Bears' Matt Eberflus on why Velus Jones made 53-man roster, Caleb Williams' prep for Week 1

how we doing good good so uh the next two days we get a chance to uh you know have our team together here and really go through the Rhythm and flow of an inseason Wednesday and an inseason Thursday I think it's important to be able to do that with a uh Young quarterback with the offense that's going through it for the first time and us going through it together so we get the show team looks and all the things that we do on an inseason Wednesday and Thursday so it's good I just got out of the walkth through five minutes ago or so that was a good process as well just wanted to go back and really thank the guys for a really good training camp and all the players that participated in it and of course you guys saw we had to let um many of those guys go uh here in the last 24 to 48 hours and that's always a difficult time I got a chance to see those guys and thank them uh for their hard work and their efforts uh during that time as well but uh as you also saw we put some guys to ir and designated for return you know boram and uh and Martin was designated for return and scales is going to IR so uh question will be about the Long Snapper that's that's coming and we feel really good about where we are and Ryan will be up here to talk in more depth about that as we get going here around 4: 4:30 I believe with y'all but uh and we also expect K blasting game back uh so that's another thing that we expect back that's a positive as well obviously and uh we just had to work through that but uh other than that we'll open up to questions m is transition of the regular season with Caleb from your chair as a as a defensive-minded head coach with a really good defense and a competitive roster how will you sort of balance the patience with with letting Caleb kind of spread his wings and and develop as a Young quarterback without compromising the chance to win games on on a weekly basis yeah I really think that's comes down to play design you know I'm just going to micro it down to actually to the play you know so we all know what he can do in terms of his arm talent in terms of throwing on the move and those types of things but you know in the early parts of the game and early Downs you know he's just uh asked to play point guard you know have a great operation uh play point guard get the ball to our skill either by handing it off or throwing it to them and letting them do the run and then moving around and and gaining the yards and um it's going to be big that our offensive line plays well like I've said in the past and everybody plays well well around them that's defense and special teams included so um and then when you get to the the point in the game where it is a critical down or a third down or in the red zone or what whatever that might be then you you might see X Factor come out and that's where it is but again he's just about the process of getting in and out of the Huddle being smooth and uh operating the offense what have you guys done to prepare him for the challenge that is climbing the mountain during the regular season and is there a way to fully prepare them or do you kind of have to live it a little bit Yeah the process we just talked about going through the in season so we've already done it once you know we went with cards and stuff we're doing today but we did it already did it one time Wednesday Thursday Friday and we're going back again through it again to go through the process of it and it's going to be a rhythm of these first six weeks uh you know we're on 7day schedules this whole time uh for a better part of the first part of the season so he'll get a good Rhythm to that um and really it's just about that process going through and we've already walked him through it a couple times in terms of what he does on Monday um after the game uh Tuesday when we're game planning and then uh Wednesday all the way through Saturday to that point of of Caleb's early season development also the offense has a whole new system a lot of key additions and and key spots I know it's a week toe thing when you break it down the quarters the last two quarters of the Season seem on paper to be different more difficult than the first two quarters of the season it's important to get out to that fast start so that you put yourself in position there is that something you talk about you leave it week to week how do you go about looking at those quarters of the Season that you had yeah there's a little rhythm there because you have six and then you got the Thanksgiving game you got six in between there and then you got another five to end it you know Break um after the Thursday game at the end so there is a natural Rhythm to it natural break to it uh but really you just got to micro it down to play in the first game you know and starting fast that's what that's what all the good teams do they start fast um the teams that make it uh to the postseason they start fast you know of course you got to finish strong but uh having a fast start is always important in the NFL man what what did veis do to to land this spot on the 53 and how you kind of outline his workload I mean is he going to be classified primarily as a running back will be in the receiver room as well like how do you see this going forward yeah I I really see him uh he made it uh just by his his efforts you know and the production he had in practice um you know in the preseason games you know and his willingness to be able to adjust and adapt and then be able to get that done in terms of his performance uh I commend the coaches for doing a wonderful job uh in that you know Chad and Jenifer and Chris and Shane and all the guys that had the you know to work with him and be to help him be successful he partner up with those guys so it's a really good effort by everybody and again comes down to him being able to do it and his willingness to want to and the work ethics so he's going to be a guy for us that we can use in multiple ways uh we can use him in the back field we can spread him out we can do things a lot of different things with him and that's a to me a benefit um you know trying to defend that when he comes in the game is is a little bit different than just a normal type of receiver or guy that can line up in the back field so I think it creates