One Expected Starting Bears Training Camp Battle Never Materialized

They didn't pay Bradbury to bowl, though, just follow Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman after his sudden and early retirement. The praise from Ben Johnson for what Bradbury has done so far further backs up the notion of Jones staying in the background and to learn the pro center position for most, if not all of this season barring injury.

More than a snapper

"Extremely sharp, phenomenal communicator," Johnson said of Bradbury. "I mean, he’s loud, he’s clear, he’s decisive. Love where he’s at with all that. I think more than anything, he’s just been trying to feel us out in terms of the expectations that (O-line coach Dan) Roushar, myself, (offensive coordinator) Press Taylor, what we need out of that center position.

"It’s a little bit different from other places that he’s been and yet he’s doing a phenomenal job getting after it. The more reps we get, whether it’s protection-wise, run game-wise where Caleb can help, he might see things that Garrett doesn’t see and vice versa so we are all aligned and in the best position to execute the play. It’s good. It’s really good. I think they get along really well."

They've had their share of communication issues and there have been false starts in practices, some the result of cadence or snaps but some simply players moving early. It hasn't quite resembled last year when the Bears installed the offense and struggled to get plays off, but the flags have been irritants.

"Communication has gone well," Williams said. "We have gotten a lot better over these last couple days. The first couple days we were rolling, kind of like coach said, and then we had a couple off days where communication may have been a little off or cadence or things like that.

"And I think these past couple days we’ve gotten better with it and being more conscious of some of those small mistakes that show up and that happen. And so we have gotten better. And then, yeah, that’s my guy. We’re excited to go into battle together."

When Johnson called plays in Detroit, he had veteran Frank Ragnow as the successful presence at center. They went after Dalman immediately. Now they're seeing the evidence Bradbury can be a veteran type who understands what's unique about the position within Johnson's scheme.

"There’s a lot of ownership," Bradbury said. "I’ve had coaches say in the past, ‘You get the keys to the car.’ You get to take that ownership and make a lot of calls."

Suited to the offense

Making calls at the line for blocking change or communicating with Williams are keys, and really something a veteran is normally far more comfortable with than a rookie.

"I kind of love that piece of the game," Bradbury said. "Sometimes it’s a little bit like a puzzle, and you’ve got to solve the puzzle right before the ball is snapped and then you’ve got to do your job. That’s something I take a lot of pride in, not just getting the five O-linemen, but the tight ends, the running backs, everyone on the same page, whether it be run game or pass game.

"I relish it. I love it. I think it’s fun to play in. That’s where the film study and all the meetings and the coaches preparing you for certain looks all comes together. I’ve enjoyed it.”

It's at the line of scrimmage just prior to the snap where the QB-center communication becomes even more important in this scheme.

"There's a balance," Bradbury said. "There's certain plays where I can't do anything unless he (Williams) wants to and vice versa. At the end of the day it's all about being on the same page, so he needs to hear what I'm saying, I need to hear what he's saying.

"Coaches always say, if we're on the wrong page together, we're on the right page, so it's being together and understanding what we're all doing and what we're trying to get done."

When they're not false-starting, they've been getting things done. And the false starts have declined over the past several days.

None of this is going to hurt Bradbury's chances of holding this job throughout training camp, into the season, and possibly all year. Then his one-year contract will run out unless they see a reason to keep him around longer than the one year they had Dalman — through no fault of their own.

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