LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Ryan Poles was asked what he expects from rookie quarterback Caleb Williams this season.

“I expect him to – that’s a great question.”

It was a fair but perhaps loaded one that Poles had to get right. It would set an on-the-record standard for the No. 1 overall pick. The goal in that moment was not to add more pressure to an individual already seen as the face of a storied franchise.  

That’s why Poles took a beat, formulated his thoughts and delivered a measured response. It was also the correct one, expressing that Williams shouldn’t assume he has to do it all himself.

“I want him to lean on the talent around him,” Poles said, “and then, when the time is right – and that’s an instinctual thing and I think that plays right into him – that’s when you do the special (things).”

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That’s the balancing act asked of this phenom, to understand when to play conductor and when to be a virtuoso.

“It’s kind of like that neutral place where he’s at his best, and I think he has that, just from studying him and watching years of tape on him,” Poles said in a Wednesday press conference. “He has that ability, and so I think that’s kind of the big thing. Lean on the guys around him, be instinctual, let those wild plays happen at the right time. We saw it in the preseason a little bit. That’s gonna be important.” 

Poles is right. Just because Williams can make crazy throws, doesn’t mean he has to do so all the time. That requires restraint for a young player and maybe be something learned during this trial by fire. If he can stay within himself and operate the offense well, that might be the best thing for the Bears. And seeing that a ball traveling just a few air yards can become a chunk play in the hands of D’Andre Swift or D.J. Moore or Rome Odunze will add comfort and help reinforce that point.

“We all know what he can do in terms of his arm talent, throwing on the move and those types of things,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. “In the early parts of the game and early downs, he’s just asked to play point guard. Have a great operation get the ball to our skill guys either by handing it off or throwing it and letting them do the running and moving around and gaining the yards.

“It’s going to be big that our offensive line plays well, and everybody plays well around him — that’s defense and special teams included. Then when you get to the point in the game where it is a critical down or a third down or in the red zone or whatever that might be, then you might see X factor come out and that’s where it is. He’s just about the process of getting in and out of the huddle, being smooth, and operating the offense.” 

Getting good play from those around Williams will help a great deal. If the receivers get open and the protection holds, he can operate within the timing and structure of a play design. If the defense keeps opposing scores low, there will be less pressure to do crazy things while playing catch-up.

Everyone plays a part in helping Williams get locked in and he works to establish himself in this league. He’ll face different challenges as the regular season rolls on that he’ll have to experience, and there’s one lurking just beyond Week 1.

“This first game is going to be a little abnormal because you got a lot of time to prepare,” Eberflus said. “It’s not really a normal NFL week. After that first game, being able to reset, whatever happened, look at the performance and then go ahead and self-reflect. Meet with me meet with (offensive coordinator Shane Waldron) and then ask, ‘what can I improve on? What did I do well?’ Then you have to be able to reset and then go to the next week. That’s the biggest part that you have to do in the NFL, because it happens fast.”

Post-practice notes

The Bears have added LS Scott Daly, OL Chris Glaser, DL Sam Roberts and WR Samori Toure to their practice squad. They release DB Quindell Johnson and DL Dashaun Mallory from the PS. They are now at the 16-man maximum for that unit. … OL Bill Murray was at practice a day after leaving a workout early with trainers. WR Keenan Allen remains out of practice, and DE Montez Sweat has suited up but not been active much.

Follow Bears Insider Scott Bair @ScottBairNFL.