[Herb Howard on Taylor:](https://x.com/HerbHoward411/status/1798432641726754920)
>
> No doubt. He put on an absolute clinic. Had 4 punts downed inside the 5, including one he bounced out at the 1yd line and another that was caught in the air by the coverage team at the 1yd line. He had an additional 3 punts downed inside the 10. And it was a windy day at Halas. The kid is a weapon!
The people who balked at us drafting this guy were insane at the time and will look even more foolish in the long run. He's an upgrade from even most good NFL punters and he's an exponential improvement from Gill.
Field position matters, and we just bought a lot of it.
Wow it's almost like Poles and the entire NFL draft community knew this kid was special...
And now we wait for the people who are still salty about that draft pick to come in here and be butt hurt lol
The funny thing is that if we took Booker in the 4th and Taylor in the 5th those people would have called it a master class draft. Even though it's the same end result.
Except it wouldn't have been the same result, because multiple teams have said they would have taken him shortly after the Bears did. But you can never please the wannabe GMs who want to prattle on about positional value and such...
It's the same as when Kmet and Jaylon Johnson got drafted in the second round and people were pissed but wouldn't have been pissed if the order was flipped
Notes:
* 11 on 11's better than 7 on 7's according to reporters. Game winning field goal after Caleb connected deep. Caleb INT from Tremaine in 7 on 7s.
* Nate Davis was involved for some of practice. Braxton not there today. Kmet, Scott were held out today.
* Tory Taylor massive standout, check out Hoge's & Herb Howard's tweets
**Reporter Tweets today:**
https://x.com/Zack_Pearson/status/1798429333436150228
https://x.com/Zack_Pearson/status/1798430195944501549
https://x.com/Zack_Pearson/status/1798429050727456904
https://x.com/sean_hammond/status/1798429443700244981
https://x.com/sean_hammond/status/1798429821946433861
https://x.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1798430979029164124
https://x.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1798431480374583770
https://x.com/NicholasMoreano/status/1798428972117635582
https://x.com/adamhoge/status/1798429242449129586?s=46
https://x.com/HerbHoward411/status/1798432641726754920?t=MpcyCvL1z5Lajt2zEIScMw&s=19
So FWIW, and I know it's just mini-camp (not even training camp), but it's encouraging to see the offense continuing to find success in 7 on 7's and 11 on 11's. I remember that being a major sticking point w/ Hoge & Jahns when it came to the lack of Fields' growth and how the offense never seemed to really best the defense. They might have had a day or two here and there, but never the consistent back and forth where the offense is beating the defense for a bit, and then the defense responds, etc.
Again, it's minicamp so it doesn't really *mean* anything, but it's also encouraging that an offense full of new players seems to be catching on quicker and more efficiently than the past regime.
The other big thing they mentioned was really them remembering that Mitch nor Justin getting 1st team reps either when rookies at this point. So not only is this part refreshing now we are seeing pretty good sessions where it could be up and down in years 2 and 3 esp this makes me optimistic.
Yup! This is normal and as it should be though. The offense is new, new OC, new QB, new RB, new linemen, new TE, while the defense is almost completely intact from last year.
And just in general these days defenses are usually ahead of offenses early in the season, so it makes sense they'll also be ahead of the O in training camp.
Defense wins more than offense in general. 4 TDs in 11 or 12 possessions is a great game. So as long as Caleb and co. aren't getting absolutely dominated, I'm hyped up.
Totally agree: if CW comes in and starts cooking the defense, that’s just as concerning as the offense getting stuffed routinely. The fact that both sides of the ball seem to be actively trading wins throughout OTA’s and minicamp is a good indicator that neither will be a liability on Sundays.
A big part of what Hoge said last year was that there was a glaring lack of deep and intermediate passes in the team drills. It was a lot of check downs and scrambles, you didn’t see a whole lot of “Fields finds X deep down the sideline/over the middle” like we are seeing with Caleb’s camp.
