How ‘baller' Caleb Williams made strong opening statement to Bears during preseason, camp

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- Caleb Williams arrived at Halas Hall a different breed of quarterback than the Bears' franchise has seen before.

Combine the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner's elite arm talent, pocket instincts, and playmaking ability with unique wiring, and you get a rare prospect.

On paper, Williams checked all the Bears' boxes during the pre-draft process and did so quickly.

But proof of concept rules the day in the NFL. College highlights and pre-draft board sessions mean little when the lights come on during fall Sundays.

When Williams arrived, the Bears' ascending defense made it their mission to push Williams. To poke, prod, frustrate, and sharpen the young signal-caller whose progress will determine their fate this fall.

That mission reached a new level in training camp as the Bears' defense forced Williams into what can fairly be described as an uneven performance.

But Williams never flinched during the dog days. The multi-interception sessions and dreadful low completion days only hardened Williams. No blinking. No doubts.

It just made him put the gas pedal through the floor.

"This league is going to have good moments. You’re going to have moments that you want back," linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said Monday at Halas Hall when asked about Williams' mental fortitude. "Everything is a learning experience. I think great decision-making comes with having made mistakes before. Whatever the mistake may be, whether you messed a call up, whether you threw an interception, or whatever it may be, that’s an experience to get better.

"I think the thing that I’ve learned: He’s a competitor. Ain’t nothing going to slow him down. You know what I mean? Something maybe didn’t go his way, but at the end of the day, he’s going to come out that next play still talking, still being himself, confidence level still high, and he’s ready to ball. And that’s what I respect the most, man, because a baller want to play with a baller at the end of the day. So when I see him out there and it’s like next shot, you know what I mean. ... It’s like, naw, we’re going to the next play. Now it’s time to go ball. I’m about to make a play. I’m about to make something happen."

That never-let-them-see-you-sweat attitude showed up Saturday in the Bears' 27-3 preseason win over the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field.

Williams and the Bears' first-team offense spun their wheels against the Bengals' second-team defense to start the day, recording three consecutive three-and-outs to open the game.

But Williams' even-keeled, professional demeanor never changed, and the Bears' offense ended the day with two straight scoring drives.

"Caleb has great poise, great resiliency," offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said Monday. "He’s able to have that next play mindset."

"He just had that swag, that demeanor about him, being the QB 1," tight end Gerald Everett echoed.

"I'm sure he will be even more exciting in the future."

But Williams' strong opening statement to his teammates and coaches goes far beyond his steady hand.

It's his mind -- and the Bears' ability to tap into his preferred learning ability -- that has Waldron and the offensive staff excited about what's to come.

"It’s a great trait that he has, like when we get over to the sideline, and you look at the [Microsoft] Surface, but before you even look at the Surface, he can already tell you the why behind each read, and I think to me that’s is the most important part," Waldron said. "If he’s not seeing it clearly or something like that, that’s where you really need to go back and go through it. But he sees it clearly, can really talk about different windows and also from the quarterback’s lens is totally different than what you see from the stands lens or the coach on the sideline lens, that ground level where was the defender exactly at when you hit the top of your drop. And he easily can clearly articulate every one of those points in regards to the space or what happened on a play."

That uncanny ability to quickly digest, understand, and retain information -- be it a play call or a mental picture of a rep -- has Williams accelerating through the early part of his development.

Facing a defense with blue-chippers on every level gave Williams an early introduction to how hard life can be in the NFL. The players are faster and smarter. The windows are much tighter, and they don't stay open long.

But that's also something that Williams and his super processor brain have quickly adapted to in two preseason games and a month of camp.

"He’s shown that he plays in rhythm," Waldron said of Williams' ability to decode defenses and understand tight windows. "He can play in rhythm, find those throws. And then what’s pretty cool to watch is when the play breaks down, it almost seems like it’s in slow motion for him, and he can find a different rush lane, being smart with the ball, breaking contain, and creating some explosives down the field. For us with him, it’s about finding the balance of those two things, and I think he’s doing a good job of progressing with that, and like you mention, feeling out what are those windows? What are the windows that are too tight to fit it in? Or what are the windows that are legit completions before getting into potential scramble modes?

Williams has taken 43 snaps this preseason. There have been wow throws and a Patrick Mahomes comp already.

He has been deemed "special" and a "magician" by teammates in the locker room.

The train certainly appears to be leaving the station. Next stop? A level of football bliss Chicago has only lusted after.

But there will be bumps in the road before the full-on ascent arrives. Those clunky, disjointed moments that are typical with any rookie quarterback. The learning curve still exists, but the hope is that Williams, armed with an unshakeable belief in who he is and what he is, can reach the other side quicker than most.

After a month of camp and a handful of preseason snaps, Williams has shown his teammates and coaches that the "generational" talent doesn't just live on paper and in Pac-12 highlights.

It traveled to Chicago and will, after polishing and hardening, be ready to withstand and counter any haymakers the NFL throws at him.

"He’s different," tight end Cole Kmet said. "Yeah, he’s different."

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