel like we’re definitely one of the top defenses in the league, so I feel like that is a great experience for him. He’s taking it head-on. I see him getting better and better every day. It’s kind of scary.”
Sweat was certainly in Williams’ face during 11-on-11 drills Tuesday.
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“He needs to feel that pressure,” Sweat said. “So I provide that for him.”
Nice guy.
GO DEEPERWhy Bears GM Ryan Poles is 'really impressed' with Caleb Williams so farOne of the most enduring jokes at Bears camp is about the concept of “iron sharpens iron,” which is a loaded description of practices where the defense is always coming out ahead of the offense. If that were really true, generations of Bears fans would’ve had happier lives. But the Bears offense is usually better described as resembling “lead.”
Maybe things are changing. There are signs, but don’t expect to see the Chicago Chiefs every Sunday.
In two preseason games, Williams has completed 10 of 20 passes for 170 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He ran in a score last week. His big play against the Bengals was a 45-yard pass to Odunze that showcased his improvisational ability and his touch on the deep ball. It made Bears fans dream of fall afternoons that won’t end in a walk of shame.
nobody will remember:
– your salary
– how “busy you were”
– how many hours you workedpeople will remember:
– Caleb Williams to Rome Odunze in the third preseason game of 2024 pic.twitter.com/tA7hh2hS3T— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 19, 2024
Asked to describe the throw after the game, Odunze said: “It’s like, oooh! It’s magical what he’s doing back there in that backfield. He’s special.”
With two preseason games of work and a month’s worth of practices behind him (thanks to the early start for the Hall of Fame Game), Williams is sitting for the final preseason game Thursday in Kansas City, as expected. “Most” of the starters won’t play, Eberflus said.
Though Williams is far from a finished product, it’s only the third week of August and the progress has been linear.
“I think he’s been relatively good in terms of going through his progressions, making good decisions, taking care of the football in the pocket with two hands and moving around there when he does have to do that,” Eberflus said. “But overall I thought, a good preseason for him.”
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The Bears reported to camp July 19 and still have almost three weeks until their season opener against the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 8 at Soldier Field. So there’s more than enough time for Williams to sharpen his game against the Bears defense before it all gets real. And who knows, by this time next year, maybe I’ll be writing about iron and iron duking it out at Halas Hall.
(Photo: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
Jon Greenberg is a columnist for The Athletic based in Chicago. He was also the founding editor of The Athletic. Before that, he was a columnist for ESPN and the executive editor of Team Marketing Report. Follow Jon on Twitter @jon_greenberg
