Caleb Williams led his Bears to a blowout in Buffalo — below are a few notes from what I saw from Chicago’s starters.

If you’d like a full recap of the weekend’s contest, check out the latest episode of Bear With Us below. 

Caleb’s First NFL Completion Proves His Poise

https://twitter.com/robertkschmitz/status/1822762254988931140

Andrew Billings Is A Force In The Run Game

Andrew "That Dog" Billings, man. Some things never change.

Love sticking him at 3T on the frontside of heavy run looks — here, he beats a double-team to push the RB wide for a stop. Great use of Dexter's 1T versatility too. pic.twitter.com/5IElRoxHhq

— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 11, 2024

Gervon Dexter Flashed Promise

I liked what I saw from #Bears DT Gervon Dexter yesterday — you can tell he's worked on his hand usage, and that led to some quality pass-rush reps.

Looked stout vs the run too, which I loved seeing. It sounds like he's having a big camp too, so keep an eye on him. pic.twitter.com/6IjZS2rztV

— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 11, 2024

I Can’t Imagine The World’s Reaction Had Caleb Completed This Pass

Many of the worst "Disaster Moments" Rookie QBs come on great defensive playcalls — the Bills plays the #Bears' 3-vert concept beautifully here & jam Everett hard. Options aren't great.

I love seeing Caleb stay poised — he works through his reads, avoids pressure, finds Rome… pic.twitter.com/fi6vM3JZGF

— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 11, 2024

Your Turn: What did you see in the Bears-Bills game?

A word to the wise: try not to get too wrapped up in the “results” of individual Training Camp practices. Learning is a process, and not a linear one.

Caleb Williams is a rookie QB, practice “results” will vary — especially since they’re running him & the rest of the #1 offense against the defensive starters, as opposed to the second-string. That’s always going to push a young QB, especially when his defense is reportedly doing nothing to make life easy for him, blitzing him often and challenging his understanding of coverages early.

It’s fun to talk about practice highlights, but Caleb’s growth was always going to be a process — and not a process that will finish by September 8th. I can personally attest to having agonized over each individual Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields Training Camp pass attempt, and as much as I’d love to tell you that those Camp performances signaled anything about their upcoming seasons… they didn’t.

I could wax on about how Caleb’s bar for this season is set by lowly Bears records like “11 total passing TDs” and “2300 passing yards in a season”, but ultimately football is a results-based business. During Training Camp we bog ourselves down in the minutia of each individual rep, each individual handoff, each individual 1-on-1, and each individual 2-Minute-Drill, but the first number that truly matters in the early season is the number the Bears put on the Soldier Field scoreboard as of ~3PM CST on September 8th.

I love to dig deep into the nitty-gritty of football, I love to obsess over the details of every snap, and while I’d love to tell you that preseason results tell us anything about a young QB’s development… they don’t. CJ Stroud’s first two preseason starts saw him complete 9 of 16 passes for 72 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT — he didn’t throw a regular-season INT until Week 6.

All of this to say, enjoy the growth process and don’t let it get to you. Football is fun, after all! And above all else, Bear Down.

I love hearing that the #Bears are putting their offensive 1s vs their defensive 1s, but it creates a set of funny reactions as practice plays out.

Jaylon Johnson blanketing Keenan and DJ is great news — the Bears need a big season from him! I love hearing that the defense is…

— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 7, 2024

Your Turn: What are you looking for in Caleb’s first Preseason start?

Your Turn: What do you think about the recent offensive reports?

Your Turn: How did you feel about the Bears’ performance in the Hall Of Fame game?

The Bears are BACK, baby!

Your Turn: What are you looking forward to in tonight’s game?

I joined forces with Bill Zimmerman over at Windy City Gridiron to preview the Bears’ Training Camp — if you’re looking for a primer on some of the offense’s upcoming camp stories, look no further!

Coming up, I hope to have a few in-depth training camp previews out on the site… but for now, we’re still in the final days of the offseason. We posted the defensive episode earlier this week, so today’s edition is the corresponding offensive episode.

I joined forces with Bill Zimmerman over at Windy City Gridiron to preview the Bears’ Training Camp — if you’re looking for a primer on some of the defense’s upcoming camp stories, look no further!

Coming up, I hope to have a few in-depth training camp previews out on the site… but for now, we’re still in the final days of the offseason. Take in this defensive episode today and I’ll post the corresponding offensive episode soon after.

This weekend I had an awesome experience on Football Night in Chicago and figured I’d share it here — what do I expect from Caleb Williams in 2024? What do I think of Jaylon Johnson’s recent comments about Williams? What stories seem like they’ll be ones to watch coming up in camp? Find out here:

Also… is DBB moving up in the world? We’ll see!