a little bit of a uh time on task practice wise for the opponent and also preparation wise you know in the film study do you anticipate Austin Booker being active and if you do what's your what's your kind of ener plan to to use him will he just be a situational guy or a true rotation or what with an intriguing guy like that what what are your thoughts yeah I mean you're talking about a rookie you know a defensive Lin that's a rookie so we're still in the development phase of that and we feel really good where he is uh you know in terms of a pass rusher we've seen that in the preseason you know and then really uh working on his game to be in an every down end where he can play the run you know set the edges that we ask and uh do the things that we want them to do you know in terms of playing run defense on first and second um so we're still going through that process we feel really good about where our ends are you know we had some additions as you guys know and we'll evaluate that uh as we go through the week ifun if run defense is an issue with him especially if you have a successful team is it going to be is it even possible to like let him learn the hard way and get there or do you just would you just kind of pair back and figure that out later and let him just rush the pass yeah I mean we'll we'll Define his role you know he'll have a role in responsibility there and if he can do all things which we want him to do um he will do that and if he's a little bit you know developing in a certain phase of it then we'll just back him down to that particular department but uh we're always going to evaluate that and push him to be an every down end do you think byard's going to be ready for week one yeah is there anybody on your roster that that you don't think uh it doesn't look like right now but we'll see and I know you don't have a lot of time at this time of year to do a lot of self-evaluation and self-reflection but when you think about the ways you've gone over the past six days months to prepare this team for the regular season what do you think you've done the strongest job in with this particular group of getting them ready oh I think our team has done a really good job of coming together um so that's an all everybody you know on task in terms of starting in April 15 and until now of bringing our team together and I think that I I trust the leadership of this team I can feel the the closeness and the bond that they're forming uh earlier than ever before and I can just feel that with these guys and that's not just uh coaches that's players that's leaders that's everybody staff uh front office everybody so it's important that we're all on there we've been very intentional about that um and very like uh you know authentic in terms of our approach to that and I think it's uh that's going to be a big part of it what did you see how do you to manage the the fact that you guys have been in you were in Camp for over a month now you still have time before the regular season there's been a lot of attention a lot of hype around the Bears how do you navigate that now that you're getting to the point where it really counts yeah so there's a gap here so you know I think I said it the other day the most important thing is keeping sharp and what does that mean that means keeping mentally sharp you know into the schemes uh and then your conditioning level has to be sharp and then your fundamentals you know the basics of football blocking tackling leverage uh all the things that protection all the things that wins games um so we've been very intentional about that as well so the conditioning the strength and conditioning performance has been a big part of that um over these last few days while these Cuts have been being made um so we've been doing a really good job with that with the metal side of it also getting walkthroughs and then today's a big part of it tomorrow as well so you just got to stay sharp you know your conditioning staying healthy and staying sharp mentally Matt when you had a chance to regroup reset in the offseason yourself you individually what did you think about in terms of game management um when you are also as you were last season going to be balancing defensive play call responsibilities which was not your original plan I I would say not much uh obviously improving um as we go and working with the game management working with Shane I think the most important thing uh this offseason was uh working with a new offensive coordinator making sure that we're on the same page in terms of what we're calling uh why we're doing certain situations uh During certain times of the game and being on the same page there and we're very methodical about that how we teach that to the team and how we practice that during training camp and during the season uh so it's been it's been good there's a there's a report that you guys are bringing back Austin Reed practice squad what's intriguing about him uh we just like the way he operated I mean super smart uh he performed well in the games uh was great in the quarterback room in terms of supporting and and being involved and engaged there and uh we think he's got a bright future as as you guys you guys get Caleb into the week toe grind of being an NFL quarterback what part of that Weekly process are you most interested to see how he handles uh after the first game you know so after the first game this first game is going to be you know it's little abnormal because you got a lot of time to prepare so it's not really a normal NFL week uh but after that first game be on a reset right whatever happened look at the performance and then go ahead and you know self you know self-reflect meet with me meet with Shane what can I improve on what did I do well and then be able to reset and then go to the next week um that's the biggest part that that you have to do in the NFL because it happens fast you don't have time to you know you got time to reflect a little bit then you got to move on to the next week go on to Tuesday and then through that normal week which will be the second week so I'm excited about that congrats you finished the video if you want to build on that success download the NBC Sports Chicago app it's got highlights exclusive insights and push alerts tailored to you everything you need to be a real Chicago sports fan download it now