(Photo: © Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images, 247Sports)
***LAKE FOREST, Ill.,***— With week 1 officially here, the Chicago Bears will be one of the most intriguing teams to watch. With a completely overhauled offense featuring second-year quarterback Caleb Williams and first-year head coach Ben Johnson, the question of what the entire unit looks like will be one that Johnson and the rest of the team have to answer.
A positive spin on the offense is that with playmakers at nearly every skill position coupled with a young, ascending quarterback, the Bears should have a real opportunity to blossom into one of the league's best units.
But in reality, the offense may take a few weeks to come together, even with a perfect blend of veterans and young players.
"We're gonna have to see," said veteran wide receiver DJ Moore. "Like I said last year, you don't know until you really start hitting the ground running and seeing where everybody's at."
As the offense begins yet another hard rest, Moore, who has had four different playcallers in each of this three seasons in Chicago, knows that it may take time for the entire unit to gel and come together. Part of this success also hinges on the development of Williams, who many around the organization are expecting to take a big jump in his second season.
After a solid training camp and preseason that featured highly competitive practices, the coaching staff hopes to see the entire group working as one unit during Monday's night's week 1 matchup against the Vikings. Part of finding a true balance on offense will be figuring out a way to get every playmaker the ball. As a first-year head coach and playcaller, it'll be one of Johnson's biggest challenges as he continues developing a relationship with Williams.
"We got a lot of playmakers out there now," said Moore. "So, I mean, you just choose who you want to and then we can make them look good after that. So, I mean, we try to take a lot off his plate, but at the same time, he is the quarterback, so he just got to go out there and do his thing."
Having everyone involved
From a coaches perspective, having all 11 players involved doesn't mean lighting up the scoreboard or padding the stat sheet. It truly means making sure that all 11 guys are executing their assignments on every single play.
"Everybody on the offense is going to have to carry the load at some point," said Johnson. "You talk about one-on-ones with our O-line up front, but I think our backs have to hold up in protection, our tight ends have to be involved, our receivers have to be physical. It's everybody here. I usually have a high degree of confidence in our guys because of how they've gone about their business. I already feel that right now with this group."
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