Cubs News: Waldron on Williams' progress in camp, expectations for Tyler Scott |
LAKE FOREST, I.L. - In Chicago’s first preseason game in the Hall of Fame game against the Houston Texans, the Bears did not play any of their starters, including quarterback Caleb Williams.
However, Williams is making continuous progress in training camp. “I think that daily improvement and that positive mindset that he shows up with every single day because both of those things give him a chance to be great because he works hard and he does all the right things around and leading up to every single practice,” Waldron said. “I think with him it’s the operation and the cadence, owning all the things that goes in there, and I think the great part about it is that he cares, he works hard, and he’s so competitive that each day, we’ve seen that improvement from him. So, we’re confident that that part of it is heading in the right direction … We have a bunch of guys that work hard and care, and so, you see those daily improvements each time we go out there.” One of the biggest conversations of Chicago’s training camp thus far has been the center competition between Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton. Both are experienced veterans and capable of being the starting center. However, Bates has played more positions along the line and especially with offensive lineman Nate Davis once again injured, versatility among the offensive linemen is incredibly important. His injury could even open up competition in other spots on the offensive line, although Waldron would not say that. “I still think there’s some competitions going on, and I think that during the course of training camp when you’re able to mix and match offensive line combinations, especially this early part of camp right here, I think that builds that armor for the regular season if situations happen to occur up front and different guys get comfortable playing next to not the same person every single day,” Waldron said. “The quarterbacks get comfortable in the huddle, talking about, we know we got a great center competition going on right there, and I think overall though, (offensive line coach) Chris Morgan just does such a good job with mixing and matching the guys with a plan for what the future looks like and also giving those guys the best opportunity to compete, not just the frontline guys, but our second level guys or guys that are competing for roster spots, putting them in position to have great opportunities to show great things on tape and give themselves the best opportunity moving forward.” One bright side about the starters not playing in the preseason opener is that fans got to see Chicago’s depth, including their wide receiver depth. Waldron said the goal for Tyler Scott and everyone else is not to focus on season expectations but to be present. “For Tyler, the expectations for the season, that’s so far away. To me, it’s right now, we’re in training camp mode and just like every player on offense, (it’s) going to get a little bit better every single day, and he’s done an excellent job of really owning the system, understanding formations, everything that goes into the base offense so that he’s able to play fast and you’re starting to see some of the game speed showing up in some of these reps he’s had, the last couple days especially and showing up in a two-minute drive on a big play the other day. So, he’s doing a great job, and like I said, everything right now is that short-sighted focus of getting better every single day in training camp.”
