NFC Notes: Isaiah Simmons, Caleb Williams, Bears, Packers, Vikings

Caleb Williams made headlines when a report by ESPN’s Seth Wickersham detailed how Williams had no guidance at quarterback under former HC Matt Eberflus.  When asked about the report, Eberflus shot back, saying Williams had daily film sessions with coaches. 

“In the development of the quarterback position, and really all my positions at the Bears, we always had daily, coached film sessions,” Eberflus said, via BearsWire. “That was all throughout the entire year. So, that’s what I observed. That’s where it was.”

Williams clarified his comments, describing that he was trying to figure out the most “efficient ways” to study film.

“It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to watch film, it was trying to figure out the best ways and more efficient ways so that I can watch more film,” Williams said. “I can gather more information, so that when I do go out there on gameday, that information I gathered through Monday, when we got back, all the way up to whatever day the gameday is, so that when I get out there, I can gather it, I see it, I can react, and it’s not me sitting there thinking so much about the rules and these different things. It’s more of a reaction game at that point, a muscle memory.”

Isaiah Simmons is entering his first season with the Packers after signing on as an unrestricted free agent. Simmons said DC Jeff Hafley plans for him to focus on just one position after playing a hybrid safety role throughout his career. 

“What I ran into most of my career is everybody wants me to do everything, as opposed to letting me get really good at one thing first,” Simmons said, via Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. “I fully believe in Haf’s plan. He’s letting me just lock in and learn a small portion first before we even think about expanding to anything else. That’s something I really appreciate because I never really had that opportunity to really just hone in on one position. It’s hard enough to get into the NFL, let alone stay, as well as be effective at a position, so just being able to lock in on one thing … that’s been, I feel like, huge for me. My versatility, I feel like it’s a little bit of a gift and a curse.”

Simmons only started five times in the last two years with the Giants, including just once last season. He feels like he’s going into the 2025 season with a chip on his shoulder. 

“They lit a fire under me,” Simmons said. “And I’m ready to go. There’s games where maybe I (had), like, three snaps, and they (would) be, like, kickoff, all touchbacks, you know what I’m saying?” Simmons added. “When the season ended, I looked at myself in the mirror and said, ‘This will never happen again.’ At the end of the day, coaches make the decisions, but it’s up to me to make the decision hard for them. I vowed to myself that I would make the decision tough for every single coach in the future.”

Packers ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia praised Simmons for his performance on New York’s special teams unit.

“He’s a big, fast, physical guy that can run, and he’s made plays before, so we’re hoping to put him in position to help him help us,” Bisaccia said. “The tape we watched of him coming out of New York, he played special teams the last two years for them and did some good things. He had the big blocked field goal, where he jumped over the center and with the A-gap and made a big play. He’s made some other plays as well on defense also, even if you go back to Arizona. And I remember him specifically coming out (of college) and all the plays he made, being a guy that moved around all over the place on defense at Clemson. So, we’re excited about having him here.”

Vikings DC Brian Flores knows that OLB Dallas Turner has a high bar set for himself and he’s working to help make sure he’s in position to achieve his goals entering his second season.

“We talked a lot about him last year and his growth throughout the season,” Flores said, via ESPN. “He’s just kind of built on that. Nobody talks about that rookie season when you’re in college and you’re training, and it’s the combine, and then the draft, and then it’s new everything. New house, new ride to work, new everything. So he’s much more comfortable in this environment. He knows what the expectations are. He’s got a high standard for himself, and that’s a great place to start, but he also knows he’s got to work a significant amount to get to that standard, as all of our guys do. He’s come in and really gotten into a routine that I think is going to allow him to put his best foot forward, put himself in position to have the type of season he wants to have and we want him to have.”

Flores envisions Turner impacting the game in a multitude of ways.

“Dallas is coming into his own in terms of how he is going to contribute,” Flores said, “and it could be in a variety of ways: as a rusher, as a dropper, on the ball, off the ball, in different packages. We’re excited his versatility, but also his growth.“