Bear Digest

Caleb Williams Admits Short Week Already Has Been Taxing

Practice mistakes this week by Bears QB are all part of trying to get ready in a few days to play the high-flying Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams fires from the pocket against the Vikings last week. He's now experiencing his first Thursday turnaround.
Caleb Williams fires from the pocket against the Vikings last week. He's now experiencing his first Thursday turnaround. / Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
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Caleb Williams admits he’s had better practices than Tuesday’s, as the Bears try to transition quickly out of their latest Sunday disappointment to a game on Thanksgiving with a short work week.

“Yeah, this is interesting for me, this being my first Thursday game and it being such a large game, divisional game versus one of the best, if not the best team, so far this season,” Williams said.

The Lions have one loss, rank first in scoring and second in scoring defense.

“Routine-wise it’s different having to get up and things like that on your Tuesday, which you normally are taking care of your body all day,” Williams said. “It’s strictly mainly mental work and things like that on Tuesday for myself.”

The normal Tuesday of rest is replaced by lighter walk-throughs. The Bears will even practice on Wednesday before they go up to Detroit.

“I had a few mess-ups today with some of the new plays and things like that, just because you don’t have that day and a half to go through all the small details that mean a lot and I always talk about,” Williams said.

Having never seen Detroit compounds it all. This is the last division opponent Williams has still not faced.

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“There’s a lot of newness this week, there’s a lot of information, but we’re going to tackle it around 3 today to tomorrow on the plane and things like that to when I go to sleep is when I’ll be studying and making sure that when we go out there, we can go out there and perform and I can go out there and perform,” Williams said.

With all of that said, it sounds like a recipe for nationally televised disaster or possibly the end to Williams' streak of throws without an interception. It's at 193 now and he needs 19 to break the NFL rookie record set by Kyler Murray at 211.

Approaching this all correctly in a short week can lead to cutting corners. Williams did just come from college so he ought to know plenty about cramming.

“You’ve got to get to as many (issues) as you can and you, also, there’s a little less me time in the short weeks with the hours that you have and things like that,” Williams. “There’s a little less me time, so you’ve got to focus on your sleep, recovery.

“Most important thing, especially in a week like this, is sleep. Sleep, hydration and eating right and eating well to be able to recover after a tough game that we just had versus another divisional opponent, and now we’ve got to go up against these guys in a few days, so those three things are the most important, and then having those three things and doing those three things well prepares you for this game and being able to go out there and perform.”

Williams is going to have to go through it all in the future, so he’s just going to have to get used to it in a league where they love scheduling things inconveniently for everyone, especially around the holidays.

“Yeah, definitely something that, after this week and after this game, I know we have another one this year and we’ll have a bunch more in the years to come, so definitely want to make sure that when this happens next time I’m prepared for it and I know how to and I know what to expect,” he said.

The Bears host Seattle on the day after Christmas.

It would seem for a rookie quarterback to face another strong team after playing two good back-to-back opponents within the division will be somewhat of an advantage. At least it might help callous him.

“I wouldn't say that it helps you,” Williams said. “You know that you can go against them and battle with them toe to toe, even when you're down 10 points or more late in the game. You can battle with them and go toe to toe.

“But this is a totally different defense, a totally different mindset of defense. Scheme, players. Where they're special, the Vikings may not be. And where the Vikings are special, they (Detroit) may not be on defense. So it's a different challenge and like I said before, we look at those and we want to walk straight into those challenges because they only make us better.”
Williams did like the effort with 340 yards and 32 of 47 completions, including two touchdowns going against a gambling, aggressive Vikings scheme.

“I think that they caught us a few times, but I think we also caught them a few times,” he said. “With a DC like that, I think that's how the game is normally going to be.

“If you get hit, get back up and throw the next punch. Next time, just throw the punch first. So. Ya know. With that, I wouldn't say I passed or failed. We lost. I didn't do enough at the end of that game to be able to help the team win. But the good thing is we have another opportunity to go against a very good team with Detroit. They've got guys over there that make plays and they've got two guys on that back end of their defense–safeties and things like that. They're ballhawks. And you have to make sure you watch out for them.”

It’s just one more challenge in what figures to be a very challenging week. A short one.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.