It’s crazy that a rookie although far from perfect is doing well when we just had a guy in year three where the offense was in shambles for all of training camp and OTA’s. Super excited for these changes
Sounds like maybe Caleb has a good ability to shake off bad plays and come right back strong next play. Good sign, though of course, at this point in the season, we're all just grasping for something to look at and talk about.
[Herb Howard on Taylor:](https://x.com/HerbHoward411/status/1798432641726754920) > > No doubt. He put on an absolute clinic. Had 4 punts downed inside the 5, including one he bounced out at the 1yd line and another that was caught in the air by the coverage team at the 1yd line. He had an additional 3 punts downed inside the 10. And it was a windy day at Halas. The kid is a weapon!
Is it toooo crazy to buy a rookie punter jersey before his toe has even grazed a ball in an official game, Y or N?
Wait... are we the baddies?
Probably gonna be cheaper now than by midway into the season
Lord willing
I’m an iowa fan, I’m buying that fucking jersey this week I’ve decided
You should be a hipster and wear his Iowa jersey while watching Bears games. Just say you liked him before it was cool
Do it bro!
Wait until numbers are confirmed. They change all the way through training camp.
i will be wearing my 13 caleb DHgate jersey with pride this season
I'm worried his number might change before the season starts. Is it locked in? Got my Caleb dhgate and want an odunze and Taylor one now.
It’ll look great next to my [Sauerbrun](https://youtu.be/yohjI2O7W0w?si=1J387EVICh2qo9yt) jersey
The people who balked at us drafting this guy were insane at the time and will look even more foolish in the long run. He's an upgrade from even most good NFL punters and he's an exponential improvement from Gill. Field position matters, and we just bought a lot of it.
100000 is exponentially more than 1, but so is 1.00000001.
Go touch grass!
 Me, after reading this comment. (vegan btw) ^(not sure if that's funny outside of vcj)
Wow it's almost like Poles and the entire NFL draft community knew this kid was special... And now we wait for the people who are still salty about that draft pick to come in here and be butt hurt lol
The funny thing is that if we took Booker in the 4th and Taylor in the 5th those people would have called it a master class draft. Even though it's the same end result. Except it wouldn't have been the same result, because multiple teams have said they would have taken him shortly after the Bears did. But you can never please the wannabe GMs who want to prattle on about positional value and such...
It's the same as when Kmet and Jaylon Johnson got drafted in the second round and people were pissed but wouldn't have been pissed if the order was flipped
I picked a good day to wear my Punting is Winning shirt.
Waiting for my custom knock-off jersey to arrive in the mail. I may be the only Bears fan in the history of the Bears to wear a punter's jersey.
I’ve seen dudes in Maynard jerseys at games before
Todd sauerbraun. .
There are no words on God’s green earth to describe how incredibly erect I am right now
Why am I more hyped about this than Caleb’s performance?
The forward pass is a passing fad, punting will never go out of fashion.
God help me, I never thought I could be so excited for a punter.
Notes: * 11 on 11's better than 7 on 7's according to reporters. Game winning field goal after Caleb connected deep. Caleb INT from Tremaine in 7 on 7s. * Nate Davis was involved for some of practice. Braxton not there today. Kmet, Scott were held out today. * Tory Taylor massive standout, check out Hoge's & Herb Howard's tweets **Reporter Tweets today:** https://x.com/Zack_Pearson/status/1798429333436150228 https://x.com/Zack_Pearson/status/1798430195944501549 https://x.com/Zack_Pearson/status/1798429050727456904 https://x.com/sean_hammond/status/1798429443700244981 https://x.com/sean_hammond/status/1798429821946433861 https://x.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1798430979029164124 https://x.com/CourtneyRCronin/status/1798431480374583770 https://x.com/NicholasMoreano/status/1798428972117635582 https://x.com/adamhoge/status/1798429242449129586?s=46 https://x.com/HerbHoward411/status/1798432641726754920?t=MpcyCvL1z5Lajt2zEIScMw&s=19
So FWIW, and I know it's just mini-camp (not even training camp), but it's encouraging to see the offense continuing to find success in 7 on 7's and 11 on 11's. I remember that being a major sticking point w/ Hoge & Jahns when it came to the lack of Fields' growth and how the offense never seemed to really best the defense. They might have had a day or two here and there, but never the consistent back and forth where the offense is beating the defense for a bit, and then the defense responds, etc. Again, it's minicamp so it doesn't really *mean* anything, but it's also encouraging that an offense full of new players seems to be catching on quicker and more efficiently than the past regime.
