Bears defense off to a fast start at Halas Hall

Kamil Krzaczynski - USA Today Sports

by Tony Crumpton - Senior Editor - Fri May 24 08:09:51 GMT-05:00 2024

The Chicago Bears started their organized team activities (OTA) this week at Halas Hall.

According to reports, the defense had its way with the offense on Thursday, with quarterback Caleb Williams trying to work through a full playbook.

“We’re not holding back,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “We’re giving him a lot of information. We’re giving him the offense, and you want to be able to go through the whole offense before the offseason gets done, primarily most of it, and work it into the summer. We’ll have a plan for him there and work him into training camp and then go from there.”

Happy Friday

Here’s your friendly reminder that Caleb Williams is QB1

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— Just Another Year Chicago: Bears (@OfficialJAYCHI) May 24, 2024

Veteran safety Kevin Byard told the media that the defense had a great day.

"I mean, we had a good day," Byard said. "But to be honest, it's to be expected. [When] you have a returning top-10 defense obviously going against a younger rookie quarterback who's getting acclimated and learning things, that's what it is supposed to look like. But we're out there competing, and we're trying to make each other better, and it's going to be about putting in the work that makes us better in the long run."

The Bears defense believes they will be elite in 2024.

"We're expecting to be a top defense," Byard said. "Anything less than that is a letdown. And also just knowing full well that with having a younger quarterback, we have to get off to a fast start … We've got to make sure we're a top defense. That's what we expect, and we talk about that every single day."

Eberflus wants the defense to get off to a fast start to the season to help ease in the new offense that includes a rookie quarterback.

"Our defense played well down the stretch," Eberflus said. "We all know that. We anticipate them coming off to a fast start. We certainly want to have that. The guys are excited about putting the work in to get that done. Nothing's guaranteed in this league and you've got to put the work in. Success travels through the company of very hard work, and we have to get that done."