By most accounts, Caleb Williams took a noticeable step forward in his second game as a rookie. Despite the unappealing stat line (174 yards and 2 INTs), he showed great command at the line of scrimmage. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about his shoddy protection and the inability of his wide receivers to get consistently open. Chicago Bears fans can’t help but wonder if offensive coordinator Shane Waldron is capable of finding any solutions, especially with how poor the running game has looked so far.
CBS Sports analyst Mike Renner has an easy fix for that. Bench Williams. He explained his reasoning on The 33rd Team.
The idea has nothing to do with Williams’ ability. This is more about protecting the rookie’s confidence. Young quarterbacks often see it shattered when they’re constantly under assault by opposing pass rushes. It happened with David Carr in Houston, getting sacked 249 times in Houston. The Carolina Panthers already benched Bryce Young after 18 games, during which he was sacked 68 times.
Benching Caleb Williams is not the solution.
It is merely running away from the problem. Unlike those other teams, the Bears actually have talent on their offense. The problem has been lack of execution, not lack of ability. They need to stop making mental mistakes. Such things are done through coaching adjustments. Williams needs experience if he’s ever going to learn how to identify and attack NFL defenses. What happened in Houston was hard to watch, but not every defense in the league is capable of what they do.
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Next week is a good example. Indianapolis has the worst run defense in football. They also lost star interior pass rusher DeForest Buckner to an ankle injury. This is a great opportunity for Caleb Williams to get himself settled against what should be a more manageable opponent. Pivoting to Tyson Bagent so quickly sends all the wrong messages. The Bears need to show they have their young QB’s back. That is done by improving the situation around him, not admitting defeat.
The Bears have ONE 1st Round OL guy in RT Wright and Jenkins in 2nd. Otherwise, it’s 3rd, 4th and 6th rounders. You get what you put into your team! No wonder Caleb is running for his life like he’s getting ready for the Chicago Marathon on October 13th! The Texans drafted RG mason in 4th Round 2015… but since then took RT Howard in 1st Round 2019, traded for All Pro LT Tunsil in 2020, added LG Green 1st Round 2022, and found their anchor at Center with Scruggs in 2nd Round 2023. No wonder Stroud had a good… Read more »
Be a Solitary Man Scooby, it’s the only way to be. That was the only song of his I ever liked. Both Neil Diamond and Barry Manilow are not my full pints of Tequilla. I’ll take Morrison, Iggy Pop, Ozzy, Bowie, and Alice Cooper instead.
He toured briefly with Neil Diamond in ’07.
Eli sat out 2 games his rookie year while they installed a T-shirt cannon in his butt. Shockey and Plaxico used him as a Jugs machine when the team traveled.
I get that your guy on here Barry is not a “football pundit” with a byline and many thousands of loyal readers. But it seems to me that starting Bagent on Sunday would allow the coaching staff to observer whether or not he can move the ball on offense as QB1.
Just one guy’s opinion.