Hidden leap forward Caleb Williams made since beginning of camp

Things have changed in about six weeks.

“Last year cadence was a little different than obviously this year," Williams admitted. "This year it's been awesome. It's been fun to use, being able to hear the other guys (defensive teammates) on the other side that hear me every single day for the past–however many months we've been practicing versus our defense–come up to me (saying) like: ‘The cadence is getting strong, it's getting better. It's getting harder to decipher what and when the ball's going to be snapped,’ and things like that."

Players like Andrew Billings, the Bears defense's master coaxer of false starts at practices, even has told Williams he's better at it.

Tight end Cole Kmet saw an advantage to Williams being better with it, one that should be obvious.

"I think guys are playing fast," Kmet said. "We're getting off the count much better than we were in the beginning of camp."

The comments not only boosted Williams' confidence but let him know he's on the right path.

"It's positive feedback from the guys that hear me every single day," Williams said. "Being able to use it as a weapon is really important for us and our team. Getting those kind of things that we call ‘dirty yards’ in a way is something as small as a cadence, which is huge and important for us as an offense, but from a defensive side its something as small as cadence is getting us some positive yards to be able to help us stay on the field or put us in advantageous positions."

The dirty yards are not only the penalty yards against defense but also yards they get because defenders are thrown off and not in ideal strike positions. It's easier for a back to break a tackle or to drive through the tackle and lean for a yard or two more when a defender isn't situated because they were thrown off by the QB's call.

It's not as exciting as producing consistent deep passes for TDs or breaking long runs but something like a better cadence can help them move the sticks and give them more chances at TD passes or runs.

Mark it down as something the Bears should have accomplished last year with Williams, when they were too busy cutting corners at training camp before the short cuts they took eventually cost them 10 losses in the final 11 games.