The second day of pads was a forgettable one for the Chicago Bears offense. Caleb Williams threw two interceptions during 7-on-7 drills, and he wasn’t the only one. The defense seemed a step ahead of everything they tried. Nowhere was that clearer than up front. Montez Sweat continues dominating team drills while Gervon Dexter and DeMarcus Walker get their turns causing problems. However, the biggest thorn in the offense’s side on Saturday wasn’t any of them. It was defensive tackle Andrew Billings.
Only it wasn’t for the reason people would think. A persistent issue the offense keeps having is pre-snap penalties, particularly false starts. Some of that is various cadences, which Williams isn’t used to. Another part is thanks to Billings. According to multiple reports, he has a habit of shouting, “Move!” right before the snap. This caused a lot of confusion with the Bears offensive line, leading to premature jumps. The guys never seemed to find a solution for it.
While it may frustrate fans who want to see the offense click better, these are the kinds of things they must get used to. Head coach Matt Eberflus said a big talking point going forward is focus and finish. Part of the issue for the Bears is their ongoing uncertainty along the interior offensive line. They’ve been rotating centers since camp began, holding a competition between Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton. Nate Davis saw fit to complicate things further by missing yet another practice with an undisclosed injury.
Now that Andrew Billings knows he can cause confusion with this tactic, he will use it daily until the offense shows they can handle it. That is a good thing. The more you practice against something, the less it should affect you. Eberflus stated that this is what a training camp is for. The Bears offense is learning a brand new scheme. Things were never going to click right away. Still, they have to get things cleaned up. Protecting Williams remains their top priority.
