After big opening ratings, Bears back on ‘Hard Knocks’
The Bears returned to HBO’s “Hard Knocks” with episode No. 2 on Tuesday night.
Viewers streaming the show via HBO Max had to wait more than an hour before the new episode showed up on the service. This came after last week’s season debut was reportedly the best-rated “Hard Knocks” premiere in five years.
Here are the top takeaways from episode two.
Williams continues learning
The Bears are teaching rookie quarterback Caleb Williams everything. Even about the NFL referees.
There was a clip of Williams, Eberflus and Bears director of research and development Harrison Freid in a meeting with a scouting report on each referee ahead of last weekend’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
Freid advised Williams to create good relationships with the referees because he will continue to see the same refs over the course of his NFL career.
On the football field, Williams had a good day in his preseason debut against Buffalo. “Hard Knocks” caught Williams and rookie receiver Rome Odunze discussing their missed connection in the end zone at the end of a long field-goal scoring drive in the first half. The duo will probably be on the same page next time.
Early in the episode, Williams noted that if the Olympics bring flag football to the games in 2028 in Los Angeles, Williams wants to be a part of it.
“If they actually bring flag football into the Olympics, I will 100% want to do it,” he said in the quarterback meeting room.
Moore’s daughter stars
HBO followed DJ Moore and his family as they visited the Museum of Ice Cream in Chicago. Moore’s 4-year-old daughter Arielle took on a starring role. The cameras followed her with her siblings at the museum and also along the sidelines ahead of the preseason game against Buffalo. Arielle Moore already became a social media hit last year. She was back with her sense of humor and big smile.
Her dad was happy to be back on the football field. During his first preseason action against Buffalo, Moore barreled into a pair of defenders, hit the ground and yelled, “I like football.”
Odunze can’t sing, but gets ovation
Last week, Williams was booed off the stage for a poor signing performance during rookie karaoke in front of the whole team.
Tuesday’s episode featured the sweet tones of Rome Odunze, the No. 9 overall draft pick. For his rookie karaoke, Odunze sang “Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown. He got a much bigger ovation than Williams.
Odunze’s voice isn’t going to blow anyone away, but his teammates loved the fact that he went with it and wasn’t embarrassed — unlike Williams last week.
Jones Jr., Wheeler take the spotlight
Two players battling it out for running back spots took center stage during Tuesday’s episode.
Third-year pro Velus Jones Jr. has been working on a position change to running back. “Hard Knocks” was sure to feature Jones this week as he made the position switch. Jones played running back and scored a touchdown in the preseason win over Buffalo.
Undrafted rookie running back Ian Wheeler, who played college ball at Howard, also had plenty of airtime. “Hard Knocks” framed it as Jones and Wheeler are potentially battling it out for the final running back spot. Wheeler has put off medical school to pursue his NFL dream.
Bears running backs coach Chad Morton was hard on Wheeler, but it’s clearly a tough love relationship.
“The goal is to stick around here,” Wheeler said during the episode. “To play football as long as I can because this is the game that I love.”
Wheeler scored a pair of touchdowns against Buffalo.
Austin Reed finally has a chance
Undrafted rookie quarterback Austin Reed from Western Kentucky had his preseason debut at the Hall of Fame game cut short by thunderstorms. Reed had only two pass attempts. “Hard Knocks” cameras were trained on his parents, who were obviously disappointed when the game was canceled.
Cameras followed his parents again this week in Buffalo. Reed was able to come back and have a decent day against the Bills — completing 2 of 4 passes for 50 yards. The Reed family had a happy moment together after the game.