Coaches are always predisposed to protect their players from outside distractions, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear the Chicago Bears not say anything to hint there are problems with Caleb Williams. However, Matt Eberflus and his staff have never been known for embellishing performances, either. When guys are struggling, they say improvements are needed. That hasn’t been the case with Williams. Eberflus has insisted the young quarterback has made a ton of progress from where he was in May and June, learning at a rapid pace.
If that is too vague for some people, offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was gracious enough to provide details. It may not be easy to notice from the sideline or the stands, but Williams’ most encouraging leaps have come from his ability to operate from the pocket.
“When we watch him and watch him go through his reads and his progressions right there, going to where the ball should go is happening way more times than not. And some of the things that haven’t worked out have been from just a near miss here or an angle that wasn’t feeling it the right way there. OK, got it. On to the next one. But he has been doing a good job reading with his feet, sticking within progression, recognizing coverage structures. So seeing all those things is what really gives you the confidence moving forward.”
Waldron would know.
From his time in Seattle, he’s shown an ability to coach those things up—ask Geno Smith. However, he wasn’t alone. Passing game coordinator Thomas Brown said Williams is doing some things in every practice that you never expect to see from a first-year guy.
“He makes two to three throws every day that are better than most rookie quarterbacks you’ve been around. Being able to understand how to operate the offense, play on time, but also not take away from his athletic ability to move outside the pocket is going to be a big thing. He has done a really good job so far.”
Caleb Williams is working through a tough situation.
Problems have cropped up on the offensive line over the past week. Right guard Nate Davis has missed most of training camp with an unknown injury, and right tackle Darnell Wright hasn’t been able to stay on the field over the past week. They also still haven’t chosen a center. This fluidity has led to shaky protection, which isn’t helping the execution in the passing game. Despite this, Williams has managed to still execute reasonably well and avoid too many mistakes. Again, for a rookie, that is no small feat. Don’t forget he practices against the Bears’ starting defense every day.
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The offense’s clunky nature is no surprise to the coaching staff. Learning the system and executing it at a high level were always tall orders. What they wanted to see from Caleb Williams was incremental progress. He’s given them that and more. Consistency will come with experience. Joe Burrow didn’t get off to a rousing start in his rookie year. It took him a month to start putting things together. The key with Williams is patience. Let the process play out.
Yes, the perseverance, stamina, persistence, and learning are totally overwhelming for a rookie QB who is self-made and started from scratch. He is going to be a great one!
That’s good to hear, all things that Justin Fields could never figure out.
Am I the only one picking up a Russell Wilson vibe from.Caleb Williams?
And now, Hard Knocks shows us Matt Eberflus (the former LB) reminding Caleb not to throw off his back foot, late into coverage (the Justin Fields go-to move when JF1 stalled a drive, or turned the ball over).
Don’t jump the gun on Caleb Williams, LLC just quite yet. We might want to see how he handles an actual pass rush. You know, one where that “red jersey” doesn’t stop every rusher in his tracks. Time will tell. But, until then. .
Let’s Ride!
Let Fields go. He sucked as a QB. The coaching staff couldn’t progress him along because he didn’t have command of the playbook. His last year here under Getsy was probably the most progress he has made as a QB. He did not have the fundamentals of the position down, and it held back the entire offense. Best of luck to him in Pittsburgh, and where he goes after that.
I’m glad that Williams is learning and improving incrementally. Most important is that the coaches have focused on making him a priority. Ironic that many of the issues seem similar to Fields’ issues, which were not corrected.