Bear Digest

Montez Sweat Pulled from Drill After Second Practice Incident

On Saturday, for the second straight day, Bears defensive end Montez Sweat made contact with QB Caleb Williams while reaching out to knock away the ball but this time he was told to sit.

Gene Chamberlain

Caleb Williams goes through passing drills at Halas Hall in training camp.
Caleb Williams goes through passing drills at Halas Hall in training camp. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
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It's hard enough for the Bears offense to get the football snapped these days without a penalty flag when defensive tackle Andrew Billings is hollering out fake cadences.

They don't need someone else on defense causing trouble, but they've got it.

For the second straight practice, defensive end Montez Sweat made contact with quarterback Caleb Williams on a pass play and that's a no-no in football practices.

Sweat seemed to be biding his time on the pass rush, sizing up when to reach out from behind Williams during a pass play in Saturday's scrimmage. When Williams took the ball back to throw, Sweat reached out and hit it while also making some contact with the QB's arm. It will be interesting to see in Monday morning's practice if there is any follow-up to the situation.

It's quite clear to all defensive players that they can't be making contact with the quarterback in practice. The orange jersey passers wear to stand out from the other players says as much.

Sweat was told this after the play and did not get back in again during that set of plays.

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"No, he knows he should not do that," coach Matt Eberflus said. "I threw him out of the drill today. Then I pulled him aside and I said, 'Look, you cannot do that. You'd be sick if something happens. OK?'

"That's what I told him and he understands that. And does he get around there fast and all that stuff? Yeah, he does. But he's a superior elite athlete."

Sweat's maneuver on Saturday was even worse than Friday's, when he emerged out of the line and was right in Williams face. Williams moved one way with the ball in his hand while Sweat also took a step and reached out. At that point, when he made contact, it almost seemed like more a case where Sweat just got lucky to have made contact, although he definitely was reaching for the ball.

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On Saturday, it was clear he knew what he was doing and didn't need to reach out after the ball.

"He's good enough to be able to stop and move away," Eberflus said. "So he's got to be disciplined that way and he will in the future."

The false start issues continued again Saturday. The Bears have had 10 presnap penalties in two practices, one a delay of game. Billings has been the major cause but no one is going to send him to the sideline the way they did with Sweat.

They want Billings trying to be disruptive before snaps to get the offense ready for such tactics. They just don't want the tactics to work so often.

"It’s important to get that fundamental down first," Eberflus said. "Really it’s about focusing on what the quarterback’s doing, not on what the defense is doing."

The Bears offense changes to several cadences but is getting fouled up with it in practice and Billings makes matters worse. Williams went on silent count in college most of the time so this has been an adjustment for him.

"It’s really a function of using that as a weapon," Eberflus said of the offense using cadences. "So we need to have different cadences to use it as a weapon.

When you’re working new together, it’s going to take time. It’s going to take time to be able to do that. So going on 1, going on 2, gong on 3, dummy counts, silent count, all the things that you do as an offense."

And when Billings yells, they can't move.

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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.