It is becoming apparent the Chicago Bears have finally found the right quarterback. Caleb Williams delivered arguably his best performance of the year on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. He amassed over 300 total yards, capped by a masterful final drive that put the team in position to kick a game-winning field goal. Sadly, it was blocked, robbing him of another signature 4th quarter comeback in the past month. However, it wasn’t those moments that likely won over the locker room. It is what he did in the days leading up to the game.
Last week, the Bears made the difficult decision to part ways with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron. Scoring just 27 points the past three games and no touchdowns in the previous two led to a breaking point. Reports indicate multiple players went to GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus requesting a change. However, it appears Williams felt personally responsible. According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the rookie decided to speak during a team meeting, apologizing to his teammates for not playing well enough. Had he been better, firing Waldron never would’ve been necessary.
Caleb Williams takes more accountability than his head coach.
While Eberflus speaks in bland platitudes and insists better execution is always the problem, not his bad decisions, his young quarterback constantly states he made mistakes. There is no dodging responsibility. It is always the simple admission that he wasn’t good enough. Teammates aren’t the problem. Coaches aren’t the problem. He is the problem. When you talk about leadership, that is what it looks like. Williams had no reason to stick his neck out for Waldron, but he did it because he felt it was the right thing to do.
His play over the past three weeks was rough. He completed barely 50% of his passes for 468 yards, no touchdowns, a 64.7 passer rating, and took 18 sacks. The guy looked lost at times, and the offense paid the price with constant punts. Waldron took the brunt of the blame for it, but that didn’t sit right with Caleb Williams. It’s a team game. If he had played better, it never would’ve come to that. This is why the kid is easy to root for. He understands the game at a fundamental level.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
@jim Jones My brother in christ, I wrote almost exactly the same things about Caleb before the draft. Your guy on here Barry has the receipts, as the kids say. I continue to be mad at the Williams pick because I believe the team would’ve been more competitive this season if Poles traded out of 1.01, stacked depth elsewhere, and rolled with Fields at QB1. Fields is elite at running with the ball and throwing deep, and I believe that when teams have obvious strengths, they should double down on those strengths, not try to balance them out. If you… Read more »
Ryan Poles and Flus ought to be the ones apologizing to CW.
When Peyton Manning was drafted he was also handed the starting role, Barry. It’s ok to just say you are still hurt over Justin being traded than make arbitrary issues like you just did. They aren’t issues to anyone other than you. As someone that is such a fan of Justin Fields to this day, you cannot sit here with a straight face and truly say you have all of these standards. That is just beyond ludicrous. Also, a request is not a demand. Let alone one that was made a year in advance, answered, and not argued with. Your… Read more »
Whey Peyton Manning was drafted 1.01, some reporter asked him what he was going to do with all of the money that came with being the top pick. He said, “I’m going to earn it.” It is genuinely great to hear that Caleb addressed his teammates after Waldron was mercifully canned. But it would be better if he brought into camp the attitude that Manning had at the start of his pro career. To me, Caleb’s biggest red flags boiled down to him seeming uninterested in earning the role of QB1. His camp started off demanding an ownership interest in… Read more »
@Dr. Melhus —
I’m happy with what Caleb Sequan Williams, “LLC” has shown so far — particularly under the conditions that Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus have placed the young QB.
There will be no need for apologies if CEO Kevin Warren does the right thing and applies a GM-down housecleaning to Halas Hall.
The people in charge have shown us all who they are — and I for one, believe them.
Let’s not make Caleb pay for our reluctance to pull the trigger.
Note to Poles & Eberflus: CYA!