Chicago Bears Notes: Week 1 is Here — Let the Caleb Williams Era Begin (2024)

We have waited 245 days to see a meaningful Bears game. So what’s a few more hours?

If you haven’t crammed your eyeballs with enough pre-game Bears hype videos, here is one more for you spotlighting Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson:

Allow H1M to reintroduce himself pic.twitter.com/6SDRDygaiA
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 7, 2024

The hope is that rookie quarterback Caleb Williams becomes be the face of the franchise. And I don’t doubt that he will (if he isn’t already there at this moment despite his rookie status). But I don’t think any player on the roster better personifies what it means to be a Chicago Bears player than Jaylon Johnson. CB1 is everything you want from a Bears player: Confident, bold, fearless, skilled, and constantly playing with a chip on his shoulder. Johnson was here for the last Bears playoff team. And after signing a huge extension in the offseason, the Bears plan on Jaylon being here for the next.

Matt’s sharing of the hype vid where Caleb Williams gets the Michael Jordan treatment gave me chills. As it turns out, Caleb really wants to be like Mike. So much so that he even sought out MJ’s trainer, per the Tribune’s Dan Wiederer. Air Jordan’s ability to train body, mind, and soul helped him reach never-before-seen heights. There is a belief Chicago’s QB1 can do the same. The road to excellence begins in just a few hours.

This graphic and tweet were eye-opening:

HISTORY IS BEING MADE 🔥
An NFL-record 15 black quarterbacks will start Week 1 of the 2024 season 👏 pic.twitter.com/HKaNLVHLIX
See Also
College Football 2024: Week 2 Predictions for Every Game Stan Becton's Week 2 Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll ballot NFL Team Needs: Prioritizing Every Roster's Biggest Weaknesses Before Week 2 NFL Picks 2024: Early Week 1 Odds to Exploit for Opening Schedule
— ESPN (@espn) September 8, 2024

Generations of football fans were fed nonsense that led to there being a stigma around having a Black quarterback. My hope is that there will come a day when those negative attitudes are completely eradicated.

If not for Caleb Williams, we’d be overly obsessed with Rome Odunze being set to make his Bears debut today. The Bears haven’t had a wide receiver draft pick with Odunze’s skills, versatilty, makeup, and upside. And I love that Pro Bowl receiver Keenan Allen sees a little of himself in Odunze. “He’s a little bit better than me when I came in,” Allen said via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin. “He’s faster. He comes out of his breaks better than I did when I was that young. He looks like more polished than I was as a receiver.”

Chicago Bears Notes: Week 1 is Here — Let the Caleb Williams Era Begin (3)

Empty stadium picks from the Bears beat are soooo back:

15th season covering the NFL and 12th on the Bears beat. Thanks for being along for the ride. Here’s your #emptystadiumpic on a beautiful Sunday morning from Soldier Field pic.twitter.com/r7RVaAXdEk— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) September 8, 2024

Seeing this tweet from The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain put some things in perspective for me. This is my 14th year writing about the Bears professionally online in some sort of capacity for some media entity. That blows my mind. As does the fact that this is Year 8 for Bleacher Nation’s Bears coverage. I’ve seen some things (and experienced so much more) in the first seven. I’m thankful for your readership and am glad you’re here with me on this journey.

If there is one thing we love around here, it’s when a directional school pulls off a crazy upset. And for Northern Illinois, it doesn’t get much better than knocking off Notre Dame on the road. MACtion is sooo back:

IT'S A PARTY 🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️🏴‍☠️@NIU_Football | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/KyfIyHTUcR
— #MACtion (@MACSports) September 7, 2024

This is what it's all about.
NIU's @NIUCoachHammock is overcome with emotion after leading his team to the win at Notre Dame! @NIU_Football | @NIUAthletics | #MACtion pic.twitter.com/K7oS9tsrTC— #MACtion (@MACSports) September 7, 2024

“Walk in your trap, take over your trap.”

Let that Notre Dame loss serve as a reminder to never (ever!) overlook an opponent. I don’t care about their injury report, who’s not available, what the spread says, etc. — none of that matters when on any given day one team can take down another. Weird things can happen when that oblong-shaped pigskin hits the turf. I hope the Bears are prepared for what’s to come from a Tennessee Titans team that has been watching the Chicago football hype train operate at full speed all offseason long.

“Chicago has clung to a Bears team from nearly four decades ago. … And now, they hunger for more.” FOX Sports NFL’s Carmen Vitali sets the scene:

"Chicago has clung to a Bears team from nearly four decades ago… And now, they hunger for more." – @CarmieV @CALEBcsw has brought the @ChicagoBears hype that they have not seen in years. Are they ready? 🐻 pic.twitter.com/cxOCvdGOqv— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 6, 2024

Who needs coffee when videos like the one above can be hooked directly to my veins?

It’s happening: Justin Fields is starting at quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers today. The road to Chicago’s former QB1 playing 51 percent of the Steelers’ snaps and netting the Bears a 2025 fourth-round pick begins today. Go get ’em, Justin.

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Our hockey friends are excited for us today:

THERE IS BEARS FOOTBALL TODAY! LET’S GOOOOO! 🐻⬇️ https://t.co/iPGuFaghlT pic.twitter.com/LCCHSLMlzc
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) September 8, 2024

Dang. Chicago Sky star Angel Reese announces she will miss the remainder of the WNBA season. (BN Bulls)

Former Cubs all-star Ryan Dempster wants the Cubs to go big-game hunting in free agency this winter. I don’t imagine he is alone in sharing that sentiment.

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.