Chicago Bears coach admits to sabotaging offensive line to test Caleb Williams

The Chicago Bears‘ offense has been atrocious during the first three days of training camp, but how bad the whole unit is can’t be known with the way the coaches are structuring practice.

Per Zack Pearson of Bear Report, defensive end Montez Sweat raced into the backfield twice on Friday during a team drill, causing quarterback Caleb Williams to throw the ball away.

“First two 11 on 11 sequences for first team offense not very good. Montez Sweat was in the backfield twice, once untouched as there was a breakdown on the line,” Pearson posted on X. “Williams had to throw it away both times. Two completions to Zaccheaus. One PBU by Josh Blackwell on a short, quick throw.”

To beat reporters, the scene looked bad from all angles, as the offensive line was unable to do their jobs correctly and give Williams a clean pocket. However, the “breakdown” was due to trickery concocted by the coaching staff.

Chicago Bears OC Declan Doyle claimed the pressure was intentional

Following Friday’s practice, offensive coordinator Declan Doyle explained to the media at Halas Hall that the Bears’ offensive line purposefully allowed Sweat to get into the backfield so they could simulate pressure for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft.

“That’s very intentional,” Doyle said of Sweat getting pressure on Williams, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN. “That’s trying to get our defensive pressures in against some of the stuff that we’re going to do offensively.

“We have contingency plans for what they are going to bring at us, so the quarterback operating getting the offense on the same page as far as checking plays, checking protections, things like that, but that’s all a part of the scripted practice, is trying to get the defense right with their pressure patterns and the way they’re going to play coverage on the back end and then it’s getting our quarterbacks used to whether we’re throwing the ball or up front handling the movement with those run schemes.”

During an early 11-on-11 period, DE Montez Sweat got pressure on Caleb Williams on back-to-back plays. That was by design, according to OC Declan Doyle, to see how Williams would handle those situations.

Doyle: “That’s very intentional. That’s trying to get our defensive…

— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 25, 2025

What the scripted practice is not doing is getting the offensive line or defensive line true reps during practice. But that might not mean much without pads anyway.

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