One consistent theme from Chicago Bears OTAs is that Caleb Williams has the arm talent to be a successful quarterback in the NFL. However, he’s still learning how to operate the basics of an NFL offense. Sometimes, he can’t even manage to get the snap.
The Chicago Bears are struggling to take a snap
As previously discussed on CCS, Williams was having a hard time getting snaps off during voluntary OTAs:
According to Jon Greenberg with The Athletic, the Bears offense was so behind in the playbook that they were unable to line up correctly or get plays off in time…
Sometimes, Williams couldn’t even get passes off as the secondary used its space advantage in the red zone to shut down receivers. We saw a lot of screen passes, many of which turned into scores. Occasionally, the offense struggled to line up or get a play off.
Struggling to line up and being unable to get a play off means the Bears offense, Williams included, have more to memorize from offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s playbook.
Caleb Williams is perfecting the cadence
Being able to get the snap is a pretty important part of a quarterback’s job. While the art of taking a snap might seem to a casual fan a basic duty even an armchair quarterback could master, Williams is learning it isn’t easy. Per Dan Wiederer and Colleen Kane with the Chicago Tribune, Williams hasn’t nailed down the cadence, and it’s caused a mass of penalties at camp:
Among the biggest challenges he has faced, he said after the final minicamp practice, is perfecting the cadence, an issue that has popped up in practices with false starts. He needs to nail down the verbiage, he said. And he needs to remain neutral and calm when mistakes happen.
“I didn’t come in necessarily with the expectation to seem like a 13-year vet,” Williams said. “I came in to show the guys that I’m here, I’m working my tail off, I’m progressing and trying not to make the same mistake again. … That’s been my biggest thing. And also understanding that I’m leading an organization and a team, so just having that mindset and being in that mind state and just trying to find my flow.”
Williams does believe he’s getting better at the cadence. But he won’t be able to show more progress with the team’s veterans until next month when he can try out his new cadence skills in the midst of a ballsy competition to find a starting center. Once Williams can get the snap duty down, he’ll have to show progress in learning how to get his timing down so he can show off his impressive arm.
Related: Williams impresses with TD throw to Rome Odunze
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