A college football legend made a surprise cameo in the season premiere of “Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Chicago Bears,” while an Olympics icon made a less surprising but still notable appearance as well.
Nick Saban was a guest of the Bears for a day during one of their opening practices of training camp, meeting with several members of the team, including one in particular with whom he shares a longtime bond. Long before he won six titles at Alabama, Saban coached Bears head coach Matt Eberflus when the latter was a linebacker at Toledo in 1990.
[Read more: ‘Hard Knocks’ preview: Key storylines to follow at Bears training camp]
The freshly retired Saban gave his former player some tips on how to handle Caleb Williams, the highly-regarded No. 1 overall pick from the 2024 NFL Draft.
“Here’s my theory on why NFL quarterbacks fail at such a dramatic rate: To me, expectations are a killer,” Saban told Eberflus in the episode. “This kid you got, this kid’s got so much media, so much hype, so much expectations on doing well and he has to develop so quickly to meet the expectations everybody has of him, it’s almost impossible.”
Eberflus remarked that “there is a development phase” with Williams and all rookies, saying that players should understand by Year 3 “once they’re in our system.”
Saban continued to harp on managing the expectations for Williams in his conversation with Eberflus, but agreed that development is the most important aspect.
“I think that’s the biggest thing you’ve got to worry about with your quarterback,” Saban said. “The expectations are a killer, but yet, to use your word, development is the key for him. Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions when he was a rookie. It was the most in history [for an NFL rookie]. But it didn’t affect him. It’s like the scoreboard, the scoreboard don’t mean anything until the game is over. Human nature is to be average. It’s just survive. It’s not to win championships. It’s not to be the best you can be….
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/bears-hard-knocks-recap-nick-saban-simone-biles-guest-star-focus-caleb-williams
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Publish date : 2024-08-07 18:07:39
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