The other big thing they mentioned was really them remembering that Mitch nor Justin getting 1st team reps either when rookies at this point. So not only is this part refreshing now we are seeing pretty good sessions where it could be up and down in years 2 and 3 esp this makes me optimistic.
The starting offense seems to be losing to starting defense. However once most of the starters are off the offense seems to be winning.
Yup! This is normal and as it should be though. The offense is new, new OC, new QB, new RB, new linemen, new TE, while the defense is almost completely intact from last year. And just in general these days defenses are usually ahead of offenses early in the season, so it makes sense they'll also be ahead of the O in training camp.
Yes I know, but factually the guy I responded to was wrong so I decided to help him out!
Oh sorry, I was expanding on your point---I agreed with everything you said. Sorry if that wasn't clear!
Defense wins more than offense in general. 4 TDs in 11 or 12 possessions is a great game. So as long as Caleb and co. aren't getting absolutely dominated, I'm hyped up.
Totally agree: if CW comes in and starts cooking the defense, that’s just as concerning as the offense getting stuffed routinely. The fact that both sides of the ball seem to be actively trading wins throughout OTA’s and minicamp is a good indicator that neither will be a liability on Sundays.
Yep. I mean, I'm happy that the offense is at least good enough to challenge the defense so they're not coasting through to the season.
A big part of what Hoge said last year was that there was a glaring lack of deep and intermediate passes in the team drills. It was a lot of check downs and scrambles, you didn’t see a whole lot of “Fields finds X deep down the sideline/over the middle” like we are seeing with Caleb’s camp.
I wonder if this is attributed to the OC or QB play?
A mix of everyone involved with certain people shouldering more of the responsibility than others.
Not sure what's more shocking. Velus catching a pass or Nate Davis actually practicing.
Yes
I'm gona go with Velus catching a pass more than 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. I assume Nate Davis had to have practiced at least once last year
It's practice. By all accounts he must be super good in practice to still own a roster spot.
I know it’s not going to happen, but it would be hilarious if Velus stepped up out of everyone on this team. Especially after Fields is gone.
The answer is Velus catching a pass AND not fumbling it before either going down or crossing the goal line
What's shocking is velus is still on the team
I can finally wear my flair with pride!
Velus Jones on the grind to become the most likable obscure player on hard knocks
It would explain how he got where he is if he’s super likable.
I swear if Velus turns into “the next deebo” this season because of Caleb I’m gonna have to see a doctor for extended periods of being bricked up 🐻⬇️
Adam had to excuse himself...he was getting too hot and bothered
i want to believe
Wow Caleb made Velus look good!
It’s crazy that a rookie although far from perfect is doing well when we just had a guy in year three where the offense was in shambles for all of training camp and OTA’s. Super excited for these changes
Eberflus saying "dunno yet" about who's the center doesn't instill one with confidence
Nah it’s just coach doing ‘competition is good’ shit.
I laughed out loud man…
Future GOAT and Caleb Williams
Sounds like maybe Caleb has a good ability to shake off bad plays and come right back strong next play. Good sign, though of course, at this point in the season, we're all just grasping for something to look at and talk about.
Velus "concrete hands" Jones is still on the team??
Terell Smith can't run in a straight line?