Williams is creating cohesiveness with rookie tight end Colston Loveland on and off the field. The Bears quarterback revealed that he spent Sunday’s day off in downtown Chicago dining with the first-round pick and a few other teammates.
“We’re hanging out, building that bond, building that trust,” Williams said. “On the field, he’s smart, he knows what he’s doing. He’s a young cat, so there are going to be a few mistakes, maybe hand placement. But when the ball goes up, I’ve got all faith in him.”
Loveland reinforced that confidence during a recent practice when he soared high over the middle to catch a pass from Williams.
“The ball kind of slipped out of my hand, [which was] a little sweaty,” Williams said. “He went up and grabbed it and came down with it. It was a big catch. Things like that provide trust, faith, belief that whenever the ball goes up in the air, it’s his. Other than that, it’s just building a connection, routes and things like that, kind of figuring out how he moves so when we get out there on the field [in games], we’re out there rolling.”
Headed in right direction
Veteran defensive coordinator Dennis Allen is pleased with the progress the defense has made from offseason workouts through seven training camp practices.
“We’ve still got a long way to go, but I like the direction that we’re headed,” he said. “Guys are locked in. I think the best thing that I’ve seen from our group is that I’ve seen a lot of improvement from where we were in the springtime. And that’s what we really want to see: guys getting confidence throughout, whether it be the offseason program, OTAs, minicamp and now into training camp.
“We haven’t had to really take a step back. We’re giving them a lot of stuff. There’s a ton for them to digest and those guys are doing a really good job of understanding what we’re asking them to do.”
One of the defense’s key areas of improvement in training camp has been its press coverage, which is a staple of the scheme. On Tuesday, coach Ben Johnson praised the strides made in that area, remarking that there are “significantly smaller windows than there were in the springtime.”
“I’ve seen improvements in that regard,” Allen said. “The coverage aspect has been a lot more clean, a lot stickier than it was in the spring. That’s good to see, and that’s a big part of what we do.”
On Wednesday, nickel back Kyler Gordon dove to break up a pass near the sideline. It was almost a carbon copy of the play that safety Jaquan Brisker produced a day earlier. Cornerbacks Tyrique Stevenson and Nahshon Wright both have broken up multiple passes since the start of camp as well.
Source link
