Bears ready for ‘Hard Knocks,’ Caleb Williams stars in practice: OTA takeaways

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Being the starring team on HBO’s “Hard Knocks” will require a plan. Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus knows that from experience. He was the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator in 2021 when the team was featured during the first in-season version of the popular show.

“Really, it’s the same message,” Eberflus said Friday after the Bears’ OTA practice at Halas Hall. “We had a real positive attitude about it. We know we had really good people in the building and our message was going to be, (this is) who we are and how we operate. No one changes how they act, no one changes what they do. We just focus on our job, and they’re going to have special-interest stories that they do, which I think, some of them are really good. And we have a lot of them here in our building, so I’m excited to see that.”

The Bears, along with NFL Films and HBO, announced Thursday the team had been selected for this year’s training camp edition of “Hard Knocks,” which will debut Aug. 9. It’s the first time the Bears will be featured on the show.

Eberflus said he spoke to his team about its starring role.

“I think they were excited about it,” he said. “We have a good thing going here. We’ve got a good brotherhood, a good mindset.”

And hopefully a good quarterback in rookie Caleb Williams, the first pick in this year’s draft.

Eberflus isn’t worried about how Williams will handle the extra attention from the documentary series. The spotlight has been part of Williams’ life for years going from high school to Oklahoma to USC.

“I do think he’s suited for that because he’s comfortable in his own skin; he knows who he is,” Eberflus said. “Again, he’s been out there for several years in terms of in the media, in the focus, the Heisman winner, all those things that he’s done. And he’ll be good.”

Count veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds among the Bears players who are excited to be on the series.

“It shows that we got something brewing here,” Edmunds said. “Everybody wants to see what’s going on and (it’s) just really being yourself out there, not doing too much but just showing up to work and just showing the world what we’re about here, the high-level execution that we have.”

Running back D’Andre Swift was on the Detroit Lions in 2022 when they were featured on “Hard Knocks.”

“It was cool,” he said. “You’re used to watching that as a young player coming up. … But being involved in it is a different outlook. It was a cool experience.”

Back at practice

When it came to the Bears’ open practices for the media during OTAs, this week was significantly different than last week for Williams. He didn’t struggle as much. Instead, he completed 13 of 15 passes during a long seven-on-seven period. One of his incompletions — a deep ball to rookie receiver Rome Odunze — resulted in a defensive pass interference penalty.

It helped that safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard, nickelback Kyler Gordon and linebacker T.J. Edwards didn’t participate. But Williams also was missing Odunze and receiver Keenan Allen last week against them. Allen wasn’t present for the voluntary practice on Friday, either.

Williams connected with various receivers, including layering throws over defenders. One of his best passes was a deep ball over the middle to receiver DJ Moore for a touchdown.

“I thought seven-on-seven for Caleb was really good,” Eberflus said. “I thought he did a really nice job throwing the ball on time. His footwork has improved this whole week. His progress was there.”

Williams and the offense also won a situational team drill against the defense. The most important play was a third-down conversion to Moore. The drill ended with kicker Cairo Santos making a field goal for the lead.

“He’s competitive,” Edmunds said. “As a rookie, he’s doing some things that are good to see. I think that’s the thing that gets me most excited and I think gets our team most excited.”

It’s only one practice in May without full pads but Williams looked decisive on his throws. His arm talent, especially on deep balls, was apparent.

“(It’s) just understanding the plays and how his feet are married to those plays, albeit if it’s just normal situations, if it’s play-action pass or in the red-zone when it quickens up a little bit,” Eberflus said. “I think he really improved on that this week, and you could see the ball coming out of his hand pretty live when his feet were right.”

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Missing in action

Defensive end Montez Sweat continued to be the most notable absence during the voluntary practices but he’s expected to join the team next week at mandatory minicamp.

“I’m not going to get into all the numbers in terms of exact dates and when guys were here,” Eberflus said. “But he’s been in the building. He’s been here several times during the offseason, and when he’s in, he’s locked in and ready to go. Of course, he’ll be here next week and we’re excited about that.”

Eberflus said he’s anticipating full participation from his players in minicamp.

Working on something special

The learning process and the experimentation continued for special teams coordinator Richard Hightower as he adjusts to the NFL’s new kickoff rules. It includes kicking off from your own 35-yard line while the other 10 players start on the opposing team’s 40-yard line.

Roster decisions will be different because of the changes. Kick returns will be back in the NFL. Hightower has already talked to Eberflus and general manager Ryan Poles about what the Bears can do.

“It’s just going to be interesting because it’s all new,” Hightower said. “There are so many different forms of people that you can put out there. The imagination is going to take over. The creativity is going to take over, so it’s going to be fun, and we’re all excited about it.

“So we’ve toyed around with a lot of different body types and techniques. And we’re using still some of the same type of techniques, but it’s just happening at a different point in the play. So with the running start out, it’s happening a lot quicker — like, it’s on you right now. And that’s what we’re realizing and going through. So it’s been fun as heck.”

(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today)