NFC Notes: Jahmyr Gibbs, Caleb Williams, Bears, Lions, Packers

Bears

Bears HC Ben Johnson said they’ve had Caleb Williams change his pre-snap stance on shotgun formations by having his left foot forward.  

“I’ve done it a number of ways in my time in the league,” Johnson said, via BearsWire. “Really, over the last few years, I’ve kind of gravitated towards that. It’s something that I feel pretty strongly about. He and I talked about it, the reasons why we want to do it. I think it helps out, certainly, with the quick game from the gun, and then it helps us be in a little bit better throwing posture for a lot of the other things that we’re asking him to do. When we talked about it initially, he was already kind of exploring that himself, so it wasn’t so much us telling him to do it, it was more of a mutual, ‘Yeah, let’s see what his looks like.’ I think he’s taken a knack to it.”

Lions

Lions RB coach Tashard Choice is familiar with RB Jahmyr Gibbs, as he recruited him during his time at Georgia Tech and remembers how some teams viewed him as a defensive back.

“Having the chance to watch (Gibbs) from afar for these last three years, and every single week because of Shep and because of Jah, I kept wanting to watch the Lions’ games,” Choice said, via the team website. “To see him progress, to see how smart he is — I tell him he’s one of the smartest running backs I’ve ever coached. He’s just a natural football player … so having an opportunity to get around him now coaching, I’m going to be harder on him even more.”

Packers 

The Packers signed LB Isaiah Simmons to a one-year contract earlier this offseason following his two years with the Giants. LBs coach Sean Duggan said Simmons is proving to be a “really hungry player” and thinks they’ll be able to take advantage of his versatility. 

“I see a really hungry player. He’s a very eager player right now, and he’s extremely athletic. I think his versatility is going to be something that’s pretty special,” Duggan said, via PackersWire. “I don’t think you see a lot of 6-4 guys that are 240 pounds that can run a 4.3. But I see a guy who, just like everybody, he’s putting his head down. He’s working, he’s trying to learn the defense. He’s learning the way we do things here.”